Velocity is a Java-based template engine, a simple and powerful development tool that allows you to easily create and render documents that format and present your data. In this guide, we hope to give an overview of the basics of development using Velocity.
Building Web Applications with Velocity
Velocity is often used for building web applications In order to use Velocity in a web app you'll need a servlet or servlet-based framework. The easiest way to get started is with VelocityViewServlet in the Velocity Tools subproject. You can also use any of a number of third party frameworks or build your own servlet using the techniques described in this document.We suggest you read this article on getting started with web applications for more detail on the various options.
Downloading Velocity
You can download the latest release version of Velocity or Velocity Tools from the main Apache Velocity download site. For Velocity itself, source is included with the binary download.
If you want to download the latest source, you can do so via the Subversion (svn) source control system, or download a complete nightly snapshot.
Instructions for building Velocity from source can be found in the Build document.
DependenciesVelocity uses elements of the Java 2 API such as collections, and therefore building requires the Java 2 Standard Edition SDK (Software Development Kit). To run Velocity, the Java 2 Standard Edition RTE (Run Time Environment) is required (or you can use the SDK, of course).
Velocity also is dependent upon a few packages for general functionality. They
are included in the build/lib directory for convenience, but
the default build target (see above) does not include them. If you use the
default build target, you must add the dependencies to your classpath.
org.apache.velocity.convert.WebMacro template conversion
utility.
There are quite a few resources and examples available to the programmer, and we recommend that you look at our examples, documentation and even the source code. Some great sources are:
src/java/...: all the source code to the
Velocity project
examples/app_example1: a simple
example showing how to use Velocity in an application program.
examples/app_example2: a simple
example showing how to use Velocity in an application program using the
Velocity application utility class.
examples/logger_example: a simple example
showing how to create a custom logging class and register it with
Velocity to receive all log messages.
examples/xmlapp_example: a simple example
showing how to use JDOM to read and access XML document data from
within a Velocity template. It also includes a demonstration of
a recursive Velocimacro that walks the document tree.
examples/event_example: An example that
demonstrates the use of the event handling API.
examples/anakia: example application
showing how to use Velocity for creating stylesheet renderings of xml data
docs: all the generated documentation for the
Velocity project in html
docs/api: the generated Javadoc
documentation for the Velocity project
test/templates: a large collection of template
examples in our testbed directory, these are a great source of useage
examples of VTL, the Velocity Template Language
examples/context_example: two examples
showing how the Velocity context can be extended. For advanced users.
All directory references above are relative to the distribution root directory.
When using Velocity in an application program or in a servlet (or anywhere, actually), you will generally do the following:
In code, using the singleton pattern via the
org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity class,
this looks like
import java.io.StringWriter;
import org.apache.velocity.VelocityContext;
import org.apache.velocity.Template;
import org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity;
import org.apache.velocity.exception.ResourceNotFoundException;
import org.apache.velocity.exception.ParseErrorException;
import org.apache.velocity.exception.MethodInvocationException;
Velocity.init();
VelocityContext context = new VelocityContext();
context.put( "name", new String("Velocity") );
Template template = null;
try
{
template = Velocity.getTemplate("mytemplate.vm");
}
catch( ResourceNotFoundException rnfe )
{
// couldn't find the template
}
catch( ParseErrorException pee )
{
// syntax error: problem parsing the template
}
catch( MethodInvocationException mie )
{
// something invoked in the template
// threw an exception
}
catch( Exception e )
{}
StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
template.merge( context, sw );
That's the basic pattern. It is very simple, isn't it? This is generally what happens when you use Velocity to render a template. You probably won't be writing code exactly like this - we provide a few tools to help make it even easier. However, no matter how to use Velocity the above sequence is what is happening either explicitly, or behind the scenes.
As of Velocity 1.2 and later, developers now have two options for using the Velocity engine, the singleton model and the separate instance model. The same core Velocity code is used for both approaches, which are provided to make Velocity easier to integrate into your Java application.
This is the legacy pattern, where there is only one instance of the Velocity
engine in the JVM (or web application, depending) that is shared by all.
This is very convenient as it
allows localized configuration and sharing of resources. For example, this
is a very appropriate model for use in a Servlet 2.2+ compliant web application
as each web application can have its own instance of Velocity, allowing
that web application's servlet to share resources like templates, a logger, etc.
The singleton is accessable via the org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity
class, and and example of use:
import org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity;
import org.apache.velocity.Template;
...
/*
* Configure the engine - as an example, we are using
* ourselves as the logger - see logging examples
*/
Velocity.setProperty(
Velocity.RUNTIME_LOG_LOGSYSTEM, this);
/*
* now initialize the engine
*/
Velocity.init();
...
Template t = Velocity.getTemplate("foo.vm");
New in version 1.2, the separate instance allows you to create, configure
and use as many instances of Velocity as you wish in the same JVM
(or web application.) This
is useful when you wish to support separate configurations, such as template
directories, loggers, etc in the same application. To use separate
instances, use the org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine
class. An example, which parallels the above singleton example, looks
like:
import org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine;
import org.apache.velocity.Template;
...
/*
* create a new instance of the engine
*/
VelocityEngine ve = new VelocityEngine();
/*
* configure the engine. In this case, we are using
* ourselves as a logger (see logging examples..)
*/
ve.setProperty(
VelocityEngine.RUNTIME_LOG_LOGSYSTEM, this);
/*
* initialize the engine
*/
ve.init();
...
Template t = ve.getTemplate("foo.vm");
As you can see, this is very simple and straightforward. Except for some simple syntax changes, using Velocity as a singleton or as separate instances requires no changes to the high-level structure of your application or templates.
As a programmer, the classes you should use to interact with the Velocity
internals are the org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity class if
using the singleton model, or org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine
if using the non-singleton model ('separate instance').
At no time should an application use the internal Runtime, RuntimeConstants,
RuntimeSingleton or RuntimeInstance classes in the
org.apache.velocity.runtime package, as these are intended for
internal use only and may change over time. As mentioned above,
the classes you should use
are located in the org.apache.velocity.app package, and are the
Velocity and VelocityEngine classes. If anything is
missing or needed from those classes, do not hesitate to suggest changes - these
classes are intended for the application developer.
The concept of the 'context' is central to Velocity, and is a common technique for moving a container of data around between parts of a system. The idea is that the context is a 'carrier' of data between the Java layer (or you the programmer) and the template layer ( or the designer ). You as the programmer will gather objects of various types, whatever your application calls for, and place them in the context. To the designer, these objects, and their methods and properties, will become accessable via template elements called references. Generally, you will work with the designer to determine the data needs for the application. In a sense, this will become an 'API' as you produce a data set for the designer to access in the template. Therefore, in this phase of the development process it is worth devoting some time and careful analysis.
While Velocity allows you to create your own context classes to support special needs and techniques (like a context that accesses an LDAP server directly, for example), a good basic implementation class called VelocityContext is provided for you as part of the distribution.
VelocityContext is suitable for all general purpose needs, and we strongly recommended that you use it. Only in exceptional and advanced cases will you need to extend or create your own context implementation.
Using VelocityContext is as simple as using a normal Java Hashtable class. While the interface contains other useful methods, the two main methods you will use are
public Object put(String key, Object value); public Object get(String key);
Please note that like a Hashtable, the value must be derived from java.lang.Object, and must not be null. Fundamental types like int or float must be wrapped in the appropriate wrapper classes.
That's really all there is to basic context operations. For more information, see the API documentation included in the distribution.
Support for Iterative Objects for #foreach()
As a programmer, you have great freedom in the objects that you put into the
context. But as with most freedoms, this one comes with a little bit of
responsibility, so understand what Velocity supports, and any issues that may
arise. Velocity supports serveral types of collection types suitable for use
in the VTL #foreach() directive.
Object [] Regular object array, not much needs to be said
here. Velocity will internally wrap your array in a class that provides an
Iterator interface, but that shouldn't concern you as the programmer, or the
template author.
java.util.Collection Velocity will use the
iterator() method to get an Iterator to use in the loop,
so if you are implementing a Collection interface on your object, please
ensure that iterator() returns a working Iterator.
java.util.Map Here, Velocity depends upon the
values() method of the interface to get a Collection
interface, on which iterator() is called to retrieve an Iterator
for the loop.
java.util.Iterator USE WITH CAUTION: This is currently
supported only provisionally - the issue of concern is the
'non-resettablity' of the Iterator. If a 'naked' Iterator is placed into
the context, and used in more than one #foreach(), subsequent #foreach()
blocks after the first will fail, as the Iterator doesn't reset.
java.util.Enumeration USE WITH CAUTION: Like
java.util.Iterator, this is currently
supported only provisionally - the issue of concern is the
'non-resettablity' of the Enumeration. If a 'naked' Enumeration
is placed into the context, and used in more than one #foreach(),
subsequent #foreach() blocks after the first will fail,
as the Enumeration doesn't reset.
In the case of the Iterator and Enumeration, it is
recommended that they are placed in the context only when it cannot be avoided,
and you should let Velocity find the appropriate reusable iterative interface when
that is sufficient and possible.
There are good reasons to use the java.util.Iterator interface
directly (large data sets via JDBC, for example), but if it can be
avoided, it might be better to use something else. By 'directly' , we meant
doing something like:
Vector v = new Vector();
v.addElement("Hello");
v.addElement("There");
context.put("words", v.iterator() );
where the Iterator itself is placed into the context. Instead, if you simply did:
context.put("words", v );
then all would be fine: Velocity would figure out that Vector implement
Collection (via List), and therefore will find the iterator()
method, and use that to get a 'fresh' Iterator for its use each time
it needs to. With just a plain Iterator (the first snippet above...),
once velocity has used it in a #foreach(), Velocity has
no way of getting a new one to use for the next #foreach()
it is used in. The result is no output from any subsequent
#foreach() blocks using that reference.
This above isn't meant to give the impression that iterating over collections in Velocity is something that requires great care and thought. Rather, the opposite is true, in general. Just be careful when you place an Iterator into the context.
Context ChainingAn innovative feature of Velocity's context design is the concept of context chaining. Also sometimes referred to as context wrapping, this advanced feature allows you to connect separate contexts together in a manner that makes it appear as one 'contiguous' context to the template.
This is best illustrated by an example:
VelocityContext context1 = new VelocityContext();
context1.put("name","Velocity");
context1.put("project", "Jakarta");
context1.put("duplicate", "I am in context1");
VelocityContext context2 = new VelocityContext( context1 );
context2.put("lang", "Java" );
context2.put("duplicate", "I am in context2");
template.merge( context2, writer );
In the code above, we have set up context2 such that it chains context1. This means that in the template, you can access any of the items that were put into either of the two VelocityContext objects, as long as there is no duplication of the keys used to add objects. If that is the case, as it is above for the key 'duplicate', the object stored in the nearest context in the chain will be available. In this example above, the object returned would be the string "I am in context2".
Note that this duplication, or 'covering', of a context item does not in any way harm or alter the covered object. So in the example above, the string "I am in context1" is alive and well, still accessable via context1.get("duplicate"). But in the example above, the value of the reference '$duplicate' in the template would be 'I am in context2', and the template has no access to the covered string 'I am in context1'.
Note also that you have to be careful when you are relying on the template
to add information to a context that you will examine later after the
rendering. The changes to the context via #set() statements
in a template will affect only the outer context. So make sure that you
don't discard the outer context, expecting the data from the template to
have been placed onto the inner one.
This feature has many uses, the most common so far is providing layered data access and toolsets.
As mentioned before, the Velocity context mechanism is also extendable,
but beyond the current scope of this guide. If you are interested,
please see the classes in the package org.apache.velocity.context
to see how the provided contexts are put together. Futher, there are a few
examples in the examples/context_example directory in the
distribution which show alternate implementations, including [a goofy] one
that uses a database as the backing storage.
Please note that these examples are unsupported and are there for demonstration/educational purposes only.
Objects Created in the TemplateThere are two common situations where the Java code must deal with objects created at runtime in the template:
When a template author calls a method of an object placed into the context by Java code.
#set($myarr = ["a","b","c"] ) $foo.bar( $myarr )
When a template adds objects to the context, the Java code can access those objects after the merge process is complete.
#set($myarr = ["a","b","c"] ) #set( $foo = 1 ) #set( $bar = "bar")
Dealing with these cases if very straighforward, as there are just a few things to know:
java.util.ArrayList objects when placed in the context
or passed to methods. Therefore, your methods that are designed to
accept arrays created in the template should be written with this
in mind.
java.util.Map.setFoo( int i ) with an int placed into the
context via #set() will work fine.
One of the features provided by the VelocityContext (or any Context derived from AbstractContext) is node specific introspection caching. Generally, you as a the developer don't need to worry about this when using the VelocityContext as your context. However, there is currently one known usage pattern where you must be aware of this feature.
The VelocityContext will accumulate intropection information about the syntax nodes in a template as it visits those nodes. So, in the following situation:
It is possible that your VelocityContext will appear to 'leak' memory (it is really just gathering more introspection information.) What happens is that it accumulates template node introspection information for each template it visits, and as template caching is off, it appears to the VelocityContext that it is visiting a new template each time. Hence it gathers more introspection information and grows. It is highly recommended that you do one or more of the following:
VelocityContext useThis = new VelocityContext( populatedVC );
This works because the outer context will store the introspection
cache data, and get any requested data from the inner context (as it is empty.)
Be careful though - if your template places data into the context and it's
expected that it will be used in the subsequent iterations, you will need to do
one of the other fixes, as any template #set() statements will be stored in
the outermost context. See the discussion in
Context chaining for more
information.
If you are using VelocityViewServlet or other web frameworks, you may never call Velocity directly. However, if you use Velocity for non-web purposes, or create your own web framework you will need to directly call the Velocity Engine similar to the fundamental pattern shown earlier. One important additional thing to remember is to initialize the Velocity Engine before using it to merge templates.
The Velocity Helper Class
Velocity contains an application utility class called Velocity
( org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity ). The purpose of this class
is to provide the necessary methods required to initialize Velocity, as well as
useful utility routines to make life easier in using Velocity. This class is
documented in the project's javadoc, so please look there for definitive
details. This documentation is intended to be of a tutorial nature; therefore
for compete API information, the Javadoc is the definitive source.
The Velocity runtime engine is a singleton instance that provides resource, logging and other services to all Velocity users running in the same JVM. Therefore, the runtime engine is initialized only once. You can attempt to initialize Velocity more than once, but only the first initialization will apply. The rest of the attempts will be ignored. The Velocity utility class currently provides five methods used in configuration of the runtime engine.
The five configuration methods are:
setProperty( String key, Object o )key with the value o. The value
is typically a String, but in special cases can also be a comma-separated
list of values (in a single String, ex."foo, bar, woogie") as well as other
things that will arise.
Object getProperty( String key )init()init( Properties p )java.util.Properties object passed
as an argument.
init( String filename )Note that in each case, the default properties will be used as a base configuration, and any additional properties specified by the application will replace individual defaults. Any default properties not overwritten will remain in effect. This has the benefit that only the properties you are interested in changing need to be specified, rather than a complete set.
Another thing to note is that the init() calls may be called
more than once without harm in an application. However, the first call to any
of the init() functions will configure the engine with the
configuration properties set at that point, and any further configuration
changes or init() calls will be ignored.
The most common approaches to initializing Velocity will be something like:
java.util.Properties, and then
call either init( filename ) or init( Properties )
setProperty()
and then call init(). This method is generally used by more advanced
applications that already have their own configuration management system -
this allows the application so configure Velocity based upon values it generates
at runtime, for example.
Once the runtime is initialized, you can do with it what you wish.. This mostly revolves around rendering templates into an output stream, and the Velocity utility class allows you to do this easily. Currently, here are the methods and a brief description of what they do:
evaluate( Context context, Writer out, String logTag,
String instring )evaluate( Context context, Writer writer, String logTag,
InputStream instream )invokeVelocimacro( String vmName, String namespace, String params[],
Context context, Writer writer )evaluate() method above if you wish. Here you
simply name the vm you wish to be called, create an array of args to the VM,
a Context of data, and Writer for the output. Note that the VM args
must be the 'keys' of the data objects in the Context, rather than
literal data to be used as the arg. This will probably change.
mergeTemplate( String templateName, Context context, Writer writer )
boolean templateExists( String name ) name is able to be found by
the currently configured resource loaders.
Once we know about these basic helpers, it is easy to write Java program that uses Velocity. Here it is:
import java.io.StringWriter;
import org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity;
import org.apache.velocity.VelocityContext;
public class Example2
{
public static void main( String args[] )
{
/* first, we init the runtime engine. Defaults are fine. */
Velocity.init();
/* lets make a Context and put data into it */
VelocityContext context = new VelocityContext();
context.put("name", "Velocity");
context.put("project", "Jakarta");
/* lets render a template */
StringWriter w = new StringWriter();
Velocity.mergeTemplate("testtemplate.vm", context, w );
System.out.println(" template : " + w );
/* lets make our own string to render */
String s = "We are using $project $name to render this.";
w = new StringWriter();
Velocity.evaluate( context, w, "mystring", s );
System.out.println(" string : " + w );
}
}
When we run this program, and have the template testtemplate.vm
in the same directory as our program (because we used the default
configuration properties, and the defaul place to load templates
from is the current directory...), our output should be:
template : Hi! This Velocity from the Jakarta project. string : We are using Jakarta Velocity to render this.
where the template we used, testtemplate.vm, is
Hi! This $name from the $project project.
That's all there is to it! Note that we didn't have to use both
mergeTemplate() and evaluate() in our
program. They are both included there for demonstration purposes.
You will probably use only one of the methods, but depending
on you application requirements, you are free to do what you wish.
This appears to be a little different from the 'fundamental pattern'
that was mentioned at the beginning of this guide, but it really is the
same thing. First, you are making a context and filling it with
the data needed. Where this examples differs is that in the part of
the above example where mergeTemplate() is used,
mergeTemplate() is doing the work of getting the template
and merging it for you, using the lower-level calls in the Runtime class.
In the second example, you are making your template dynamically via the
String, so that is analgous to the 'choose template' part of the process,
and the evaluate() method does the merging for you using
lower level calls.
So the example above sticks to the same simply pattern of using the Velocity template engine, but the utility functions do some of the repeated drudge work, or allow you other options for your template content other than template files.
Exceptions
Velocity may throw one of several exceptions during the parse / merge cycle. These
exceptions extend RuntimeException and do not need to explicitly caught,
although each includes specific properties that may help in presenting
useful error messages to the end user. The exceptions
are found in the package org.apache.velocity.exception and are:
ResourceNotFoundExceptionParseErrorExceptionTemplateInitExceptionMethodInvocationExceptionIn each case, a message is put into the runtime log. For more information, see the Javadoc API documentation.
Miscellaneous Details
While the above example used the default properties, setting your own
properties is very simple. All you have to do is make a properties file
somewhere and pass the name of that file to the init(String)
method of the Velocity utility class, or make a
java.util.Properties object, add the desired properties and
values, and pass that to the init(Properties) method.
The latter method is convenient, because you can either fill it directly
from a separate properties file via the load() method, or even
better, you can fill it dynamically from your own application / framework's
property set at runtime. This gives you the freedom to combine all of the
properties for your app into one properties file.
If we wanted to use a different directory than the current directory to load our template from, we could do something like this:
...
import java.util.Properties;
...
public static void main( String args[] )
{
/* first, we init the runtime engine. */
Properties p = new Properties();
p.setProperty("file.resource.loader.path", "/opt/templates");
Velocity.init( p );
/* lets make a Context and put data into it */
...
And, assuming you have a directory /opt/templates and the template
testtemplate.vm is in there, then things would work just fine.
If you try this and have a problem, be sure to look at the velocity.log for
information - the error messages are pretty good for figuring out what is wrong.
If you need to place objects into the Velocity properties then you cannot use
the Velocity.init(Properties p) method. Instead you should create a new instance
of the org.apache.commons.collections.ExtendedProperties class, copy
all properties from an existing Properties object into the ExtendedProperties and
then add new properties with your objects to the ExtendedProperties object.
...
VelocityEngine velocityEngine = new VelocityEngine();
ExtendedProperties eprops = new ExtendedProperties();
// if you already have a Properties object do this
eprops.putAll(props);
// Now set the property with your object instance
eprops.setProperty("name", object);
...
velocityEngine.setExtendedProperties(eprops);
velocityEngine.init();
...
You may want to also consider using the Application Attributes feature described in the following section.
Application Attributes are name-value pairs that can be associated with
a RuntimeInstance (either via the VelocityEngine or
the Velocity singleton) and accessed from any part of the Velocity
engine that has access to the RuntimeInstance.
This feature was designed for applications that need to communicate between the application layer and custom parts of the Velocity engine, such as loggers, resource loaders, resource managers, etc.
The Application Attribute API is very simple. From the application layer, there
is a method of the VelocityEngine and the Velocity
classes:
public void setApplicationAttribute( Object key, Object value );
through which an application can store on Object under an application (or internal component) specified key. There are no restrictions on the key or the value. The value for a key may be set at any time - it is not required that this be set before init() is called.
Internal components can access the key-value pairs if they have access to the
object via the RuntimeServices interface, using the method
public Object getApplicationAttribute( Object key );
Note that internal components cannot set the value of the key, just get it. if the internal component must communicate information to the application layer, it must do so via the Object passed as the value.
Velocity contains a fine-grained event handling system that allows you to customize the operation of the engine. For example, you may change the text of references that are inserted into a page, modify which templates are actually included with #include or #parse, or capture all invalid references.
All event handler interfaces available in Velocity are in the package org.apache.velocity.app.event. You may create your own implementation or use one of the sample implementations in the package org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement. (See the javadocs for more details on the provided implementations).
org.apache.velocity.app.event.IncludeEventHandler
TheIncludeEventHandlercan be used to modify the template that is included in a page with#includeor#parse. For example, this may be used to make all includes relative to the current directory or to prevent access to unauthorized resources. MultipleIncludeEventHandler's may be chained, with the return value of the final call used as the name of the template to retrieve.public IncludeEventHandler extends EventHandler { public String includeEvent( String includeResourcePath, String currentResourcePath, String directiveName ); }
Available implementations include:
org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.IncludeNotFoundorg.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.IncludeRelativePath
org.apache.velocity.app.event.InvalidReferenceEventHandler
Normally, when a template contains a bad reference an error message is logged and (unless it is part of a#setor#if), the reference is included verbatim in a page. With theInvalidReferenceEventHandlerthis behavior can be changed. Substitute values can be inserted, invalid references may be logged, or an exception can be thrown. MultipleInvalidReferenceEventHandler's may be chained. The exact manner in which chained method calls behave will differ per method. (See the javadoc for the details).public InvalidReferenceEventHandler extends EventHandler { public Object invalidGetMethod( Context context, String reference, Object object, String property, Info info); public boolean invalidSetMethod( Context context, String leftreference, String rightreference, Info info); public Object invalidMethod( Context context, String reference, Object object, String method, Info info); }
Available implementations include:
org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.ReportInvalidReferences
org.apache.velocity.app.event.MethodExceptionEventHandler
When a user-supplied method throws an exception, theMethodExceptionEventHandleris invoked with the Class, method name and thrown Exception. The handler can either return a valid Object to be used as the return value of the method call or throw the passed-in or new Exception, which will be wrapped and propogated to the user as aMethodInvocationException. WhileMethodExceptionEventHandler's can be chained only the first handler is actually called -- all others are ignored.public interface MethodExceptionEventHandler extends EventHandler { public Object methodException( Class claz, String method, Exception e ) throws Exception; }
Available implementations include:
org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.PrintExceptions
org.apache.velocity.app.event.NullSetEventHandler
When a #set() rejects an assignment due to the right hand side being an invalid or null reference, this is normally logged. TheNullSetEventHandlerallows you to 'veto' the logging of this condition. MultipleNullSetEventHandler's can be chained; each event handler is called in sequence until a false is returned.
public interface NullSetEventHandler extends EventHandler { public boolean shouldLogOnNullSet( String lhs, String rhs ); }
Available implementations include:
none provided
org.apache.velocity.app.event.ReferenceInsertionEventHandler
AReferenceInsertionEventHandlerallows the developer to intercept each write of a reference ($foo) value to the output stream and modify that output. MultipleReferenceInsertionEventHandler's may be chained with each step potentially altering the inserted reference.public interface ReferenceInsertionEventHandler extends EventHandler { public Object referenceInsert( String reference, Object value ); }
Available implementations include:
org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeHtmlReferenceorg.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeJavascriptReferenceorg.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeSqlReferenceorg.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeXmlReference
Registering Event Handlers
You may register event handlers in either of two manners. The easiest way to register event handlers is to specify them in velocity.properties. (Event handlers configured in this manner are referred to as "global" event handlers). For example, the following property will escape HTML entities in any inserted reference.
eventhandler.referenceinsertion.class = org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeHtmlReference
Most event handler interfaces will also permit event handlers to be chained together. Such a chain may be in a comma separated list or as additional lines with a property/value pair. For example, the following event handler properties install two ReferenceInsertionEventHandler's. The first will apply to references starting with "msg" (for example $msgText) and will escape HTML entities (e.g. turning & into &). The second will escape all references starting with "sql" (for example $sqlText) according to SQL escaping rules. (note that in these examples, the first two properties given relate to the event handler configuration while the second two properties are used by the specific event handler implementation).
eventhandler.referenceinsertion.class = org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeHtmlReference eventhandler.referenceinsertion.class = org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeSqlReference eventhandler.escape.html.match = /msg.*/ eventhandler.escape.sql.match = /sql.*/
Event handlers may also be attached to a context via an EventCartridge. This allows event handlers to be tied more closely to a specific template merge or group of merges. The event handler will automatically be injected with the current context if it implements the ContextAware interface. (Due to thread-safety reasons this is not possible with global event handlers).
The following code shows how to register an event handler with an EventCartridge and a context.
...
import org.apache.velocity.app.event.EventCartridge;
import org.apache.velocity.app.event.ReferenceInsertionEventHandler;
import org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeHtmlReference;
import org.apache.velocity.app.event.implement.EscapeSqlReference;
...
public class Test
{
public void myTest()
{
....
/**
* Make a cartridge to hold the event handlers
*/
EventCartridge ec = new EventCartridge();
/*
* then register and chain two escape-related handlers
*/
ec.addEventHandler(new EscapeHtmlReference());
ec.addEventHandler(new EscapeSqlReference());
/*
* and then finally let it attach itself to the context
*/
ec.attachToContext( context );
/*
* now merge your template with the context as you normally
* do
*/
....
}
}
Velocity's runtime configuration is controlled by a set of configuration keys listed below. Generally, these keys will have values that consist of either a String, or a comma-separated list of Strings, referred to as a CSV for comma-separated values.
There is a set of default values contained in Velocity's jar, found in /src/java/org/apache/velocity/runtime/defaults/velocity.defaults, that Velocity uses as its configuration baseline. This ensures that Velocity will always have a 'correct' value for its configuration keys at startup, although it may not be what you want.
Any values specified before init() time will replace the default values. Therefore, you only have toconfigure velocity with the values for the keys that you need to change, and not worry about the rest. Further, as we add more features and configuration capability, you don't have to change your configuration files to suit - the Velocity engine will always have default values.
Please sees the section above Using Velocity for discussion on the configuration API.
Below are listed the configuration keys that control Velocity's behavior. Organized by category, each key is listed with its current default value to the right of the '=' sign.
Runtime Log
runtime.log = velocity.log
Full path and name of log file for error, warning,
and informational messages. The location, if not absolute, is
relative to the 'current directory'.
runtime.log.logsystem
This property has no default value. It is used to give Velocity an
instantiated instance of a logging class that supports the interface
org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.LogChute, which allows
the combination of Velocity log messages with your other application
log messages. Please see the section
Configuring Logging
for more information.
runtime.log.logsystem.class =
org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.AvalonLogChute
Class to be used for the Velocity-instantiated log system.
runtime.log.invalid.references = true
Property to turn off the log output when a reference isn't valid.
Good thing to turn off in production, but very valuable
for debugging.
runtime.log.logsystem.avalon.logger = name
Allows user to specify an existing logger name
in the Avalon hierarchy
without having to wrap with a LogChute interface. Note:
You must also specify
runtime.log.logsystem.class =
org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.AvalonLogChute as the default
logsystem may change. There is no guarantee that the Avalon
log system will remain the default log system.
Character Encoding
input.encoding = ISO-8859-1
Character encoding for input (templates). Using this, you can use
alternative encoding for your templates, such as UTF-8.
output.encoding = ISO-8859-1
Character encoding for output streams from the VelocityServlet and Anakia.
#foreach() Directive
directive.foreach.counter.name = velocityCount
Used in the #foreach() directive, defines the string to be used as the
context key for the loop count. A template would access
the loop count as $velocityCount.
directive.foreach.counter.initial.value = 1
Default starting value for the loop counter reference in a #foreach() loop.
directive.foreach.maxloops = -1
Maximum allowed number of loops for a #foreach() statement.
#set() Directive
directive.set.null.allowed = false
If true, having a right hand side of a #set() statement with
an invalid reference or null value will set the left hand side to null.
If false, the left hand side will stay the same.
#include() and #parse() Directive
directive.include.output.errormsg.start
= <!-- include error :
directive.include.output.errormsg.end
= see error log -->
Defines the beginning and ending tags for an in-stream error message in the
case of a problem with the #include() directive. If both the .start and .end
tags are defined, an error message will be output to the stream, of the
form '.start msg .end' where .start and .end refer to the property values.
Output to the render stream will only occur if both the .start and .end
(next) tag are defined.
directive.parse.max.depth = 10
Defines the allowable parse depth for a template. A template may #parse()
another template which itself may have a #parse() directive. This value
prevents runaway #parse() recursion.
Resource Management
resource.manager.logwhenfound = true
Switch to control logging of 'found' messages from resource manager.
When a resource is found for the first time, the resource name
and classname of the loader that found it will be noted in the
runtime log.
resource.manager.cache.class
Declares the class to be used
for resource caching. The current default is
org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.ResourceCacheImpl
which uses a LRU Map to prevent data from being held forever. You can
set the size of the LRU Map using the parameter
resource.manager.defaultcache.size. The dafault value
of the default cache size is currently 89.
resource.manager.defaultcache.size
Sets the size of the
default implementation of the resource manager resource cache.
resource.loader = <name> (default = file)
Multi-valued key. Will accept CSV for value. Public name of a
resource loader to be used. This public name will then be used
in the specification of the specific properties for that resource loader.
Note that as a multi-valued key, it's possible to pass
a value like "file, class" (sans quotes), indicating that following
will be configuration values for two loaders.
<name>.loader.description
= Velocity File Resource Loader
Description string for the given loader.
<name>.resource.loader.class
= org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader
Name of implementation class for the loader. The default loader
is the file loader.
<name>.resource.loader.path = .
Multi-valued key. Will accept CSV for value. Root(s) from which the
loader loads templates. Templates may live in subdirectories of this root.
ex. homesite/index.vm This configuration key applies currently to the
FileResourceLoader and JarResourceLoader.
<name>.resource.loader.cache = false
Controls caching of the templates in the loader. Default is false, to make
life easy for development and debugging. This should be set to true for
production deployment. When 'true', the modificationCheckInterval
property applies. This allows for the efficiency of caching, with the
convenience of controlled reloads - useful in a hosted or ISP environment
where templates can be modifed frequently and bouncing the application or
servlet engine is not desired or permitted.
<name>.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 2
This is the number of seconds between modification checks when caching is
turned on. When this is an integer > 0, this represents the number of
seconds between checks to see if the template was modified. If the
template has been modified since last check, then it is reloaded and
reparsed. Otherwise nothing is done. When <= 0, no modification
checks will take place, and assuming that the property cache
(above) is true, once a template is loaded and parsed the first time it is used,
it will not be checked or reloaded after that until the application or
servlet engine is restarted.
To illustrate, here is an example taken right from the default Velocity properties, showing how setting up the FileResourceLoader is managed
resource.loader = file file.resource.loader.description = Velocity File Resource Loader file.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader file.resource.loader.path = . file.resource.loader.cache = false file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 2
Velocimacro
velocimacro.library = VM_global_library.vm
Multi-valued key. Will accept CSV for value.
Filename(s) of Velocimacro library to be loaded when the Velocity
Runtime engine starts. These Velocimacros are accessable to all
templates. The file is assumed to be relative to the root of the
file loader resource path.
velocimacro.permissions.allow.inline = true
Determines of the definition of new Velocimacros via the #macro() directive
in templates is allowed. The default value is true, meaning any template
can define and use new Velocimacros. Note that depending on other properties,
those #macro() statements can replace global definitions.
velocimacro.permissions.allow.inline.to.replace.global = false
Controls if a Velocimacro defind 'inline' in a template can replace
a Velocimacro defined in a library loaded at startup.
velocimacro.permissions.allow.inline.local.scope = false
Controls 'private' templates namespaces for Velocimacros. When true, a #macro()
directive in a template creates a Velocimacro that is accessable only from the
defining template. This means that Velocimacros cannot be shared unless they
are in the global or local library loaded at startup. (See above.) It also means
that templates cannot interfere with each other. This property also allows a technique
where there is a 'default' Velocimacro definition in the global or local library,
and a template can 'override' the implementation for use within that template.
This occurrs because when this property is true, the template's namespace is
searched for a Velocimacro before the global namespace, therefore allowing
the override mechanism.
velocimacro.context.localscope = false
Controls whether reference access (set/get) within a Velocimacro will change
the context, or be of local scope in that
Velocimacro.
velocimacro.library.autoreload = false
Controls Velocimacro library autoloading. When set to true
the source Velocimacro library for an invoked Velocimacro will be checked
for changes, and reloaded if necessary. This allows you to change and
test Velocimacro libraries without having to restart your application or
servlet container, just like you can with regular templates.
This mode only works when caching is off
in the resource loaders (e.g. file.resource.loader.cache = false ).
This feature is intended for development, not for production.
velocimacro.arguments.strict = false
When set to true, will throw a ParseErrorException when
parsing a template containing a macro with an invalid number of arguments.
Is set to false by default to maintain backwards compatibility with
templates written before this feature became available.
String Interpolation
runtime.interpolate.string.literals = true
Controls interpolation mechanism of VTL String Literals. Note that a VTL
StringLiteral is specifically a string using double quotes that is used
in a #set() statement, a method call of a reference, a parameter to a VM,
or as an argument to a VTL directive in general. See the VTL reference for
further information.
Parser Configuration
parser.pool.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.ParserPoolImpl
This property selects the implementation for the parser pool. This class
must implement ParserPool. Generally there is no reason to change this though
if you are building a high volume web application you might consider including
an alternate implementation that automatically adjusts the size of the pool.
parser.pool.size = 20
This property is used by the default pooling implementation to
set the number of parser instances that Velocity will
create at startup and keep in a pool. The default of 20 parsers
should be more than enough for most uses. In the event that Velocity
does run out of parsers, it will indicate so in the log, and
dynamically create overflow instances as needed. Note that these
extra parsers will not be added to the pool, and will be discarded
after use. This will result in very slow operation compared to the
normal usage of pooled parsers, but this is considered an exceptional
condition. A web application using Velocity as its view engine might
exhibit this behavior under extremely high concurrency (such as when
getting Slashdotted). If you see a corresponding message referencing
the parser.pool.size property in your log files, please
increment this property immediately to avoid performance degradation.
Pluggable Introspection
runtime.introspector.uberspect =
org.apache.velocity.util.introspection.UberspectImpl
This property sets the 'Uberspector', the introspection package that
handles all introspection strategies for Velocity. The default works just
fine, so only replace if you have something really interesting and special
to do.
Velocity has a few nice logging features to allow both simplicity and
flexibility. Without any extra configuration, Velocity will setup a
file-based logger that will output all logging messages to a file
called velocity.log in the 'current directory' where
Velocity was initialized. For more advanced users, you may integrate
your current logging facilities with Velocity to have all log messages
sent to your logger.
Starting with version 1.3, Velocity will automatically use either the Jakarta Avalon Logkit logger, or the Jakarta Log4j logger. It will do so by using whatever it finds in the current classpath, starting first with Logkit. If Logkit isn't found, it tries Log4j.
To utilize this feature, simply use the 'non-dependency' Velocity jar (because Logkit is baked into the jar with dependencies) and place either the logkit or log4j jar in your classpath.
In general, you have the following logging options:
Log4JLogChute class.
b) If your system still uses the deprecated Category, you can
configure Velocity to use the very deprecated
SimpleLog4JLogSystem class.
org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.LogChute and
then simply set the configuration property
runtime.log.logsystem.class with the
classname, and Velocity will create an instance of that class at init time.
You may specify the classname as you specify any other properties. See
the information on the
Velocity helper class as well as the
configuration keys and values.
Please note that the old org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.LogSystem
interface has been deprecated for v1.5 in favor of the new LogChute interface.
This is due to significant upgrades to our logging code that could not be
supported by the LogSystem interface. But don't worry, if you specify a
custom class that implements the LogSystem interface, it will still work.
However, it will generate deprecation warnings. You should upgrade your
custom logger to implement LogChute as soon as possible.
org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.LogChute interface. Then,
pass an instance of your logging class to Velocity via the
runtime.log.logsystem configuration key before
initializing the Velocity engine,
and Velocity will log messages to your application's logger.
See the information on the
Velocity helper class
as well as the
configuration keys and values.
Here is an example of how to configure Velocity to log to an existing Log4j Category.
import org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine;
import org.apache.velocity.runtime.RuntimeConstants;
import org.apache.log4j.Category;
import org.apache.log4j.BasicConfigurator;
public class Log4jCategoryExample
{
public static String CATEGORY_NAME = "velexample";
public static void main( String args[] )
throws Exception
{
/*
* configure log4j to log to console
*/
BasicConfigurator.configure();
Category log = Category.getInstance( CATEGORY_NAME );
log.info("Log4jCategoryExample: ready to start velocity");
/*
* now create a new VelocityEngine instance, and
* configure it to use the category
*/
VelocityEngine ve = new VelocityEngine();
ve.setProperty( RuntimeConstants.RUNTIME_LOG_LOGSYSTEM_CLASS,
"org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.SimpleLog4JLogSystem" );
ve.setProperty("runtime.log.logsystem.log4j.category",
CATEGORY_NAME);
ve.init();
log.info("follows initialization output from velocity");
}
}
Note that the above example can be found in examples/logger_example.
Here is an example of how to use an instantiation of your class that implements
Velocity's logging system as the logger. Note that we are not passing the name
of the class to use, but rather a living, existing instantiation of the class
to be used. All that is required is that it support the
LogChute interface.
import org.apache.velocity.runtime.log.LogChute;
import org.apache.velocity.runtime.RuntimeServices;
...
public class MyClass implements LogChute
{
...
public MyClass()
{
...
try
{
/*
* register this class as a logger with the Velocity singleton
* (NOTE: this would not work for the non-singleton method.)
*/
Velocity.setProperty(Velocity.RUNTIME_LOG_LOGSYSTEM, this );
Velocity.init();
}
catch (Exception e)
{
/*
* do something
*/
}
}
/**
* This init() will be invoked once by the LogManager
* to give you the current RuntimeServices intance
*/
public void init(RuntimeServices rsvc)
{
// do nothing
}
/**
* This is the method that you implement for Velocity to
* call with log messages.
*/
public void log(int level, String message)
{
/* do something useful */
}
/**
* This is the method that you implement for Velocity to
* call with log messages.
*/
public void log(int level, String message, Throwable t)
{
/* do something useful */
}
/**
* This is the method that you implement for Velocity to
* check whether a specified log level is enabled.
*/
public boolean isLevelEnabled(int level)
{
/* do something useful */
return someBooleanValue;
}
...
}
One of the fundamental and important parts about Velocity is the resource management system and the resource loaders. They are referred to as 'resources' here rather than 'templates' because the resource management system will also handle non-template reasources, specifically things that are loaded via the #include() directive.
The resource loader system if very flexible, allowing one or more resource loaders to be in operation at the same time. This allows tremendous flexibility in configuration and resource managment, and futher allows you to write your own resource loaders for your special needs.
There are currently four kinds of resource loaders that are included with Velocity,
each described below. Note that in the example configuration properties given,
a common name for the loader is shown
(ex.'file' in file.resource.loader.path). This 'common name'
may not work for your configuration. Please read the section on
resource configuration properties
to understand how this system works. Also, each of these loaders is
located in the package org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.
file.resource.loader.path = <path to root of templates>
file.resource.loader.cache = true/false
file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = <seconds between checks>
jar.resource.loader.path, where you provide the full location of
the jar(s) you wish to load resources from. To specify a jar for the loader.path
you use the standard JAR URL syntax of java.net.JarURLConnection.
url.resource.loader.root = <root URL path of templates>
url.resource.loader.cache = true/false
url.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = <seconds between checks>
org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.DataSourceResourceLoader.
Configuring the resource loaders for Velocity is straightforward. The properties that control the are listed in the resource configuration section, for further reference.
The first step in configuring one or more resource loaders is do
'declare' them by name to Velocity. Use the property
resource.loader and list one or more loader names.
You can use anything you want - these names are used to associate
configuration properties with a given loader.
resource.loader = file
That entry declares that we will have a resource loader known as 'file'. The next thing to do is to set the important properties. The most critical is to declare the class to use as the loader:
file.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader
In this case, we are telling velocity that we are setting up
a resource loadercalled 'file', and are using the class
org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader
to be the class to use.
The next thing we do is set the properties important
to this loader.
file.resource.loader.path = /opt/templates file.resource.loader.cache = true file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 2
Here, we set a few things. First, we set the path to find
the templates to be /opt/templates. Second, we
turned caching on, so that after a template or static file
is read in, it is cached in memory. And finally, we set
the modification check interval to 2 seconds, allowing Velocity
to check for new templates.
Those are the basics. What follows are a few examples of different configuraitons.
Do-nothing Default Configuration: As the name says, there is nothing you have to do or configure to get the default configuration. This configuration uses the FileResourceLoader with the current directory as the default resource path, and caching is off. As a properties set, this is expressed as:
resource.loader = file file.resource.loader.description = Velocity File Resource Loader file.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader file.resource.loader.path = . file.resource.loader.cache = false file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 0
Multiple Template Path Configuration: This configuration uses the FileResourceLoader with several directories as 'nodes' on the template search path. We also want to use caching, and have the templates checked for changes in 10 second intervals. As a properties set, this is expressed as:
resource.loader = file file.resource.loader.description = Velocity File Resource Loader file.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader file.resource.loader.path = /opt/directory1, /opt/directory2 file.resource.loader.cache = true file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 10
Multiple Loader Configuration : This configuration sets up three loaders at the same time, the FileResourceLoader, the ClasspathResourceLoader, and the JarResourceLoader. The loaders are set-up such that the FileResourceLoader is consulted first, then the ClasspathResourceLoader, and finally the JarResourceLoader. This would allow you to qickly drop a template into the file template area to replace on of the templates found in the classpath (usually via a jar) without having to rebuild the jar.
# # specify three resource loaders to use # resource.loader = file, class, jar # # for the loader we call 'file', set the FileResourceLoader as the # class to use, turn off caching, and use 3 directories for templates # file.resource.loader.description = Velocity File Resource Loader file.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.FileResourceLoader file.resource.loader.path = templatedirectory1, anotherdirectory, foo/bar file.resource.loader.cache = false file.resource.loader.modificationCheckInterval = 0 # # for the loader we call 'class', use the ClasspathResourceLoader # class.resource.loader.description = Velocity Classpath Resource Loader class.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.ClasspathResourceLoader # # and finally, for the loader we call 'jar', use the JarResourceLoader # and specify two jars to load from # jar.resource.loader.description = Velocity Jar Resource Loader jar.resource.loader.class = org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.JarResourceLoader jar.resource.loader.path = jar:file:/myjarplace/myjar.jar, jar:file:/myjarplace/myjar2.jar
Node that the three names 'file', 'class', and 'jar' are merely for your convenience and sanity. They can be anything you want - they are just used to associate a set of properties together. However, it is recommended that you use names that give some hint of the function.
Note that while all three require very little configuration information for proper operation, the ClasspathResourceLoader is the simplest.
Pluggable Resource Manager and Resource CacheThe Resource Manager is the main part of the resource (template and static content) management system, and is responsible for taking application requests for templates, finding them in the available resource loaders, and then optionally caching the parsed template. The Resource Cache is the mechanism that the Resource Manager uses to cache templates for quick reuse. While the default versions of these two facilities are suitable for most applications, for advanced users it now is possible to replace the default resource manager and resource cache with custom implementations.
A resource manager implementation must implement the
org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.ResourceManager interface.
A description of the requirements of a resource manager is out of scope for
this document. Implementors are encouraged to review the default implementation.
To configure Velocity to load the replacement implementation, use the
configuration key:
resource.manager.class
This key is also defined as a contstant
RuntimeConstants.RESOURCE_MANAGER_CLASS
A resource cache implementation must implement the
org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.ResourceCache interface
As with the resource manager, a description of the requirements of a
resource manager is out of scope for
this document. Implementors are encouraged to review the default implementation.
To configure Velocity to load the replacement implementation, use the
configuration key:
resource.manager.cache.class
This key is also defined as a contstant
RuntimeConstants.RESOURCE_MANAGER_CACHE_CLASS
A resource cache implementation may want to limit the cache size (rather than providing an unbounded cache which could consume all available memory). To configure Velocity to set the size for your cache, use the configuration key:
resource.manager.cache.size
This key is also defined as a contstant
RuntimeConstants.RESOURCE_MANAGER_CACHE_SIZE
Velocity allows you to specify the character encoding of your template resources on a template by template basis. The normal resource API's have been extended to take the encoding as an argument:
org.apache.velocity.app.Velocity:
public static Template getTemplate(String name, String encoding)
public static boolean mergeTemplate( String templateName, String encoding, Context context, Writer writer )
The value for the encoding argument is the conventional encoding specification supported by your JVM, for example "UTF-8" or "ISO-8859-1". For the official names for character sets, see here.
Note that this applies only to the encoding of the template itself - the output encoding is an application specific issue.
Velocity's flexibility and simple template language makes it an ideal environment for working with XML data. Anakia is an example of how Velocity is used to replace XSL for rendering output from XML. The Velocity site, including this documentation, is generated from XML source using Anakia. The Jakarta site is also rendered using Anakia.
Generally, the pattern for dealing with XML in Velocity is to use something like JDOM to process your XML into a data structure with convenient Java access. Then, you produce templates that access data directly out of the XML document - directly though the JDOM tree. For example, start with an XML document such as:
<document> <properties> <title>Developer's Guide</title> <author email="geirm@apache.org">Velocity Doc Team</author> </properties> </document>
Now make a little Java program that includes code similar to:
...
SAXBuilder builder;
Document root = null;
try
{
builder = new SAXBuilder(
"org.apache.xerces.parsers.SAXParser" );
root = builder.build("test.xml");
}
catch( Exception ee)
{}
VelocityContext vc = new VelocityContext();
vc.put("root", root.getRootElement());
...
(See the Anakia source for details on how to do this, or the Anakia
example in the examples directory in the distribution.)
Now, make a regular Velocity template:
<html>
<body>
The document title is
$root.getChild("document").getChild("properties")
.getChild("title").getText()
</body>
</html>
and render that template as you normally would, using the Context containing the JDOM tree. Of course, this isn't the prettiest of examples, but it shows the basics - that you can easily access XML data directly from a Velocity template.
One real advantage of styling XML data in Velocity is that you have
access to any other object or data that the application provides. You
aren't limited to just using the data present in the XML document.
You may add anything you want to the context to provide additional
information for your output, or provide tools to help make working
with the XML data easier. Bob McWhirter's
Werken Xpath
is one such useful tool - an example of how it is used in Anakia can be
found in org.apache.velocity.anakia.XPathTool.
One issue that arises with XML and Velocity is how to deal with XML entities. One technique is to combine the use of Velocimacros when you need to render an entity into the output stream:
## first, define the Velocimacro somewhere #macro(xenc $sometext)$tools.escapeEntities($sometext)#end ## and use it as #set( $sometext = " < " ) <text>#xenc($sometext)</text>
where the escapeEntities() is a method that does the escaping for you. Another trick would be to create an encoding utility that takes the context as a constructor parameter and only implements a method:
public String get(String key)
{
Object obj = context.get(key)
return (obj != null)
? Escape.getText( obj.toString() )
: "";
}
Put it into the context as "xenc". Then you can use it as:
<text>$xenc.sometext</text>
This takes advantage of Velocity's introspection process - it will try to call get("sometext") on the $xenc object in the Context - then the xenc object can then get the value from the Context, encode it, and return it.
Alternatively, since Velocity makes it easy to implement custom Context objects, you could implement your own context which always applies the encoding to any string returned. Be careful to avoid rendering the output of method calls directly, as they could return objects or strings (which might need encoding). Place them first into the context with a #set() directive and the use that, for example:
#set( $sometext = $jdomElement.getText() ) <text>$sometext</text>
The previous suggestions for dealing with XML entities came from Christoph Reck, an active participant in the Velocity community.
We hope this brief guide was a helpful introduction to using Velocity in your Java projects, and thank you for you interest in Velocity. We welcome any and all comments you may have about this documentation and the Velocity template engine itself.
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