Question

I know how to use wildcard method invocation within struts.xml, but is it possible to do this with annotations? If so how?

Answer 1

You probably have it resolved by now, but for those looking for an answer, yes it is possible.

For wildcard mapping, refer to: http://struts.apache.org/2.3.1.2/docs/wildcard-mappings.html

To read params from the url, annotate your method with this:

private String id;

@Action(value = "edit/{id}",
        results={@Result(name = "success", location = "/WEB-INF/views/devices/edit.ftl")}
)        
public String edit() {  
    // do something
    return SUCCESS;
}

public void setId(String id) {
    this.id = id;
}

public String getId() {
    return id;
}

• You will need a getter/setter for the id parameter.
• You need to specify the results since struts2 won’t know what to use for success for the url: …edit/123, hence the need to use @Result to point to your file. Kinda defits the purpose of the convention plugin there.

In the case I want to redirect to a specific url, use this annotation:

@Action(value = "index",
        results={@Result(name = "success", location = "/devices/edit/${entityId}", type = "redirect")}
    )

You would need a getter/setter for the entityId (String in my case).

You can also have advanced wilcard mapping, namespace wildcard mapping …

Don’t forget to change the struts.xml and add the following constants.

<!-- Used for advanced wilcard mapping -->
<constant name="struts.enable.SlashesInActionNames" value="true"/>
<constant name="struts.mapper.alwaysSelectFullNamespace" value="false"/>
<constant name="struts.patternMatcher" value="regex" />