Spring MVC and JSP

JavaServer Pages (JSP) is a technology that helps create dynamically generated web pages based on HTML, XML, or other document types. This guide covers the key concepts and steps for integrating JSP with Spring MVC, including setting up JSP, creating JSP pages, and using JSP features in your Spring MVC application.

Key Concepts of Spring MVC and JSP

InternalResourceViewResolver: A Spring MVC ViewResolver implementation that uses JSPs.
JSP Tag Libraries: Libraries that provide custom tags for JSP pages to encapsulate reusable logic.

Setting Up JSP

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

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

Configuring JSP

Configure JSP in your Spring MVC application by defining an InternalResourceViewResolver bean:

WebConfig.java

// WebConfig.java
package com.example.springmvc.config;

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.ViewResolverRegistry;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.WebMvcConfigurer;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.view.InternalResourceViewResolver;

@Configuration
public class WebConfig implements WebMvcConfigurer {
    @Override
    public void configureViewResolvers(ViewResolverRegistry registry) {
        InternalResourceViewResolver resolver = new InternalResourceViewResolver();
        resolver.setPrefix("/WEB-INF/views/");
        resolver.setSuffix(".jsp");
        registry.viewResolver(resolver);
    }
}

Creating JSP Pages

Create JSP pages in the src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/views directory:

home.jsp

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Home</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Home</h1>
    <p>${message}</p>
</body>
</html>

Creating the Controller

Create a controller to handle requests and use JSP pages:

HomeController.java

// HomeController.java
package com.example.springmvc.controllers;

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

@Controller
public class HomeController {

    @GetMapping("/home")
    public String home(Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("message", "Welcome to Spring MVC with JSP!");
        return "home";
    }
}

Using JSP Tag Libraries

JSP tag libraries provide custom tags for JSP pages to encapsulate reusable logic. The most common tag library is the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL):

Using JSTL

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
<c:if test="${not empty message}">
    <p>${message}</p>
</c:if>

Key Points

InternalResourceViewResolver: A Spring MVC ViewResolver implementation that uses JSPs.
JSP Tag Libraries: Libraries that provide custom tags for JSP pages to encapsulate reusable logic.
Include the necessary dependencies for JSP in your pom.xml file.
Configure JSP in your Spring MVC application by defining an InternalResourceViewResolver bean.
Create JSP pages in the src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/views directory.
Create a controller to handle requests and use JSP pages.
Use JSP tag libraries such as JSTL to provide custom tags for JSP pages.

Conclusion

Integrating JSP with Spring MVC allows you to create dynamic and interactive web applications. By setting up JSP, creating JSP pages, and using JSP tag libraries, developers can enhance their Spring MVC applications and provide a rich user experience. Happy coding!