Spring Form Binding with FreeMarker
04 March 2015
I was using FreeMarker with my previous project as my email templating engine but for now I'm using it for all my views. I will show here the macros that bind a Spring form.
One might wonder why I'm leaving JSP but the whole truth is I'm typing less with FreeMarker. I read this post from stackhunter.com and among the 10 reasons mentioned I like these:
- No Classloading PermGen Issues
- JSON Support
- Not Just for the Web
Importing Spring
<#import "/spring.ftl" as spring/> is the import statement to be able to use <@spring> within the view.
Binding your modelAttribute or command
<@spring.bind "form"/> where form is the key to the mapped object exposed by your controller. You can pass the
binded form in your HTTP post within your controller using @ModelAttribute or @Command. Nested fields can be
used to access an object within binded form such as form.object.property.
| macro | definition |
|---|---|
| <@spring.message code/> | output a string from a resource bundle based on the code parameter |
| <@spring.messageText code, text/> | output a string from a resource bundle based on the code parameter, falling back to the value of the default parameter |
| <@spring.url relativeUrl/> | prefix a relative URL with the application's context root |
| <@spring.formInput path, attributes, fieldType/> | standard input field for gathering user input |
| <@spring.formHiddenInput path, attributes/> | hidden input field for submitting non-user input |
| <@spring.formPasswordInput path, attributes/> | standard input field for gathering passwords. Note that no value will ever be populated in fields of this type |
| <@spring.formTextarea path, attributes/> | large text field for gathering long, freeform text input |
| <@spring.formSingleSelect path, options, attributes/> | drop down box of options allowing a single required value to be selected |
| <@spring.formMultiSelect path, options, attributes/> | a list box of options allowing the user to select 0 or more values |
| <@spring.formRadioButtons path, options separator, attributes/> | a set of radio buttons allowing a single selection to be made from the available choices |
| <@spring.formCheckboxes path, options, separator, attributes/> | a set of checkboxes allowing 0 or more values to be selected |
| <@spring.formCheckbox path, attributes/> | a single checkbox |
| <@spring.showErrors separator, classOrStyle/> | simplified display of validation errors for the bound field |
Source: docs.spring.io