Struts Logic Tags
This tag library contains tags that are useful in managing conditional generation of output text, looping over object collections for repetitive generation of output text, and application flow management.
For tags that do value comparisons (equal
,
greaterEqual
, greaterThan
, lessEqual
,
lessThan
, notEqual
), the following rules apply:
- The specified value is examined. If it can be converted successfully
to a
double
or along
, it is assumed that the ultimate comparison will be numeric (either floating point or integer). Otherwise, a String comparison will be performed. - The variable to be compared to is retrieved, based on the selector
attribute(s) (
cookie
,header
,name
,parameter
,property
) present on this tag. It will be converted to the appropriate type for the comparison, as determined above. - If the specified variable or property returns null, it will be coerced to a zero-length string before the comparison occurs.
- The specific comparison for this tag will be performed, and the nested
body content of this tag will be evaluated if the comparison returns
a
true
result.
For tags that do substring matching (match
,
notMatch
), the following rules apply:
- The specified variable is retrieved, based on the selector attribute(s)
(
cookie
,header
,name
,parameter
,property
) present on this tag. The variable is converted to a String, if necessary. - A request time exception will be thrown if the specified variable cannot be retrieved, or has a null value.
- The specified value is checked for existence as a substring of the
variable, in the position specified by the
location
attribute, as follows: at the beginning (if location is set tostart
), at the end (if location is set toend
), or anywhere (if location is not specified).
Many of the tags in this tag library will throw a
JspException
at runtime when they are utilized incorrectly
(such as when you specify an invalid combination of tag attributes). JSP
allows you to declare an "error page" in the <%@ page %>
directive. If you wish to process the actual exception that caused the
problem, it is passed to the error page as a request attribute under key
org.apache.struts.action.EXCEPTION
.
Tag Name | Description |
---|---|
empty | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is either null or an empty string. |
equal | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is equal to the specified value. |
forward | Forward control to the page specified by the specified ActionForward entry. |
greaterEqual | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is greater than or equal to the specified value. |
greaterThan | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is greater than the specified value. |
iterate | Repeat the nested body content of this tag over a specified collection. |
lessEqual | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is less than or equal to the specified value. |
lessThan | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is less than the specified value. |
match | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is an appropriate substring of the requested variable. |
messagesNotPresent | Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified message is not present in this request. |
messagesPresent | Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified message is present in this request. |
notEmpty | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is neither null, nor an empty string, nor an empty java.util.Collection (tested by the .isEmpty() method on the java.util.Collection interface). |
notEqual | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is not equal to the specified value. |
notMatch | Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is not an appropriate substring of the requested variable. |
notPresent | Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is not present in this request. |
present | Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is present in this request. |
redirect | Render an HTTP Redirect |
empty - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is either null or an empty string.
This tag evaluates its nested body content only if the specified value
is either absent (i.e. null
), an empty string (i.e. a
java.lang.String
with a length of zero), or an empty
java.util.Collection
or java.util.Map
(tested by
the .isEmpty() method on the respective interface).
JSTL: The equivalent JSTL tag is <c:if> using the
empty
operator. For example,
<c:if test="${empty sessionScope.myBean.myProperty}">
do something
</c:if>
Since: Struts 1.1
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
equal - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is equal to the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable and value are equal.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
forward - Forward control to the page specified by the specified ActionForward entry.
Performs a PageContext.forward()
or
HttpServletResponse.sendRedirect()
call for the global
ActionForward
entry for the specified name. URL
rewriting will occur automatically if a redirect is performed.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
name |
The logical name of the global |
greaterEqual - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is greater than or equal to the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable is greater than or equal to the value.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
greaterThan - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is greater than the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable is greater than the value.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
iterate - Repeat the nested body content of this tag over a specified collection.
Repeats the nested body content of this tag once for every element
of the specified collection, which must be an Iterator
,
a Collection
, a Map
(whose values are to be
iterated over), or an array. The collection to be iterated over must be
specified in one of the following ways:
- As a runtime expression specified as the value of the
collection
attribute. - As a JSP bean specified by the
name
attribute. - As the property, specified by the
property
, of the JSP bean specified by thename
attribute.
The collection to be iterated over MUST conform to one of the following requirements in order for iteration to be successful:
- An array of Java objects or primitives.
- An implementation of
java.util.Collection
, includingArrayList
andVector
. - An implementation of
java.util.Enumeration
. - An implementation of
java.util.Iterator
. - An implementation of
java.util.Map
, includingHashMap
,Hashtable
, andTreeMap
. NOTE - See below for additional information about accessing Maps.
Normally, each object exposed by the iterate tag is an element
of the underlying collection you are iterating over. However, if you
iterate over a Map
, the exposed object is of type
Map.Entry
that has two properties:
-
key
- The key under which this item is stored in the underlying Map. -
value
- The value that corresponds to this key.
So, if you wish to iterate over the values of a Hashtable, you would implement code like the following:
<logic:iterate id="element" name="myhashtable">
Next element is <bean:write name="element" property="value"/>
</logic:iterate>
If the collection you are iterating over can contain null
values, the loop will still be performed but no page scope attribute
(named by the id
attribute) will be created for that loop
iteration. You can use the <logic:present>
and
<logic:notPresent>
tags to test for this case.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
collection |
A runtime expression that evaluates to a collection (conforming to the requirements listed above) to be iterated over. [RT Expr] |
id |
The name of a page scope JSP bean that will contain the current
element of the collection on each iteration, if it is not
|
indexId |
The name of a page scope JSP bean that will contain the current index of the collection on each iteration. |
length |
The maximum number of entries (from the underlying collection) to be
iterated through on this page. This can be either an integer that
directly expresses the desired value, or the name of a JSP bean (in
any scope) of type |
name |
The name of the JSP bean containing the collection to be iterated
(if |
offset |
The zero-relative index of the starting point at which entries from
the underlying collection will be iterated through. This can be either
an integer that directly expresses the desired value, or the name of a
JSP bean (in any scope) of type |
property |
Name of the property, of the JSP bean specified by |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
type |
Fully qualified Java class name of the element to be exposed through
the JSP bean named from the |
lessEqual - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is less than or equal to the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable is less than or equal to the value.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
lessThan - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is less than the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable is less than the value.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
match - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is an appropriate substring of the requested variable.
Matches the variable specified by one of the selector attributes
(as a String) against the specified constant value. If the value is
a substring (appropriately limited by the location
attribute), the nested body content of this tag is evaluated.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be matched is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be matched is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
location |
If not specified, a match between the variable and the value may
occur at any position within the variable string. If specified, the
match must occur at the specified location (either |
name |
The variable to be matched is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be matched is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be matched is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value which is checked for existence as a substring of the specified variable. [Required] [RT Expr] |
messagesNotPresent - Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified message is not present in this request.
Evaluates the nested body content of this tag if
an ActionMessages
object, ActionErrors
object, a String,
or a String array is not in request scope. If
such a bean is not found, nothing will be rendered.
Since: Struts 1.1
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
name |
The parameter key to retrieve the message from request scope. [RT Expr] |
property |
Name of the property for which messages should be retrieved. If not specified, all messages (regardless of property) are retrieved. [RT Expr] |
message |
By default the tag will retrieve the request scope bean it will
iterate over from the |
messagesPresent - Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified message is present in this request.
Evaluates the nested body content of this tag if
an ActionMessages
object, ActionErrors
object, a String,
or a String array is in request scope. If
such a bean is not found, nothing will be rendered.
Since: Struts 1.1
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
name |
The parameter key to retrieve the message from request scope. [RT Expr] |
property |
Name of the property for which messages should be retrieved. If not specified, all messages (regardless of property) are retrieved. [RT Expr] |
message |
By default the tag will retrieve the request scope bean it will
iterate over from the |
notEmpty - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is neither null, nor an empty string, nor an empty java.util.Collection (tested by the .isEmpty() method on the java.util.Collection interface).
This tag evaluates its nested body content only if the specified value
is present (i.e. not null
) and is not an empty string (i.e. a
java.lang.String
with a length of zero).
JSTL: The equivalent JSTL tag is <c:if> using the
! empty
operator. For example,
<c:if test="${ ! empty sessionScope.myBean.myProperty}">
do something
</c:if>
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
notEqual - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the requested variable is not equal to the specified value.
Compares the variable specified by one of the selector attributes against the specified constant value. The nested body content of this tag is evaluated if the variable and value are not equal.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be compared is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be compared is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
The variable to be compared is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be compared is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be compared is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value to which the variable, specified by other attribute(s) of this tag, will be compared. [Required] [RT Expr] |
notMatch - Evaluate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is not an appropriate substring of the requested variable.
Matches the variable specified by one of the selector attributes
(as a String) against the specified constant value. If the value is
not a substring (appropriately limited by the location
attribute), the nested body content of this tag is evaluated.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
The variable to be matched is the value of the cookie whose name is specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
header |
The variable to be matched is the value of the header whose name is specified by this attribute. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
location |
If not specified, a match between the variable and the value may
occur at any position within the variable string. If specified, the
match must occur at the specified location (either |
name |
The variable to be matched is the JSP bean specified by this
attribute, if |
parameter |
The variable to be matched is the first, or only, value of the request parameter specified by this attribute. [RT Expr] |
property |
The variable to be matched is the property (of the bean specified
by the |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
value |
The constant value which is checked for existence as a substring of the specified variable. [Required] [RT Expr] |
notPresent - Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is not present in this request.
Depending on which attribute is specified, this tag checks the
current request, and evaluates the nested body content of this tag
only if the specified value is not present. Only one
of the attributes may be used in one occurrence of this tag, unless
you use the property
attribute, in which case the
name
attribute is also required.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
Checks for the existence of a cookie with the specified name. [RT Expr] |
header |
Checks for the existence of an HTTP header with the specified name. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
Checks for the existence of a JSP bean, in any scope, with the
specified name. If |
parameter |
Checks for the existence of at least one occurrence of the specified request parameter on this request, even if the parameter value is a zero-length string. [RT Expr] |
property |
Checks for the existence of a non-null property value, returned
by a property getter method on the JSP bean (in any scope) that is
specified by the |
role |
Checks whether the currently authenticated user (if any) has been associated with the specified security role. [RT Expr] |
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
user |
Checks whether the currently authenticated user principal has the specified name. [RT Expr] |
present - Generate the nested body content of this tag if the specified value is present in this request.
Depending on which attribute is specified, this tag checks the
current request, and evaluates the nested body content of this tag
only if the specified value is present. Only one
of the attributes may be used in one occurrence of this tag, unless
you use the property
attribute, in which case the
name
attribute is also required.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
cookie |
Checks for the existence of a cookie with the specified name. [RT Expr] |
header |
Checks for the existence of an HTTP header with the specified name. The name match is performed in a case insensitive manner. [RT Expr] |
name |
Checks for the existence of a JSP bean, in any scope, with the
specified name. If |
parameter |
Checks for the existence of at least one occurrence of the specified request parameter on this request, even if the parameter value is a zero-length string. [RT Expr] |
property |
Checks for the existence of a non-null property value, returned
by a property getter method on the JSP bean (in any scope) that is
specified by the |
role |
Checks whether the currently authenticated user (if any) has been
associated with any of the specified security roles. Use a comma-delimited
list to check for multiple roles. Example:
|
scope |
The bean scope within which to search for the bean named by the
|
user |
Checks whether the currently authenticated user principal has the specified name. [RT Expr] |
redirect - Render an HTTP Redirect
Performs an HttpServletResponse.sendRedirect()
call to the hyperlink specified by the attributes to this
tag. URL rewriting will be applied automatically, to
maintain session state in the absence of cookies.
The base URL for this redirect is calculated based on which of the following attributes you specify (you must specify exactly one of them):
-
forward - Use the value of this attribute as the
name of a global
ActionForward
to be looked up, and use the module-relative or context-relative URI found there. - href - Use the value of this attribute unchanged.
- page - Use the value of this attribute as an module-relative URI, and generate a server-relative URI by including the context path.
Normally, the redirect you specify with one of the
attributes described in the previous paragraph will be left
unchanged (other than URL rewriting if necessary). However,
there are two ways you can append one or more dynamically
defined query parameters to the hyperlink -- specify a single
parameter with the paramId
attribute (and its
associated attributes to select the value), or specify the
name
(and optional property
)
attributes to select a java.util.Map
bean that
contains one or more parameter ids and corresponding values.
To specify a single parameter, use the paramId
attribute to define the name of the request parameter to be
submitted. To specify the corresponding value, use one of the
following approaches:
-
Specify only the
paramName
attribute - The named JSP bean (optionally scoped by the value of theparamScope
attribute) must identify a value that can be converted to a String. -
Specify both the
paramName
andparamProperty
attributes - The specified property getter method will be called on the JSP bean identified by theparamName
(and optionalparamScope
) attributes, in order to select a value that can be converted to a String.
If you prefer to specify a java.util.Map
that
contains all of the request parameters to be added to the
hyperlink, use one of the following techniques:
-
Specify only the
name
attribute - The named JSP bean (optionally scoped by the value of thescope
attribute) must identify ajava.util.Map
containing the parameters. -
Specify both
name
andproperty
attributes - The specified property getter method will be called on the bean identified by thename
(and optionalscope
) attributes, in order to return thejava.util.Map
containing the parameters.
As the Map
is processed, the keys are assumed
to be the names of query parameters to be appended to the
hyperlink. The value associated with each key must be either
a String or a String array representing the parameter value(s).
If a String array is specified, more than one value for the
same query parameter name will be created.
Attribute Name | Description |
---|---|
action |
Logical name of a global |
anchor |
Optional anchor tag ("#xxx") to be added to the generated hyperlink. Specify this value without any "#" character. [RT Expr] |
forward |
Logical name of a global |
href |
The URL to which this redirect will transfer control.
This URL may be dynamically modified
by the inclusion of query parameters, as described in the
tag description. You must specify
exactly one of the |
name |
The name of a JSP bean that contains a |
page |
The context-relative path (beginning with a "/"
character) to which this hyperlink will transfer control
if activated. This hyperlink may be dynamically modified
by the inclusion of query parameters, as described in the
tag description. You must specify exactly
one of the |
paramId |
The name of the request parameter that will be dynamically
added to the generated hyperlink. The corresponding value is
defined by the |
paramName |
The name of a JSP bean that is a String containing the
value for the request parameter named by |
paramProperty |
The name of a property of the bean specified by the
|
paramScope |
The scope within which to search for the bean specified
by the |
property |
The name of a property of the bean specified by the
|
scope |
The scope within which to search for the bean specified
by the |
transaction |
Set to |
useLocalEncoding |
If set to |