Well, the sequence itself is fairly static, although technically you could probably modify the chain catalogs. However, what I think you're actually asking isn't so complicated; you just want to be able to execute the chain differently, or execute different chains based on the state of the request. But commons-chain itself comes with lookup and copy commands which are probably the basis of what you're thinking about trying to do.
I believe that the "servlet-complete" base chain in the current default chain-config.xml is intended to demonstrate some of this kind of possibility. It has a "preprocess" step which optionally looks up and executes a command, and is designed so that it would be pretty easy for that command to change the command which is executed later. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about trying to set up something like this, but I'm pretty sure you could do it.
Joe
That sounds like exactly what I'd want to use. It might not even be necassery to change the sequence anyway, that was a first iteration in my mind :)
The problem my original solution was overcoming was the lack of ability to add parameters to a request dynamically. The way my custom processor works now is it parses the SOAP message and then constructs a URL with a query string with all the parameters on it, directed back to the same requested mapping as the original request... The second pass through, it's just a normal request.
Now, again, I'm not up on the whole chains thing just yet, but I know later servlet specs allow for dynamically adding parameters. So, the question then really becomes, what servlet spec will the chains implementation require? Because if it requires a version that allows for dynamic parameter adding, my answer is indeed simple: just another Command in the chain, either on it's own or called from preprocess as you say, that either leaves the request alone, or does what my current solution does, but without the redirect at the end. Nice and clean!
Although it's probably true I could just do the redirect like I do now from the chain Command, but that seems contrary to the whole idea to me.
Eh, I feel like I've hijacked this thread now, so let me get off this topic for now. Thanks for your insight though Joe!
-- Frank W. Zammetti Founder and Chief Software Architect Omnytex Technologies http://www.omnytex.com
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