On Thu, 5 Sep 2002, David Geary wrote:
> It *might* change over time. Currently, the JSTL expression language
> (EL) does not allow willy-nilly method access; however, the EA version
> of JSP2.0 does for the moment.
Quick clarification: JSP 2.0's expression language supports the
definition of functions, not real object-methods. It doesn't allow access
to back-end Java methods without explicit configuration in a TLD.
This way, the type-abstractions of JSTL are preserved. For instance, JSTL
1.1 could theoretically (no promises!) define a size() function that works
on all types over which <c:forEach> can iterate. This couldn't be done if
we simply exposed arbitrary methods of objects, as in letting you access
size() directly through a Collection reference.
A corrolary of this is that the calls look like ${size(foo)}, as in
languages where functions are first-class stand-alone entities -- not
${foo.size()}, as in Java.
--
Shawn Bayern
"JSTL in Action" http://www.jstlbook.com
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