The <c:out> tag has just the sort of 'default' attribute you suggest; you can use it in conjunction with <c:set> and many other JSTL tags.
-- Shawn Bayern "JSTL in Action" http://www.jstlbook.com On 31 Aug 2002, David M. Karr wrote: > In building the Struts-EL tag library, I haven't ported Struts tags that > provide functionality that are directly supported in the JSTL. However, in > some of those tags I haven't ported, I have noticed one small feature that > isn't strictly provided in their JSTL analogs. > > The issue is "default values". For instance, in the Struts "bean:cookie" tag, > it will assign the value of a cookie to a variable, but if the cookie isn't > defined, you can specify a default value that will be assigned to the variable. > There are a couple tags in the "bean" library that have this feature. > > In the JSTL, there's no "quick" way to get this. I believe, for each variable > that you want to have a default value, you'd do something like this, after > every "c:set" (perhaps) that reads a value you hope is defined: > > <c:if test="${empty variable}"> > <c:set var="variable" value="default value"/> > </c:if> > > (I guess this avoids the question of the difference between a null string and > an empty string.) > > If I were to suggest an enhancement, it would be a "default" attribute on > "c:set" that can take an EL expression. Is there any perception that this > might have enough value for a formal enhancement report? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
