Question

We are using JSF in our project (im pretty new to it) were every page have a back bean Java file.

In order to move (redirect) from one page to another, i need to put all the parameters (search criteria) in the request scope before redirecting and then retrieve it back in the next page constructor. When you have few pages deep and you want to come back to the top, it becomes really annoying to maintain.

For example, if i have page 1 with advanced search filters, which redirects to page 2, depending on the chosen item, and from page 2, you get another list were you can go to page 3 for details. Now each time i need to put all the params in the request scope/read them again, store them in hidden fields and get them back.

Whats exactly wrong with this method and whats a better way to do it in JSF?

EDIT: the environment is IBM Rational Application Developer (RAD), which have its own JSF implementation. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Answer 1

Putting request scoped data in session scope will bite you (very) hard if you’re going to open the same page in multiple windows/tabs. Only use the session scope if the data itself is also really session scoped (excellent examples are the “logged-in user” and the “shopping cart”, you want it to be exactly the same throughout the entire session). Again, don’t put request scoped data in the session scope. It hurts both you and the enduser.

Just design your beans smart (it makes no sense to have different beans containing the same data) and make use of h:inputHidden where needed, if necessary in combination with managed property injection. It’s indeed a bit a pain to code and maintain. You can on the other hand also just grab Tomahawk <t:saveState> if the to-be-passed data is actually as big as a “whole” managed bean. It costs only a single line in the JSF page and has always been of great assistance.

*For example, if i have page 1 with advanced search filters, which redirects to page 2, depending on the chosen item, and from page 2, you get another list were you can go to page 3 for details. Now each time i need to put all the params in the request scope/read them again, store them in hidden fields and get them back.

Whats exactly wrong with this method and whats a better way to do it in JSF?*

There’s nothing wrong with this method. Maybe you coded it the wrong way which caused that it looks unnecessarily overcomplicated. I can’t tell much as long as you don’t post details about the code used.

As per your edit:

EDIT: the environment is IBM Rational Application Developer (RAD), which have its own JSF implementation. Not sure if that makes a difference.

This is not true. IBM doesn’t have any JSF implementation. It has just a component library (the poorly maintained hx prefixed components, also known as “Faces Client Framework”). WSAD/RAD ships with Sun JSF RI (Mojarra) as standard JSF implementation, although it’s usually a heavily outdated version. Ensure that you keep it updated.