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 Creating Servlets in Eclipse 2

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 Creating Servlets in Eclipse 3

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 Simple Spring MVC Web App

Actually Spring MVC has one more way of writing

a controller class in our application
by using Spring MVC provided Annotations.
Now we will attempt to write the same controller
class which will gracefully use the ANNOTATIONS
Let us first see --------------- the same controller
class using annotation.
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 This is the annotation based HelloController class

@Controller

public class HelloController {

@RequestMapping("/welcome")

public ModelAndView helloWorld() {

ModelAndView model = new

ModelAndView("HelloPage");

model.addObject("msg","hello world");

return model;
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} }
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 annotation based HelloController class
According to Spring MVC --------------
If the developer has mentioned @Controller
annotation on top of a java class --------
Then that class will be considered as a Spring
Controller.
Here there is no need to extend controller class from
any specific base class -----------
Like ---------- HelloController extends
AbstractController{
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 annotation based HelloController class

Another vital change we can introduce regarding

our annotation based controller class.
We do not need to put its entry -------- in the second
<bean> element of spring-dispatcher-servlet.xml
configuration file.

<bean name="/welcome.html"
class="com.techMentor.hellocontroller.HelloController
" />
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 annotation based HelloController class
Instead of the earlier <bean> entry ---------- we need
to put following entry in that configuration file.
<context : component-scan base-package =
"com.techMentor.hellocontroller" />

Here we are simply telling Spring Framework -------

to automatically detect all java classes having

@Controller annotation which are placed in this
package.
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 annotation based HelloController class
And also we are asking framework to consider all
of them are part of this .xml file.
If we do not mention this statement --------
We need to do the entry of every single controller
class in the .xml file
As we did in previous program for one controller class.

So here the component-scan statement plays

very vital role.
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 annotation based HelloController class

By doing this ---------- our code will be little

cleaner and concise.

Also one more change we can expect in this

annotation based code --------

We do not need to provide the first <bean>

component associated with HandlerMapping.

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 annotation based HelloController class

Now coming back to HelloController class again –

We can find @RequestMapping("/welcome")
This is very vital annotation.
When request reaches to web.xml file from a
client – browser -----------
Here request is mapped to DispatcherServlet i.e.
Front Controller.
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 annotation based HelloController class

This Front Controller reads configuration XML file

for further processing of request.

After seeing the component-scan statement here

The front controller understands that you have

used annotation based controllers in the
project in the said package.
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 annotation based HelloController class

So now it loads all those controller classes in

memory.

Now it has to decide -------

Which controller method ------- it would invoke for further
processing the request ???

And how it does is -------------

it looks at the @RequestMapping annotation value of each

method present in each controller class.
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 annotation based HelloController class

And further it compares this value with incoming

request URL pattern
public class HelloController {

@RequestMapping("/welcome")

public ModelAndView helloWorld() { …………………. }

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 annotation based HelloController class

And which ever @RequestMapping annotation

value matches with incoming request URL pattern
-------------
It simply makes a call to that method.
In this case ------------ If a user has requested for a
web page using this URL - /welcome ---
Then Front Controller would make a call to the method
associated with annotated method.
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 annotation based HelloController class

Thus the match between URL Request Pattern

and the value specified in @RequestMapping
annotation --------

will dictate the invocation of the appropriate

required method.
Here the presence of @RequestMapping annotation
is justified.
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 annotation based HelloController class
public class HelloController {
@RequestMapping("/welcome")
public ModelAndView helloWorld() {
ModelAndView model = new ModelAndView("HelloPage");
model.addObject("msg","hello world"); return model;
}

This method simply prepares ModelAndView Object

which is having the data which is to be rendered as a
response web page

And the view name which front controller would use

to prepare the response is “HelloPage”
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 annotation based HelloController class

This object is ultimately returned back to Front

Controller.

The Front Controller now would find out the exact path
of the view which is present in the project

using ViewResolver class and <Property> values ------

prefix and suffix.

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 annotation based HelloController class

This way the HelloPage.JSP is provided by Front

Controller to client – browser.

Note that ------- this response is built using

annotation based Controller class.

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 Multi - Action Controller class

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 Multi - Action Controller class

Earlier we have created a controller class using

Spring MVC Annotations.

Then we have traced out the invocation of

required method at appropriate URL Pattern.

During this process we have made use of 2

annotations
@Controller and @RequestMapping.
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 Multi - Action Controller class

While writing the controller class ----------

We have clearly discussed the purpose of putting
@RequestMapping Annotation
i.e. This annotation on top of a method which is
residing in a controller class
In short ------ If we want the specified method to be
invoked by the front controller when a client enters an
URL on browser
Then its Request Mapping Pattern has to match with
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incoming request URL Pattern

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 Then the Front Controller would invoke this method for processing the
request only after finding the match bet request and annotated pattern

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If the incoming request URL Pattern is like this ---------------

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 Multi - Action Controller class

The method which we write here in controller

class -------------
for the purpose of handling an incoming request

Is called as ---------- Request Handler method.

Now it reasonably obvious to ask that ---------

Can we have such multiple methods ???

Which can be mapped to different URL Patterns ???

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Let us add one more request handler method in controller class

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 Here we have added one more method with name hiworld()

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Just observe Request Mapping Pattern at annotation

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 Multi - Action Controller class

Like this we can write as many request handler

methods in one controller class.

In this case -------- client need to type correct URL

Pattern which should be specific to the
annotation value.

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 So in this case ----- if a client is going
to type above URL ---------

The Front Controller would make a call

to this method for further processing of
request.

And if ----- if a client is going to type the

below URL ---------

The Front Controller would make a call

to this method for further processing of
request.

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 Multi - Action Controller class

SO we can conclude that the incoming request

pattern would get match up with
@RequestMapping annotation value

Which we are specifying at the top of Request

Handling Method

With this Front Controller gives call to

corresponding method.
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 Multi - Action Controller class

Up until now ------- we were placing the

@requestMapping Annotation on the top of
method
So that it would be treated as Method Level
Annotation.

However ------- Spring also supports an

annotation which is treated as Class Level
Annotation
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 Class Level Annotation

Now ---------- None of our earlier URL patterns will match because the
class level annotation will override the method level annotation
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 Class Level Annotation in Spring MVC

Here --------- the Method Level Annotations are

relative to the Class Level Annotations.

Means -------- if we want make a call to

helloworld() method ------------- then URL request
should be like as follows

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 Multi - Action Controller class

SO if we are using Class Level Annotations as well

-------------

The pattern specified in Class Level Annotation

should precede the pattern in individual
Method Level Annotation.

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 Use of one more Annotation

Now let us make a small change in the pattern at

method level annotation.
@RequestMapping("/welcome /countryName/userName “)

I have added countryName and userName in

the pattern.

Now what will be the response of the browser ?

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 Use of one more Annotation

Even for this change ---------- our application

behaves properly with following Browser URL
http://localhost:8181/FifthSpringMVCProject/welcome/countryName/userName

Now we will have more specific change in URL

Pattern at browser.
SO that we enter value of username instead of
hardcoded “username” string.
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 Use of one more Annotation

So the URL
http://localhost:8181/FifthSpringMVCProject/welcome/countryName/userName

Is now used as
http://localhost:8181/FifthSpringMVCProject/welcome/countryName/sachin

Now will the application will invoke the intended

method ???

Off course not !!! And this is but obvious !!!

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 Use of one more Annotation

Now ----------- what if I want to make it with

this URL only by treating “sachin” as a value
of the string in URL
Instead of hardcoded value in URL

How would I do that ??

Answer is using curly braces over “userName”

String
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 Use of one more Annotation

If I put curly braces on the “userName” string

Then the end user is allowed to substitute the value of
userName with any other value.

So now after this change -------- when I request using

this URL ------------ the Front Controller should happily
make a request to this method.

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 Use of one more Annotation

What if in this method ---------- I would want

to retrieve the value of {userName} coming
from incoming request.

This can be done using @pathvariable

annotation.

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 Use of one more Annotation
This annotation can be placed inside the code as
follows….
public ModelAndView
helloWorld(@PathVariable(“userName”) String name {

Here with this annotation ------- I am asking Spring

Framework ------- When the front Controller would invoke
this method --------- then please bind the username value
which is coming from incoming request URL with this
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name variable
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 Use of one more Annotation

And further ----------- in the method I should

be able to use this name variable which is
having userName value.

Here the @Pathariable Annotation binds

userName value coming from incoming
request with name variable.
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 Use of one more Annotation

Further we can send this userName value

back to client with response message.

When we check these things on browser

-------- We will definitely find that the
application is responding as per
expectations.
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 http://localhost:8181/FifthSpringMVCProject/welcome/countryName/sachin

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 Use of one more Annotation

What if I do the same thing with

countryName Here ??????
As we did with userName

Now the user will provide the value of

countryName aslo in URL instead of hardcoded
string.

And further our method would retrieve both

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userName and countryName.

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 Use of one more Annotation

So now include coutryNmae also in curly

braces.

Then put one more @PathVariable

annotation for countryName.

And then include the country variable in the

response message.
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We are done !!!
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 Use of one more Annotation

Now one more variant regarding

@PathVariable annotation.

What if we are tied of putting many

@PathVariable annotations ------------ in
method arguments as we did earlier -------

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 Use of one more Annotation

In this case Spring says ------------ If you put

the PathVariable Annotation on a map ----

Then Spring will put all these path variables

----------- which we have put in the curly
braces ------------

In the specified map ------------ as a name

value pair
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 Use of one more Annotation

So what it means is ---------

In the method body ------------ we can simply

retrieve a particular path variable ----------

by providing its name as a key to the Map

So here in the Map ----------- nothing has

changed from earlier.
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 Use of one more Annotation

Earlier I was retrieving the value od

countryName and userName by providing
many path variable annotations in the
method argument.

Now ------- I am retrieving all those values

using one path variable annotation on a
pathvars Map
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 Use of one more Annotation

And here ------------ I am retrieving the values

of countryName and userName ---------

by providing ------------ the name to the Map

as a Key.

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 Use of one more Annotation

One important aspect of Map with

@PathVariable Annotation

We need place MVC Annotation Driven tag in

the configuration file like this

<mvc:annotation-driven/> ------ just below

the component-scan statement
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