Search code examples
jsfjsf-2childrencomposite-component

In JSF2, how to know if composite component has children?


I'm writing a composite component, you have a special tag named:

<composite:insertChildren />

Which inserts all the component's children there. Is there any way to know whether the component has children? Like a boolean value that could go on a "rendered" attribute.


Solution

  • The basic expression you're after is the following:

    #{cc.childCount} or more elaborately:

    #{component.getCompositeComponentParent(component).childCount}

    E.g. the following composite component:

    <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
        xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"  
        xmlns:cc="http://java.sun.com/jsf/composite"
    >
        <cc:interface/>
    
        <cc:implementation>             
            <h:outputText value="Children: #{cc.childCount}" />
        </cc:implementation>    
    </html>
    

    used on the following Facelet:

    <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
        xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"    
        xmlns:test="http://java.sun.com/jsf/composite/test"    
    >
    
        <h:body>
    
            <test:myCom>
                <h:outputText value="first child" />
                <h:outputText value="second child" />
            </test:myCom>
    
        </h:body>
    </html>
    

    will print Children: 2.

    Thus #{cc.childCount != 0} will tell you whether a composite component has children or not.