How to Integrate StringTemplate with Forms in Spring MVC?

How do I use StringTemplate alongside forms in Spring MVC?

Integrating StringTemplate with Spring MVC forms allows you to create dynamic HTML content while handling form submissions efficiently. StringTemplate is a powerful templating engine that can simplify the generation of HTML, XML, or other text outputs from Java objects.

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PostMapping;
import org.stringtemplate.v4.ST;

@Controller
public class MyController {
    @GetMapping("/form")
    public String showForm(Model model) {
        // prepare model data for the form
        model.addAttribute("name", "");
        return "formView"; // Returns form view name
    }

    @PostMapping("/submitForm")
    public String submitForm(String name, Model model) {
        // Handle form submission
        ST template = new ST("Hello, <name>!");
        template.add("name", name);
        model.addAttribute("message", template.render());
        return "resultView"; // Returns result view name
    }
}

Causes

• Confusion regarding usage of StringTemplate for rendering views in a Spring MVC application with form data.
• Not properly configuring the view resolver to recognize StringTemplate templates.

Solutions

• Add StringTemplate as a dependency in your Spring MVC project, ensuring it's compatible with the version of Spring you are using.
• Configure the Spring bean for StringTemplate and set it as the view resolver in your Spring configuration files.
• Use the StringTemplate API to render your templates, passing model data from the controller.

Mistake: Failing to include StringTemplate in the project dependencies.

Solution: Ensure you add the correct StringTemplate dependency in your build configuration (Maven/Gradle).

Mistake: Not mapping the model attributes properly in the view.

Solution: Verify that the attribute names used in StringTemplate match those provided in the Model.