The Java(TM) Web Services Tutorial

The Java^TM Web Services Tutorial

What is a JSP Page?

A JSP page is a text-based document that contains two types of text: static template data, which can be expressed in any text-based format such as HTML, SVG, WML, and XML, and JSP elements, which construct dynamic content. A syntax card and reference for the JSP elements is available at:
http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/technical.html#syntax
 
The following Web page is a form that allows you to select a locale and displays the date in a manner appropriate to the locale.

Figure 1 Localized Date Form

The source for this example is in the docs/tutorial/examples/web/date directory created when you unzip the tutorial bundle. The JSP page index.jsp used to create the form appears below; it is a typical mixture of static HTML markup and JSP elements. If you have developed Web pages, you are probably familiar with the HTML document structure statements (<head>, <body>, and so on) and the HTML statements that create a form <form> and a menu <select>. The example contains the following types of JSP constructs:
Directives (<%@page ... %>) import classes in the java.util package and the MyLocales class, and set the content type returned by the page.
The jsp:useBean element creates an object containing a collection of locales and initializes a variable that point to that object.
Scriptlets (<% ... %> ) retrieve the value of the locale request parameter, iterate over a collection of locale names, and conditionally insert HTML text into the output.
Expressions (<%= ... %>) insert the value of the locale name into the response.
The jsp:include element sends a request to another page (date.jsp) and includes the response in the response from the calling page.
<%@ page import="java.util.*,MyLocales" %>	
<%@ page contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-5" %>	
<html>	
<head><title>Localized Dates</title></head>	
<body bgcolor="white">	
<jsp:useBean id="locales" scope="application" 	
   class="MyLocales"/>	
<form name="localeForm" action="index.jsp" method="post">	
<b>Locale:</b>	
<select name=locale>	
<% 	
   String selectedLocale = request.getParameter("locale");	
   Iterator i = locales.getLocaleNames().iterator();	
   while (i.hasNext()) {	
      String locale = (String)i.next();	
      if (selectedLocale != null &&	
         selectedLocale.equals(locale)) {	
%>	
         <option selected><%=locale%></option>	
<%   	
      } else { 	
%>	
         <option><%=locale%></option>	
<%	
      } 	
   }	
%>	
</select>	
<input type="submit" name="Submit" value="Get Date">	
</form>	
<jsp:include page="date.jsp"/>	
</body>	
</html>
 
To build, deploy, and execute this JSP page:

Go to docs/tutorial/examples/web/date and build the example by executing ant. This runs the default ant target deploy which depends on the build target. The build target will spawn any necessary compilations and copy files to the docs/tutorial/examples/web/date/build directory. The deploy target copies the build directory to <JWSDP_HOME>/webapps.
Start or restart Tomcat.
Open the bookstore URL http://localhost:8080/date.

You will see a combo box whose entries are locales. Select a locale and click Get Date. You will see the date expressed in a manner appropriate for that locale.

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