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Struts 2 Generator Tag with Examples
In this article, I am going to discuss Struts 2 Generator Tag with Examples. Please read our previous article where we discussed Struts 2 Merge and Append Tags.
What is Generator Tag in Struts 2?
Generator tags can be used to create a list or array during runtime.
How to Implement Generator Tag in Struts 2?
Step 1: Create a new maven project in Eclipse. We will use Maven to manage the dependencies of struts2. This way, we do not have to import JARs.
Remember to set the packaging to war. This is because we shall be deploying a web application.
Finally, click on the finish button to create the project. The following project directories need to be created:
Step 2: Modify pom.xml to add the required dependencies and the build configuration:
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>com.dotnet</groupId>
<artifactId>strutex</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<packaging>war</packaging>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
<artifactId>struts2-core</artifactId>
<version>6.1.2.1</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
<artifactId>struts-taglib</artifactId>
<version>1.3.10</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
<artifactId>servlet-api</artifactId>
<version>2.3</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>taglibs</groupId>
<artifactId>standard</artifactId>
<version>1.1.2</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>javax.servlet.jsp.jstl</groupId>
<artifactId>jstl-api</artifactId>
<version>1.2</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>javax.servlet.jsp</groupId>
<artifactId>javax.servlet.jsp-api</artifactId>
<version>2.3.3</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
<artifactId>struts2-convention-plugin</artifactId>
<version>6.2.0</version>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.11.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>17</source>
<target>17</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>
Step 3: In the src/main/webapp directory, create a new file called index.jsp. This file displays the different types of cars on the webpage. Add the following content to the file:
<%@ page contentType = "text/html; charset = UTF-8"%>
<%@ taglib prefix = "s" uri = "/struts-tags"%>
<html>
<head>
<title>Type of cars</title>
</head>
<body>
<b>Types of cars:</b><br />
<s:generator val = "%{'Sports,SUV,Coupe,Van,Hatchback,Sedan,Truck'}"
count = "7" separator = ",">
<s:iterator>
<s:property /><br/>
</s:iterator>
</s:generator>
</body>
</html>
Step 4: In the src/main/java directory, create a new file called HelloWorldAction.java. The file contains the Java action code. Add the following content to the file:
package com.dotnet;
import com.opensymphony.xwork2.ActionSupport;
public class HelloWorldAction extends ActionSupport
{
private String name;
public String execute()
{
return SUCCESS;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
Step 5: In the src/main/webapp directory, create a new file called struts.xml. This file is responsible for configuring struts2. Add the following content to the file:
<?xml version = "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE struts PUBLIC
"-//Apache Software Foundation//DTD Struts Configuration 2.0//EN"
"http://struts.apache.org/dtds/struts-2.0.dtd">
<struts>
<constant name = "struts.devMode" value = "true" />
<package name = "helloworld" extends = "struts-default">
<action name = "HelloWorldAction"
class = "com.dotnet.HelloWorldAction"
method = "execute">
<result name = "success">/index.jsp</result>
</action>
</package>
</struts>
Step 6: In the src/main/webapp directory, create a new directory called WEB-INF. In this directory, create a new file called web.xml. This file is responsible for implementing struts2 in the web application. Add the following content to the file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" xsi:schemalocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/web-app_3_0.xsd" id="apache-struts-config-example" version="3.0"> <display-name>Struts Config XML</display-name> <welcome-file-list> <welcome-file>index.jsp</welcome-file> </welcome-file-list> <filter> <filter-name>struts2</filter-name> <filter-class> org.apache.struts2.dispatcher.filter.StrutsPrepareAndExecuteFilter </filter-class> </filter> <filter-mapping> <filter-name>struts2</filter-name> <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern> </filter-mapping> </web-app>
Step 7: Compile and execute the program on the Tomcat server. The following page must open in your default web browser:
Congratulations! You now know how to implement generator tags in struts2!
In the next article, I am going to discuss Struts 2 Action Tag with Examples. Here, in this article, I try to explain Struts 2 Generator Tag with Examples and I hope you enjoy this article.
About the Author: Pranaya Rout
Pranaya Rout has published more than 3,000 articles in his 11-year career. Pranaya Rout has very good experience with Microsoft Technologies, Including C#, VB, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, EF, EF Core, ADO.NET, LINQ, SQL Server, MYSQL, Oracle, ASP.NET Core, Cloud Computing, Microservices, Design Patterns and still learning new technologies.
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