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jsfcomposite-component

Validator with attributes for composite component


I want to create validator for composite component where I want to pass few attributes. This is how code looks like (it's not original code but is implemented in the same way):

Composite component (compositeComponent.xhtml)

<h:body>
    <composite:interface componentType="compositeComponent">
        <composite:attribute name="name" required="true" />
        <composite:attribute name="value" required="true" />
        <composite:attribute name="values" required="true" />
        <composite:editableValueHolder name="validator" targets="#{cc.attrs.id}"/>
    </composite:interface>
    <composite:implementation>
        <h:selectOneMenu value="#{cc.attrs.value}" id="#{cc.attrs.id}">
            <f:selectItems value="#{cc.attrs.values}" var="item" itemValue="#{item.value}" itemLabel="#{item.label}" />
            <composite:insertChildren/>
        </h:selectOneMenu>
    </composite:implementation>
</h:body>

As you can see I want to pass validator to h:selectOneMenu. Composite component can be (to be more precisely 'should be' because it currently doesn't work) used in this way:

<ns:compositeComponent name="myComp" value="#{controller.value}" values="#{controller.values}">
    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator" for="validator">
        <f:attribute name="param1" value="param1Value"/>
        <f:attribute name="param1" value="param1Value"/>
    </validator>
</ns:compositeComponent>

I tested this code and validator is called if i don't pass attributes into it.

<ns:compositeComponent name="myComp" value="#{controller.value}" values="#{controller.values}">
    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator" for="validator"/>
</ns:compositeComponent>

I found that attributes can be passed in this way:

<ns:compositeComponent name="myComp" value="#{controller.value}" values="#{controller.values}">
    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator" for="validator"/>
    <f:attribute name="param1" value="param1Value"/>
    <f:attribute name="param1" value="param1Value"/>
</ns:compositeComponent>

but (as far as I know) only validator will be injected to custom component (thats why for="validator" is set on validator) so I won't be able to get these attributes. How can I pass attributes to this validator?

BTW. If it's possible I will want to pass parameters as nested elements because it looks more clear. This one:

<f:selectOneMenu>
    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator">
        <f:attribute name="param1" value="value1"/>
    </f:validator>
</f:selectOneMenu>

instead of this one:

<f:selectOneMenu>
    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator"/>
    <f:attribute name="param1" value="value1"/>
</f:selectOneMenu>

Solution

  • I found that <f:validator/> cant have nested elements so this one won't work:

    <f:validator validatorId="myValidator">
        <f:attribute name="param1" value="value1"/>
    </f:validator>
    

    To solve my problem I've created custom validator. To do it I had to:

    Create taglib.xml file in WEB-INF dir.

    <?xml version="1.0"?>
    <!DOCTYPE facelet-taglib PUBLIC
      "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Facelet Taglib 1.0//EN"
      "http://java.sun.com/dtd/facelet-taglib_1_0.dtd">
    <facelet-taglib>
        <namespace>http://customtag.com/tags</namespace>
        <tag>
            <tag-name>uniqueValidator</tag-name>
            <validator>
                <validator-id>simpleValidator</validator-id>
            </validator>
            <!-- To show hints on this component add this but it's not required -->
            <attribute>
                <description>List of elements to check. Validation succeeds if each item is unique (equals() method is used to compare items).</description>
                <name>items</name>
                <required>true</required>
            </attribute>
        </tag>
    </facelet-taglib>
    

    Register taglib.xml in web.xml

    <context-param>
        <param-name>javax.faces.FACELETS_LIBRARIES</param-name>
        <param-value>/WEB-INF/taglib.xml</param-value>
    </context-param>
    

    Write validator code

    package validator;
    
    import java.util.List;
    
    import javax.faces.component.UIComponent;
    import javax.faces.context.FacesContext;
    import javax.faces.validator.FacesValidator;
    import javax.faces.validator.Validator;
    import javax.faces.validator.ValidatorException;
    
    @FacesValidator("simpleValidator")
    public class SimpleValidator implements Validator {
    
        private List<Object> items;
    
        @Override
        public void validate(final FacesContext arg0, final UIComponent arg1, final Object arg2) throws ValidatorException {
            // use items list
        }
    
        public void setItems(final List<Object> items) {
            this.items = items;
        }
    
    }
    

    This is how it can be used in view / composite component:

    <mycomp:custom name="test11">
        <myval:uniqueValidator items="#{model.values}" for="validator"/>
    </mycomp:custom>
    

    Of course to use validator in custom component I had to define editableValueHolder and inject/paste it using insertChildren (see my question).