Posts in the “jsp” category

JSP URI/URL - How to get the request URI, URL, and Context from a JSP

JSP URI/URL FAQ: How do I get a URI or URL from a JSP (the request URI or request URL)?

I was just working with a JSP, and trying to remember how to get information that can be very helpful inside of a JSP, specifically how to determine the Context, URI, and URL from within a JSP.

To that end, here's the Java source code for a JSP I wrote that will display the Context, URI, and URL for this JSP when it is accessed from a browser:

How to test for a valid user session in a JSP

Note: This approach is very old; Java/JSP scriptlets were deprecated a long time ago. I don't have time to update this article to the correct, modern approach, but I hope this JSP session example will point you in the right direction.

Every once in a while I'm asked something like, "How can I tell if I have a valid user session in my JSP code?"

JSP CGI - A JSP that prints the equivalent of CGI variables

I created a JSP this morning that prints out the equivalent of most traditional CGI parameters. Sometimes I use these to debug a problem, other times I use them within JSP/servlet code for other non-debug purposes.

Here's the Java source code for my JSP CGI page, which I named cgiParams.jsp. As you can see, most of these variables come from the JSP request object:

How to set the default input focus on a field in an HTML web form

When I create a web-based user interface I tend to be a fanatic about making sure that the first input field on a form gets input focus when the form is first displayed. It always drives me crazy when I go to a web form that requires text input, but the developer of the page hasn't taken the time to put the default focus in the first field of the form.

So ... after looking around at some HTML/JSF/Struts/JSP code I've written over the last few years, the following JSF example shows the most concise way I know of setting default input focus on an HTML form field:

How to create zebra stripes in JSP tables

It's been a long time since I worked on an old-school JSP (without the benefit of a framework like JSF or Struts), but I've wanted to add alternating row stripes ("zebra stripes") to some HTML tables in some old JSP's for a long time. I like tables with zebra stripes because they're easier to read, so now that I have some free time, I finally got this done.

Now that I have all of my JSP/CSS code working properly, I thought I'd share it all here in the form of a "recipe".