In this article, we will discuss how to programmatically obtain a request-mapping URL for a module in Spring. Java developers know that all versions of Spring from version 3.0 onward, allow the developer to manage handler mapping by defining it in the controller class using an @RequestMapping annotation as an alternative to the XML configuration file.In addition to this capability, developers can also annotate the controller class for top-level request-mapping URL. In that case, the class level URL will be prefixed to the method-level URL to form a complete URL and send a request to the controller.Normally, developers establish one controller per module. But, sometimes they need to obtain the class-level request-mapping URL programmatically. In this article, we will provide an example of this technique, and show you how it can be achieved in Spring.
For our example, we’ll use a module called ‘Employee’. For this example, we’ll need to display an employee’s personal details, in addition to other information, on the main employeeDetail page. We’ll separate the main page into several small jsp pages. The file that will display the employee’s personal information is empPersonalDetails.jsp and that page must be included in the main page (employeeDetails.jsp), using action.
Let’s assume that you have used apache tiles to provide consistent layout for each such sub-page (due to some requirement or just for decorative purpose) and you want to include that through a controller call. To accomplish that, you will use code similar to what we have detailed below:
