JSP template implementation (Composite View Pattern)

Question

What is the best way to implement the Composite View Pattern for a Java website?

My idea was to take one jsp and include multiple pages like:

<h1>Layout Start</h1>
<%
Values values = DataHandler.getValues(request);
LayoutHelper layout = values.getLayout();
out.println("Layout.getContent(): " + layout.getContent());
%>

<jsp:include page="<%= layout.getContent() %>" flush="false" />

<h1>Layout End</h1>

But then all my small jsp files in the WEB-INF directory are still available to the user. How can I deny access to all .jsp files except for the one template.

After that I need a filter or Servlet to insert the paths in the Values object.

Update I don't mean that the WEB-INF is accessible from the file system (Or Webserver) but from the web app through the controller with my current layout layout.getcontent() maps to an URL parameter/user input.

What are the common used frameworks to handle the Composite View Pattern??

Answer 1

Any file that's in WEB-INF is not directly accessible by the user. I typically put all my JSPs in WEB-INF/jsp, and then only the controller servlet (or other JSP pages) can access them.

Answer 2

Pro Java EE and Spring Patterns mentions two popular framework that supports the Composite View pattern:

• Apache Tiles
• SiteMesh

Personally I used Tiles and It worked like a charm integrated with Struts and Spring. SiteMesh also relies on the Decorator Pattern. In Tiles Web Site there's a nice comparison between the benefits of both patterns.

Answer 3

Apache Tiles is working on this concept.

http://tiles.apache.org/framework/tutorial/pattern.html

It is worth looking into this.