Spring Boot with JSP

JavaServer Pages (JSP) is a technology used to create dynamic web content. This guide covers the key concepts and steps for using JSP with Spring Boot, including setting up dependencies, creating controllers, designing JSP views, and rendering views.

Key Concepts of Spring Boot with JSP

JSP (JavaServer Pages): A technology used for creating dynamic web pages using Java.
Controller: A Spring component that handles HTTP requests and returns views.
View Resolver: A Spring component that resolves view names to actual JSP files.
Model: A data container used for passing data from the controller to the view.

Setting Up Dependencies

Include the necessary dependencies for using JSP in your pom.xml file:

<dependencies>
    <!-- Spring Boot Starter Web -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <!-- JSP dependencies -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
        <artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Configuring View Resolver

Configure the view resolver in your Spring Boot application to resolve JSP files:

Example: application.properties

# JSP View Resolver Configuration
spring.mvc.view.prefix=/WEB-INF/views/
spring.mvc.view.suffix=.jsp

Creating a Controller

Create a controller to handle web requests and return JSP views:

Example: HomeController.java

// HomeController.java
package com.example.demo.controller;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@Controller
public class HomeController {

    @GetMapping("/")
    public String home(Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("message", "Hello, JSP with Spring Boot!");
        return "index";
    }
}

Designing JSP Views

Create JSP views to render HTML content. Place your JSP files in the src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/views directory:

Example: index.jsp

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Spring Boot with JSP</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Spring Boot with JSP</h1>
    <p>Message: <c:out value="${message}" /></p>
</body>
</html>

Rendering Views

When the controller method returns a view name, Spring Boot will resolve the view using the configured view resolver and render the JSP file:

// HomeController.java
package com.example.demo.controller;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@Controller
public class HomeController {

    @GetMapping("/")
    public String home(Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("message", "Hello, JSP with Spring Boot!");
        return "index";
    }
}

Handling Form Submissions

Handle form submissions using JSP and Spring Boot:

Example: UserController.java

// UserController.java
package com.example.demo.controller;

import com.example.demo.model.User;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PostMapping;

@Controller
public class UserController {

    @GetMapping("/user")
    public String showForm(Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("user", new User());
        return "userForm";
    }

    @PostMapping("/user")
    public String submitForm(User user, Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("user", user);
        return "userResult";
    }
}

Example: userForm.jsp

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
<html>
<head>
    <title>User Form</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>User Form</h1>
    <form action="user" method="post">
        <label>Name: <input type="text" name="name" /></label><br/>
        <label>Email: <input type="email" name="email" /></label><br/>
        <button type="submit">Submit</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

Example: userResult.jsp

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
<html>
<head>
    <title>User Result</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>User Result</h1>
    <p>Name: <c:out value="${user.name}" /></p>
    <p>Email: <c:out value="${user.email}" /></p>
</body>
</html>

Key Points

JSP (JavaServer Pages): A technology used for creating dynamic web pages using Java.
Controller: A Spring component that handles HTTP requests and returns views.
View Resolver: A Spring component that resolves view names to actual JSP files.
Model: A data container used for passing data from the controller to the view.
Include the necessary dependencies for using JSP in your pom.xml file.
Configure the view resolver in your Spring Boot application to resolve JSP files.
Create controllers to handle web requests and return JSP views.
Design JSP views to render HTML content and place them in the src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/views directory.
Handle form submissions using JSP and Spring Boot.

Conclusion

Spring Boot and JSP provide a powerful combination for building dynamic web applications. By understanding and using the capabilities of JSP with Spring Boot, developers can create interactive and maintainable web applications with ease. Happy coding!