INDEX PROPERTY <html:form> with nested beans

[Prithwish Ghosh]

How do I create a HTML form having indexed property control from multiple nested beans. My code is below -

Bean classes

 
public class EmpDeptBean {
    private Employee [] edetails;
    private Department [] ddetails;
    
    public CommonBean() {
	this.edetails = new Employee[5];
	this.ddetails = new Department[5];
	
	for(int i=0; i<5; i++) {
	    this.edetails[i] = new Employee();
	    this.ddetails[i] = new Department();
	}
    }
    
    public Employee[] getEdetails() {
        return edetails;
    }
    public void setEdetails(Employee[] edetails) {
        this.edetails = edetails;
    }
    public Department[] getDdetails() {
        return ddetails;
    }
    public void setDdetails(Department[] ddetails) {
        this.ddetails = ddetails;
    }
    
    // INNER CLASS FOR EMPLOYEE
    public class Employee {	
	private String empno;
	private String empname;
	private Double empsal;
	
	public Employee() {
	}
	public String getEmpno() {
	    return empno;
	}
	public void setEmpno(String empno) {
	    this.empno = empno;
	}
	public String getEmpname() {
	    return empname;
	}
	public void setEmpname(String empname) {
	    this.empname = empname;
	}
	public Double getEmpsal() {
	    return empsal;
	}
	public void setEmpsal(Double empsal) {
	    this.empsal = empsal;
	}
    }
    
    // INNER CLASS FOR DEPARTMENT
    public class Department {
	private String deptid;
	private String deptname;
	private String deptloc;

	public Department() {
	}
	public String getDeptid() {
	    return deptid;
	}
	public void setDeptid(String deptid) {
	    this.deptid = deptid;
	}
	public String getDeptname() {
	    return deptname;
	}
	public void setDeptname(String deptname) {
	    this.deptname = deptname;
	}
	public String getDeptloc() {
	    return deptloc;
	}
	public void setDeptloc(String deptloc) {
	    this.deptloc = deptloc;
	}
    }
}

public class PromotionBean {    
    private EmpDeptBean bean;
    private String config;

    public PromotionBean() {
    }
    public EmpDeptBean getBean() {
        return bean;
    }
    public void setBean(EmpDeptBean bean) {
        this.bean = bean;
    }
    public String getConfig() {
        return config;
    }
    public void setConfig(String config) {
        this.config = config;
    }
}

My struts-config.xml -

.....
.....

 <form-bean name="DetailsCommonBean" type="com.PromotionBean"/>

.....
.....

  <action name="DetailsCommonBean"
	  path="/employee/PromotionInit" 
	  scope="session" 
	  type="com.PromotionFormInitialized">
      <forward name="success" path="/pages/EmpployeeDept.jsp"/>
  </action>
  <action name="DetailsCommonBean"
	  path="/employee/PromotionProcess" 
	  scope="session" 
	  type="com.PromotionFormProcess">
      <forward name="success" path="/pages/EmpployeeDept.jsp"/>
  </action>
.....
.....

JSP Pages -

  
<table align="center" width="98%" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1">
  <tr>
    <td> Emp id </td>
    <td> Name </td>
    <td> Salary </td>		    
  </tr>
  
<logic:iterate id="edetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.edetails" indexId="idx"> 
  <tr>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empno" indexed="true" />  </td>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empname" indexed="true" />      </td>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empsal" indexed="true" />   </td>		      
  </tr>
 </logic:iterate>
 
</table>


<table align="center" width="98%" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
  <tr>
    <td> Dept Id </td>
    <td> Dept Name </td>
    <td> Location </td>
  </tr>

  <logic:iterate id="ddetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.ddetails" indexId="idx"> 
  <tr>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptid" indexed="true" />  </td>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptname" indexed="true" />  </td>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptloc" indexed="true" />  </td>
  </tr>
 </logic:iterate>

</table>

This code generates html code like this -

<input type="text" name="ddetails[0].deptid" >
<input type="text" name="ddetails[0].deptname" >
<input type="text" name="ddetails[0].deptloc" >

<input type="text" name="ddetails[1].deptid" >
<input type="text" name="ddetails[1].deptname" >
<input type="text" name="ddetails[1].deptloc" >

.........
........

<input type="text" name="edetails[0].empid" >
<input type="text" name="edetails[0].empname" >
<input type="text" name="edetails[0].emploc" >

<input type="text" name="edetails[1].empid" >
<input type="text" name="edetails[1].empname" >
<input type="text" name="edetails[1].emploc" >

So when I'm submitting the form its throwing NullPointerException. Is it possible to create index property control with multiple nested beans ?
Is possible then how to do that ?
As I understood about index property and class nesting hierarchy, HTML code should generate like below -

<input type="text" name="bean.ddetails[0].deptid" >
<input type="text" name="bean.ddetails[0].deptname" >
<input type="text" name="bean.ddetails[0].deptloc" >
.....
.....
<input type="text" name="bean.edetails[0].empid" >
<input type="text" name="bean.edetails[0].empname" >
<input type="text" name="bean.edetails[0].emploc" >

So that after submit the form, beans are properly filled from respective text box values.

[Sagar Rohankar]

Ok, Need one information, are you submitting or displaying employee department data through this JSP ?
If you are submitting then post the code for html:action tag

    
<table   border="1"  >
  <tr>
    <td> Emp id </td>
    <td> Name </td>
    <td> Salary </td>		    
  </tr>
  
<logic:iterate id="edetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.edetails" indexId="idx"> 
  <tr>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empno" indexed="true" />  </td>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empname" indexed="true" />      </td>
      <td> <html:text property="edetails" name="empsal" indexed="true" />   </td>		      
  </tr>
 </logic:iterate>
 
</table>


<table   border="0"  >
  <tr>
    <td> Dept Id </td>
    <td> Dept Name </td>
    <td> Location </td>
  </tr>

  <logic:iterate id="ddetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.ddetails" indexId="idx"> 
  <tr>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptid" indexed="true" />  </td>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptname" indexed="true" />  </td>
    <td> <html:text property="ddetails" name="deptloc" indexed="true" />  </td>
  </tr>
 </logic:iterate>

</table>
  

And there is a good resource here regarding Indexed properties, you may be interested !!

[Prithwish Ghosh]

Sorry ! I've not mentioned the <html:form> tag. My <html:form tag points to the "/employee/PromotionProcess" action.
First I'm showing a form where user enters employee and department data tabular wise, i.e. multiple record at a time can be entered. After submit I'll take those data in an action and store them in
database. But data is not coming after submit. BeanUtility simple fails to map the text box names with the beans properties.

[Sagar Rohankar]

Prithwish Ghosh wrote: But data is not coming after submit.

Firstly, I think, the struts bean extends ActionForm class, which I don't see in your bean/form class.
And
Have you checked out whether the data is getting stored into Bean, print out this data into your action class, like

PromotionBean bean = (PromotionBean)form;
print(bean.getBean().getEdetails()[0].getEmpno());

[Prithwish Ghosh]

Thanks Sagar for your help. I've searched out your given links and found some tricky things which gave me a different idea. I've changed my JSP page like below and my problem is solved -

 <table align="center" width="98%" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1">  
   <tr>  
     <td> Emp id </td>  
     <td> Name </td>  
     <td> Salary </td>             
   </tr>  
     
 <logic:iterate id="edetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.edetails" indexId="idx">   
   <tr>  
       <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empno" %>'  />  </td>  
       <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empname" %>'  />      </td>  
       <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empsal" %>'  />   </td>             
   </tr>  
  </logic:iterate>  
    
 </table>  
   
   
 <table align="center" width="98%" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">  
   <tr>  
     <td> Dept Id </td>  
     <td> Dept Name </td>  
     <td> Location </td>  
   </tr>  
   
   <logic:iterate id="ddetails" name="DetailsCommonBean" property="bean.ddetails" indexId="idx">   
   <tr>  
     <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.ddetails["+idx+"].deptid" %>'  />  </td>  
     <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.ddetails["+idx+"].deptname" %>'  />  </td>  
     <td> <html:text property='<%="bean.ddetails["+idx+"].deptloc" %>'  />  </td>  
   </tr>  
  </logic:iterate>  
   
 </table> 

Now this code generates HTML as I was looking for. Thanks to JavaRanch forum too.

[Sagar Rohankar]

Prithwish Ghosh wrote:Thanks Sagar for your help. I've searched out your given links and found some tricky things which gave me a different idea. I've changed my JSP page like below and my problem is solved -

I like your efforts, some people who joined JR just want ready code, but you searched and help yourself and that's the best thing of this forum, Its helps you to learn and engaged in some brainy discussion..

And you're welcome.

And lastly, you can avoid those scriptlet

<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empno" %>

and try some Els

${bean.edetails[idx].empno}

[Prithwish Ghosh]

Actually I was not confident about EL. After your suggestion I've looked for EL tutorials and now using EL in my code like this -

property="<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empno" %>"
change to 
property="bean.edetails[${idx}].empno"

Now it's working smoothly.
Thanks again.

[Sagar Rohankar]

Ok, I might wrong in explaining EL, Using El you can replace this whole,

<html:text property='<%="bean.edetails["+idx+"].empno" %>'  />  

as a

${bean.edetails[idx].empno}  

EL can access beans properties just by giving there properties name, so it expands as,

bean.getEdetails()[idx].getEmpno();

[David Newton]

That wouldn't render the text input element, though.

[Sagar Rohankar]

David Newton wrote:That wouldn't render the text input element, though.

Oops, Yes. As I'm learning EL, tends to convert every thing into EL, forgetting its html:input :(