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Custom Tags

This document provides a comprehensive overview of creating custom JSP tag libraries, including components like tag handler classes, tag library descriptor files, and JSP files. It covers the definition and usage of simple tags, tags with attributes, and tags that include body content, along with examples and code snippets. The document also discusses advanced topics such as optional tag bodies and the use of attributes in tag handlers.

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9 views24 pages

Custom Tags

This document provides a comprehensive overview of creating custom JSP tag libraries, including components like tag handler classes, tag library descriptor files, and JSP files. It covers the definition and usage of simple tags, tags with attributes, and tags that include body content, along with examples and code snippets. The document also discusses advanced topics such as optional tag bodies and the use of attributes in tag handlers.

Uploaded by

sererwe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Creating Custom JSP

Tag Libraries
Lecture 12
Core Servlets & JSP book: www.coreservlets.com
More Servlets & JSP book: www.moreservlets.com
Servlet and JSP Training Courses: courses.coreservlets.com
2 Slides © Marty Hall, http://www.coreservlets.com, book © Sun Microsystems Press

Agenda
• Components of a tag library
• Basic tags
• Tags that use attributes
• Tags that use body content
• Tags that optionally use body content
• Advanced tags

3 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

1
Uses of JSP Constructs
Simple
• Scripting elements calling servlet
Application
code directly
• Scripting elements calling servlet
code indirectly (by means of
utility classes)
• Beans
• Custom tags
Complex
• Servlet/JSP combo (MVC),
Application
with beans and possibly custom
tags

4 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Components That Make Up a


Tag Library
• The Tag Handler Class
– Java code that says how to actually translate tag into code
– Must implement javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.Tag interface
– Usually extends TagSupport or BodyTagSupport
– Goes in same directories as servlet class files and beans
• The Tag Library Descriptor File
– XML file describing tag name, attributes, and
implementing tag handler class
– Goes with JSP file or at arbitrary URL
• The JSP File
– Imports a tag library (referencing URL of descriptor file)
– Defines tag prefix
– Uses tags

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2
Defining a Simple Tag Handler
Class
• Extend the TagSupport class
• Import needed packages
– import javax.servlet.jsp.*;
import javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.*;
import java.io.*;
• Override doStartTag
– Obtain the JspWriter by means of pageContext.getOut()
– Use the JspWriter to generate JSP content
– Return SKIP_BODY
– Translated into servlet code at page-translation time
– Code gets called at request time

6 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Defining a Simple Tag Handler


Class: Example
package coreservlets.tags;
import javax.servlet.jsp.*;
import javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.math.*;
import coreservlets.*;

public class SimplePrimeTag extends TagSupport {


protected int len = 50;

public int doStartTag() {


try {
JspWriter out = pageContext.getOut();
BigInteger prime = Primes.nextPrime(Primes.random(len));
out.print(prime); // Primes class defined in Section 7.3
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("Error generating prime: " + ioe);
}
return(SKIP_BODY);
}}

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3
Defining a Simple Tag Library
Descriptor
• Start with XML header and DOCTYPE
• Top-level element is taglib
• Each tag defined by tag element with:
– name, whose body defines the base tag name.
In this case, I use <name>simplePrime</name>
– tagclass, which gives the fully qualified class name of the
tag handler. In this case, I use
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.SimplePrimeTag</tagclass>
– bodycontent, which gives hints to development
environments. Optional.
– info, which gives a short description. Here, I use
<info>Outputs a random 50-digit prime.</info>
8 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

TLD File for SimplePrimeTag


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE taglib PUBLIC
"-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD JSP Tag Library 1.1//EN"
"http://java.sun.com/j2ee/dtds/web-jsptaglibrary_1_1.dtd">
<taglib>
... // A few standard items -- just copy these
<tag>
<name>simplePrime</name>
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.SimplePrimeTag</tagclass>
<info>Outputs a random 50-digit prime.</info>
</tag>
</taglib>

• Don't memorize XML header and DOCTYPE;


modify version from coreservlets.com
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4
Accessing Custom Tags From
JSP Files
• Import the tag library
– Specify location of TLD file
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
– Define a tag prefix (namespace)
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
• Use the tags
– <prefix:tagName />
• Tag name comes from TLD file
• Prefix comes from taglib directive
– E.g., <csajsp:simplePrime />

10 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using simplePrime Tag


...
<BODY>
<H1>Some 50-Digit Primes</H1>

<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>

<UL>
<LI><csajsp:simplePrime />
<LI><csajsp:simplePrime />
<LI><csajsp:simplePrime />
<LI><csajsp:simplePrime />
</UL>

</BODY>
</HTML>

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5
Using simplePrime Tag:
Result

12 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Assigning Attributes to Tags


• Allowing tags like
– <prefix:name
attribute1="value1"
attribute2="value2"
...
attributeN="valueN"
/>
• Tags are still standalone
– No body between start and end tags

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6
Attributes:
The Tag Handler Class
• Use of an attribute called attribute1
simply results in a call to a method called
setAttribute1
– Attribute value is supplied to method as a String
• Example
– To support

<prefix:tagName attribute1="Test" />

add the following to tag handler class:

public void setAttribute1(String value1) {


doSomethingWith(value1);
14
}
Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Attributes: PrimeTag.java
package coreservlets.tags;

import javax.servlet.jsp.*;
import javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.math.*;
import coreservlets.*;

public class PrimeTag extends SimplePrimeTag {


public void setLength(String length) {
try {
// len used by parent class
len = Integer.parseInt(length);
} catch(NumberFormatException nfe) {
len = 50;
}
}
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7
PrimeTag (Continued)

public void release() {


len = 50;
}
}

• Why release?
– Servers are permitted to reuse tag instances
• No synchronization issues, since reuse occurs only after tag
processing is totally finished.
– Few current servers reuse tags, but you should plan ahead
– Not needed if attribute is required. (Why not?)
16 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Attributes:
The Tag Library Descriptor File
• The tag element must contain a nested
attribute element
• The attribute element has three further-
nested elements
– name, a required element that defines the case-sensitive
attribute name. In this case, I use <name>length</name>
– required, a required element that stipulates whether the
attribute must always be supplied (true) or is optional
(false). Here, to indicate that length is optional, I use
<required>false</required>
– rtexprvalue, an optional attribute that indicates whether
the attribute value can be a JSP expression like
<%= expression %> (true) or whether it must be a fixed
17 string (false). The default value is false. www.coreservlets.com
Custom Tags

8
TLD File for PrimeTag
...
<taglib>
<tag>
<name>prime</name>
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.PrimeTag</tagclass>
<info>Outputs a random N-digit prime.</info>
<attribute>
<name>length</name>
<required>false</required>
</attribute>
</tag>
</taglib>

18 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using prime Tag


...
<BODY>
<H1>Some N-Digit Primes</H1>

<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>

<UL>
<LI>20-digit: <csajsp:prime length="20" />
<LI>40-digit: <csajsp:prime length="40" />
<LI>80-digit: <csajsp:prime length="80" />
<LI>Default (50-digit): <csajsp:prime />
</UL>

</BODY>
</HTML>

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9
Using prime Tag: Result

20 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Including the Tag Body


• Simplest tags
– <prefix:tagName />
• Tags with attributes
– <prefix:tagName att1="val1" ... />
• Now
– <prefix:tagName>
JSP Content
</prefix:tagName>

– <prefix:tagName att1="val1" ... >


JSP Content
</prefix:tagName>
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10
Using Tag Body:
The Tag Handler Class
• doStartTag
– Usually returns EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE
instead of SKIP_BODY
• doEndTag
– Define this method if you want to take action after
handling the body
– Return EVAL_PAGE

22 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using Tag Body:


HeadingTag.java
package coreservlets.tags;
import javax.servlet.jsp.*;
import javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.*;
import java.io.*;

public class HeadingTag extends TagSupport {


private String bgColor; // The one required attribute
private String color = null;
...

public void setBgColor(String bgColor) {


this.bgColor = bgColor;
}

public void setColor(String color) {


this.color = color;
}
...
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11
Using Tag Body:
HeadingTag.java (Continued)
public int doStartTag() {
try {
JspWriter out = pageContext.getOut();
out.print("<TABLE BORDER=" + border +
" BGCOLOR=\"" + bgColor + "\"" +
" ALIGN=\"" + align + "\"");
if (width != null) {
out.print(" WIDTH=\"" + width + "\"");
}
...
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("Error in HeadingTag: " + ioe);
}
return(EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE); // Include tag body
}

24 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using Tag Body:


HeadingTag.java (cont)
public int doEndTag() {
try {
JspWriter out = pageContext.getOut();
out.print("</SPAN></TABLE>");
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("Error in HeadingTag: " + ioe);
}
return(EVAL_PAGE); // Continue with rest of JSP page
}

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12
Using Tag Body:
The Tag Library Descriptor File
• Only difference is bodycontent element
– Should be JSP instead of empty:
<tag>
<name>…</name>
<tagclass>…</tagclass>
<bodycontent>JSP</bodycontent>
<info>…</info>
</tag>
• Purpose is primarily for development
environments
– Advanced IDEs may have drag-and-drop support for
custom tags
– Defined as optional in JSP specification
• I will omit in my examples
26 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

TLD File for HeadingTag


...
<taglib>
<tag>
<name>heading</name>
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.HeadingTag</tagclass>
<info>Outputs a 1-cell table used as a heading.</info>
<attribute>
<name>bgColor</name>
<required>true</required> <!-- bgColor is required -->
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>color</name>
<required>false</required>
</attribute>
...
</tag>
</taglib>

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13
Using heading Tag
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
<csajsp:heading bgColor="#C0C0C0">
Default Heading
</csajsp:heading>
<P>
<csajsp:heading bgColor="BLACK" color="WHITE">
White on Black Heading
</csajsp:heading>
<P>
<csajsp:heading bgColor="#EF8429" fontSize="60" border="5">
Large Bordered Heading
</csajsp:heading>
<P>
<csajsp:heading bgColor="CYAN" width="100%">
Heading with Full-Width Background
</csajsp:heading>
...

28 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using heading Tag:


Result

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14
Optional Tag Bodies
• First examples had no tag bodies
– doStartTag returned SKIP_BODY
• Most recent examples always included
tag bodies
– doStartTag returned EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE
• Now: decide whether or not to include tag
body at request time
– Have doStartTag return either SKIP_BODY or
EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE depending on values of
request time information

30 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Optional Tag Bodies:


DebugTag.java
package coreservlets.tags;
import javax.servlet.jsp.*;
import javax.servlet.jsp.tagext.*;
import java.io.*;
import javax.servlet.*;

public class DebugTag extends TagSupport {


public int doStartTag() {
ServletRequest request =
pageContext.getRequest();
String debugFlag = request.getParameter("debug");
if ((debugFlag != null) &&
(!debugFlag.equalsIgnoreCase("false"))) {
return(EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE);
} else {
return(SKIP_BODY);
}
31 }}
Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

15
TLD File for DebugTag
...
<taglib>
<tag>
<name>debug</name>
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.DebugTag</tagclass>
<info>
Includes body only if debug param is set.
</info>
</tag>
</taglib>

32 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using debug Tag


<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
Top of regular page. Blah, blah, blah.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
<P>
<csajsp:debug>
<B>Debug:</B>
<UL>
<LI>Current time: <%= new java.util.Date() %>
<LI>Requesting hostname: <%= request.getRemoteHost()%>
<LI>Session ID: <%= session.getId() %>
</UL>
</csajsp:debug>
<P>
Bottom of regular page. Blah, blah, blah.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.

33 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

16
Using debug Tag: Results

34 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Manipulating the Tag Body


• No tag body
– <prefix:tagName />
– <prefix:tagName att1="val1" ... />
• Previous uses of tag body
– <prefix:tagName>JSP Content</prefix:tagName>
– <prefix:tagName att1="val1" ... />
JSP Content
</prefix:tagName>
– Content inserted verbatim
• Now
– Same JSP syntax for using a tag body
– Java code can read/modify/replace tag body

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17
Manipulating Tag Body:
The Tag Handler Class
• Extend BodyTagSupport
– TagSupport does not have enough infrastructure to
support reading/manipulating the tag body
• New method to override: doAfterBody
– Return SKIP_BODY when done
• getBodyContent returns object of type
BodyContent that has three key methods
– getEnclosingWriter -- returns the JspWriter being used by
doStartTag and doEndTag
– getReader -- returns a Reader that can read tag’s body
– getString -- returns a String containing entire tag body

36 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Manipulating Tag Body:


FilterTag.java
public class FilterTag extends BodyTagSupport {
public int doAfterBody() {
BodyContent body = getBodyContent();
String filteredBody =
// The filter method is defined in Section 3.6
ServletUtilities.filter(body.getString());
try {
JspWriter out = body.getEnclosingWriter();
out.print(filteredBody);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("Error in FilterTag: " + ioe);
}
// SKIP_BODY means I'm done. If I wanted to evaluate
// and handle body again, I'd return EVAL_BODY_TAG.
return(SKIP_BODY);
}
}
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18
Manipulating Tag Body:
The Tag Library Descriptor File
• No new capabilities needed
<tag>
<name>filter</name>
<tagclass>coreservlets.tags.FilterTag</tagclass>
<info>
Replaces HTML-specific
characters in body.
</info>
</tag>

38 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using the filter Tag


...
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
<TABLE BORDER=1 ALIGN="CENTER">
<TR CLASS="COLORED"><TH>Example<TH>Result
<TR>
<TD><PRE><csajsp:filter>
<EM>Some emphasized text.</EM><BR>
<STRONG>Some strongly emphasized text.</STRONG><BR>
<CODE>Some code.</CODE><BR>
...
</csajsp:filter></PRE>

<TD>
<EM>Some emphasized text.</EM><BR>
<STRONG>Some strongly emphasized text.</STRONG><BR>
<CODE>Some code.</CODE><BR>
...
</TABLE>
39 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

19
Using the filter Tag:
Results

40 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Advanced Custom Tags


• Manipulating the body multiple times
– Return EVAL_BODY_TAG from doAfterBody
until last repetition
– Use the TLD file to specify that JSP expressions are
permitted as attribute values
• Nested tags
– The handler for the inner tag uses findAncestorWithClass
to get a reference to the enclosing tag handler
• Details and examples of both are given in
the book

41 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

20
Manipulating the Body Multiple
Times: the repeat Tag
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>

<OL>
<!-- Repeats N times. A null reps value
means repeat once. -->
<csajsp:repeat
reps='<%= request.getParameter("repeats") %>'>
<LI><csajsp:prime length="40" />
</csajsp:repeat>
</OL>

42 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using the repeat Tag: Results

43 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

21
Nested Tags: the if Tag
<%@ taglib uri="csajsp-taglib.tld" prefix="csajsp" %>
<csajsp:if>
<csajsp:condition>true</csajsp:condition>
<csajsp:then>Condition was true</csajsp:then>
<csajsp:else>Condition was false</csajsp:else>
</csajsp:if>
...
Some coin tosses:<BR>
<csajsp:repeat reps="20">
<csajsp:if>
<csajsp:condition>
<%= Math.random() > 0.5 %>
</csajsp:condition>
<csajsp:then><B>Heads</B><BR></csajsp:then>
<csajsp:else><B>Tails</B><BR></csajsp:else>
</csajsp:if>
</csajsp:repeat>
44 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Using the if Tag: Results

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22
Open Source Tag Libraries
http://jakarta.apache.org/taglibs/
• JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)
– Covered in Ch. 12 of More Servlets and JavaServer Pages
• Internationalization (I18N)
• Database access
• Sending email
• JNDI
• Date/time
• Populating/validating form fields
• Perl regular expressions
• Extracting data from other Web pages
• XSL transformations
• Etc.
46 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

Summary
• For each custom tag, you need
– A tag handler class (usually extending
TagSupport or BodyTagSupport)
– An entry in a Tag Library Descriptor file
– A JSP file that imports it, specifies prefix, and uses it
• Simple tags
– Generate output in doStartTag, return SKIP_BODY
• Attributes
– Define setAttributeName method. Update TLD file
• Body content
– doStartTag returns EVAL_BODY_INCLUDE
– Add doEndTag method
47 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

23
Questions?

Core Servlets & JSP book: www.coreservlets.com


More Servlets & JSP book: www.moreservlets.com
Servlet and JSP Training Courses: courses.coreservlets.com
48 Slides © Marty Hall, http://www.coreservlets.com, book © Sun Microsystems Press

More Information
• Source code for all examples
– http://www.coreservlets.com
• Servlet/JSP Training Courses
– http://courses.coreservlets.com
• Core Servlets & JSP
– http://www.coreservlets.com
• More Servlets & JSP
– Sequel to Core Servlets & JSP
– http://www.moreservlets.com
• Servlet home page
– http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/
• JavaServer Pages home page
– http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/
49 Custom Tags www.coreservlets.com

24

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