JSF files inside WEB-INF directory, how do I access them?

Question

I want to put my JSF 2.0 xhtml files under WEB-INF\jsf. How do I access them then? I know that anything inside WEB-INF isn't exposed to the outside, so I need a controller to redirect me to the corresponding JSP, right? (This is also the model 2 pattern iirc).

Can I achieve this with a parameter inside web.xml/faces-config.xml? I think the FacesServlet is the controller of my webapp so it should serve this purpose?

And another question for understanding the Model 2 Pattern. Does every action have to go first to a servlet which then handles the next possible step? So a simple <a href="anotherPage.html" /> is forbidden in this pattern since it doesn't go to the controlling servlet?

Answer 1

I want to put my JSF 2.0 xhtml files under WEB-INF\jsf. How do I access them then?

You cannot. Files in /WEB-INF folder are not directly accessible.

There are two options to workaround the problem of JSF source files being public accessible.

1. Map the FacesServlet on *.xhtml instead of *.jsf.

2. Or, restrict direct access on *.xhtml by a <security-constraint> in web.xml.

   <security-constraint>
       <display-name>Restrict direct access to XHTML files</display-name>
       <web-resource-collection>
           <web-resource-name>XHTML files</web-resource-name>
           <url-pattern>*.xhtml</url-pattern>
       </web-resource-collection>
       <auth-constraint />
   </security-constraint> 
   

See also:

• Which XHTML files do I need to put in /WEB-INF and which not?
• JSF Facelets: Sometimes I see the URL is .jsf and sometimes .xhtml. Why?

---

And another question for understanding the Model 2 Pattern. Does every action have to go first to a servlet which then handles the next possible step?

The FacesServlet already does that. It's the controller. With JSF you already end up with a simple javabean as model and JSP/Facelets file as view. The FacesServlet as being the controller has already taken all the nasty work of request parameter gathering, validation, conversion, model updating and navigation from your hands.

See also:

• What components are MVC in JSF MVC framework?
• JSF Controller, Service and DAO

---

So a simple <a href="anotherPage.html" /> is forbidden in this pattern since it doesn't go to the controlling servlet?

No, it's perfectly fine. The controller will kick in whenever needed. If the resource doesn't need a controller (i.e. static resource), then you also don't need to let it pass through some controller.

---

In the future, please ask multiple questions in separate Stack Overflow questions.

Answer 2

To access xhtml pages inside WEB-INF/jsf folder you may do next:

1. Move xhtml pages folder from webapp root to WEB-INF
2. Introduce "Dispatcher View" pattern to the project
3. Map "Front Controller" servlet to url based to pages from application
4. Map Faces Servlet to ".xhtml"
5. Inside "Dispatcher" forward request to page from "WEB-INF/jsf/<name>.xhtml"
6. Override jsf ViewHandler getActionUrl to exclude "WEB-INF" from generated action url (of form, link, button)

For example, xhtml pages are in webapp root folder "jsf". All url between pages are like jsf/<pageName>.xhtml. So we do next:

1. move <webapp root>/jsf to <webapp root>/WEB-INF/jsf

2. create FrontController servlet:

``

public class FrontController extends HttpServlet {

        @Override
        protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException {
            process(req, resp);
        }

        @Override
        protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException {
            process(req, resp);
        }    

        private void process(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) {
             Dispatcher dispatcher = Dispatcher.getInstance();
             dispatcher.dispatch(request, response);
        }
}

3. map Front Controller servlet in web.xml to url based for pages:

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>Front Controller</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>controllers.FrontController</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>Front Controller</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/jsf/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

4. map Faces Servlet in web.xml to .xhtml

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>*.xhtml</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

5. create Dispatcher which forwards request to correct xhtml page:

``

public class Dispatcher {

    public void dispatch(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
        String pageBase = "/WEB-INF/jsf/";
        String pagePath = null;
        String errorPage = "/WEB-INF/jsf/error.xthml";

        //here could be complicated logic to analyze if the page should be visible for security reasons, authorisation etc, business logic            
       //requested page could be taken from parsing requested URI
        //pageName = findPageNameFromURI(request.getRequestURI());

        pagePath = pageBase + pageName;

        //if page should not be visible
        pagePath = errorPage;            

        //forward to page inside WEB-INF/jsf
        request.getServletContext().getRequestDispatcher(pagePath).
                                   forward(request, response);        
    }   

}

So if url for page was /myapp/jsf/home.xhtml then Dispatcher will forward it to myapp/WEB-INF/jsf/home.xhtml. And Faces Servlet will handle ".xhtml" request. But if on a page are used jsf components like h:form, h:link, h:button etc which generate action or url then the url will be really including "/WEB-INF". So to exclude it we need next step.

6. Exclude "/WEB-INF" from jsf generated url (for jsf form, link, button). For that:

   6.1 create subclass of jsf ViewHandler and override getActionUrl:

``

public class HiddenPageViewHandler extends ViewHandlerWrapper {

    private static final String WEB_INF = "/WEB-INF";

    private ViewHandler parent;

    public HiddenPageViewHandler(ViewHandler parent) {
        this.parent = parent;
    }

    @Override
    public String getActionURL(FacesContext context, String viewId) {
        String actionUrl = super.getActionURL(context, viewId);

        if (actionUrl != null && actionUrl.contains(WEB_INF)) {
            actionUrl = actionUrl.replace(WEB_INF, "");
        }        

        return actionUrl;
    }

    @Override
    public ViewHandler getWrapped() {
        return parent;
    }

}

6.2 configure jsf to use the specified ViewHandler. In faces-config.xml add next:

   <application>
    ...
        <view-handler>
            controllers.HiddenPageViewHandler
        </view-handler>
   </application>