| As you explained in When can a parameter value be null?, an empty text form field value is typically sent to a JSP (or servlet) page as an empty string parameter value.But a String property in my bean corresponding to a text field does not get set to an empty string when I use the setProperty action. What’s going on? |
| Answer: I describe this in Chapter 15 in the book, in the section Unexpected <jsp:setProperty> Behavior.To match the behavior for properties corresponding to checkboxes, radio buttons and selection lists, the JSP specification says that if a parameter value is an empty string, the corresponding property setter method should notbe called. So when you use <jsp:setProperty name="foo" property="*" /> for a bean with properties corresponding to various types of form elements, an empty text field has the same effect as a checkbox that is not checked; the property is not set at all. If you use a bean to capture form input and you want to reset a property when the user clears the corresponding form field, you can use this work-around. First create a method in the bean that resets all properties: public void setReset(String ignored) {
myFirstProperty = null;
mySecondProperty = null;
...
}
Now you can invoke this method before you set the properties based on the current form field values in your JSP page: <jsp:setProperty name="foo" property="reset" value="dummy"/> <jsp:setProperty name="foo" property="*" /> |
Hans Bergsten
Software Adventures
