This appendix describes the syntax and attributes of GX tags, which augment JSPs.

• Introducing GX Tags
• GX Tag Syntax
• Creating a User-Defined Tag
• Using a Template Map
• Using Your Own Template Map Class for Special Processing
• Using GX Tags to Create Conditionals in JSPs
• Example JSP Using GX Tags

<gx {TagAttributes} >
   [textBlock]
</gx>

%gx {TagAttributes} %
   [textBlock]
%/gx%

• Plain text
• HTML tags
• Nested GX markup tags

%gx type=tile id=CONTINENT%

   %gx type=cell id=CONTINENT.NAME%%/gx%<br>

%/gx%

%gx type=replace id=CONTINENT.NAME value=PlaceHolder%

   Selected Continent: <img src="images/PlaceHolder.gif">

   %/gx%

• type=TypeCode
• id=Name
• visible={True | False}
• min=MinVal
• max=MaxVal
• value=ReplaceVal

• Cell
• Tile
• Replace
• Include
• User-Defined Tag

Replaces the entire GX marker, from %gx% to %/gx%, with a dynamic data value. Used with the id attribute, which specifies a field in the result set that contains the dynamic value to be used. For example:

%gx type=cell id=CTY.sumsales%%/gx%

Repeats the TextBlock. The tile tag can be used in two ways: repeating a fixed number of times, or repeating for each row in a result set. When you use nested tile tags along with a hierarchical query, the result is a grouped master-detail report.

%gx type=tile min=5% . . . %/gx%

%gx type=tile id=COUNTRY max=1000% . . . %/gx%

Searches TextBlock for a string and substitutes a dynamic data value for that string. Used with the value attribute, which specifies the search string, and with the id attribute, which specifies where to find the replacement value. For example:

%gx type=replace id=CUST.name value=CustName%

   Dear CustName: %/gx%

Replaces TextBlock with HTML output created by evaluating another template. Used with the id attribute, which specifies the path of the template. For example:

%gx type=include 

   id="GXApp/OnlineBooks/Templates/header1.html"%

Performs a user-defined action. For example, you could write the following GX markup tag:

%gx type=trigger name=Clock arg1=hello%%/gx%

trigger:name="Clock";arg1="hello"

When the type attribute is tile, the id attribute specifies the name of a query. The marker's TextBlock repeats for the number of rows in the query's result set. For an example, see Using the Tile Attribute in a GX Tag.

%gx type=tile id=CTY%

When the type attribute is cell or replace, the id attribute specifies a field in the result set. The field contains the data value to be displayed. If the AppLogic is using a hierarchical query, the field is specified using dot notation. A query name (derived in the same way as that used with the tile tag) comes before the dot, and a column name or alias comes after the dot. For example:

%gx type=cell id=CTY.sumsales%%/gx%

%gx type=tile id=CUST%

   %gx type=cell id=CUST.custName%Customer name here

   %/gx%<br>

%/gx%

When the type attribute is include, the id attribute specifies the path of an JSP. You can use a literal path enclosed in double quotes or a field in a result set. For example:

%gx type=include 

   id="GXApp/OnlineBooks/Templates/header1.html"%

Dear %gx type=cell id=CustName%

   Customer name here   %/gx%,<br>

Thank you for buying the SmartSurf 2000 Web robot . . .

Dear M. Smith,<br>

Thank you for buying the SmartSurf 2000 Web robot . . .

%gx type=tile id=CONTINENT%

   %gx type=cell id=CONTINENT.NAME%%/gx%<br>

%/gx%

AFRICA<br>

ANTARCTICA<br>

ASIA<br>

AUSTRALIA<br>

EUROPE<br>

N_AMERICA<br>

OCEANIA<br>

S_AMERICA<br>

%gx type=tile id=DETAILS MAX=100%
   %gx type=cell id=DETAILS.COUNTYNAM%%/gx%
   %gx type=cell id=DETAILS.CUSTS%%/gx%<br>
%/gx%

San Mateo  100<br>

Santa Clara  300<br>

Sonoma  400<br>

%gx type=cell id="CTY.sumsales, format($0,000.00)"%%/gx%

Character	Meaning	Example Data	Example String	Example Result
#	Unfilled digit placeholder. Replaced by numeric digits in the data. If the data to format has fewer digits than the format string, the empty places are not filled. The output can be shorter than the format string.	679.649 700	#####.## $#,###.00	679.64 $700.00
0	Zero-filled digit placeholder. Replaced by numeric digits in the data. If the data to format has fewer digits than the format string, the empty places are filled with zeros. The output is always at least as long as the format string. When placed to right of decimal point, indicates precision. Data is rounded if necessary.	679.649 679.649 700	0000.00 00### $000.00	0679.65 00679 $700.00
,	Thousands separator. A separator character will appear between every three digits to the left of the decimal point in the output data.	1234	0,000	1,234
.	Decimal separator. A decimal point character will appear between the whole and fractional parts of the output data.	679.649 700	000.00 $#,###.00	679.65 $700.00
;	Separates a pair of formats. The first format is used for positive numbers, the second for negative numbers.	23 -66	##;(##) ##;(##)	23 (66)
Literals such as $ + - ( ) and space characters	Any character in the format string that is not a special character will appear in the output data exactly as typed. If using parentheses, always use matched pairs.	5552365 69100 123	###-#### $0,000 0 0 0	555-2365 $69,100 1 2 3

Character	Meaning	Example Data	Example String	Example Result
D	Day of the month, with no leading zero.	1/1/2020	M-D-YY	1-1-20
DD	Day of the month, with leading zero.	1/1/2020	MM-DD-YY	01-01-20
DDD	Day of the week, abbreviated.	7/4/1996	DDD	Thu
DDDD	Full day of the week.	7/4/1996	DDDD	Thursday
M	Number of the month, with no leading zero.	1/1/2020	M-D-YY	1-1-20
MM	Number of the month, with leading zero.	1/1/2020	MM-DD-YY	01-01-20
MMM	Name of the month, abbreviated.	1/1/2020	MMM	Jan
MMMM	Full name of the month.	1/1/2020	MMMM	January
Y	Number of the day in the year (1-366).	1/1/2020	Y	1
YY	Last 2 digits of the year.	1/1/2020	M-D-YY	1-1-20
YYY or YYYY	All 4 digits of the year.	1/1/2020	M-D-YYYY	1-1-2020
h	Hour from 1-12, with no leading zero.	8:05 pm	h:mm	8:05
hh	Hour from 1-12, with leading zero.	8:05 pm	hh:mm	08:05
H	Hour from 1-24, with no leading zero.	8:05 pm	H:mm	20:05
HH	Hour from 1-24, with leading zero.	3:00 am	HH:mm	03:00
m	Minute, with no leading zero.	3:09 am	h:m	3:9
mm	Minute, with leading zero.	3:09 am	h:mm	3:09
s	Seconds, with no leading zero.	3:09 am	h:m:s	3:9:0
ss	Seconds, with leading zero.	5:07:02 am	hh:mm:ss	05:07:02
AM/PM	Adds letters AM or PM after the date/time data to indicate morning or afternoon/evening hours.	5:07:02 am	h:mm AM/PM	5:07 AM
Literals such as / - : and space characters	Any character in the format string that is not a special character will appear in the output data exactly as typed.	1/1/2020 8:05 am	m-d-yy h:m:s	1-1-20 8:5:0

• Repeating for Each Row in a Result Set
• Repeating a Specified Number of Times

%gx type=tile id=CONTINENT%

   - %gx type=cell id=CONTINENT.NAME%%/gx%<br>

   %gx type=tile id=COUNTRY%

      --- %gx type=cell id=COUNTRY.NAME%%/gx%<br>

   %/gx%

%/gx%

- ASIA<br>

--- China<br>

--- Japan<br>

- EUROPE<br>

--- France<br>

--- Germany<br>

- N_AMERICA<br>

--- Canada<br>

--- Mexico<br>

%gx type=tile min=5%

   <IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

%/gx%

<IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

<IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

<IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

<IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

<IMG SRC="/GXApp/MyApp/Images/smiley.gif" ><br>

%gx type=replace id=CONTINENT.NAME value=PlaceHolder%

   <img src="images/PlaceHolder.gif">

%/gx%

%gx type=tile id=CONTINENT%

   %gx type=replace id=CONTINENT.NAME value=PlaceHolder%

   <img src="images/PlaceHolder.gif">

   %/gx%

%/gx%

<img src="images/ASIA.gif">

<img src="images/EUROPE.gif">

<img src="images/N_AMERICA.gif">

%gx type=include 

   id="/GXApp/OnlineBooks/Templates/header1.html"%

   Text block to be replaced by output from header1.html

%/gx%

%gx type=include id=CUSTOMER.Preferred_Header%

   Text block to be replaced by output from a template

%/gx%

%gx type=trigger name=Clock arg1=hello%Default text%/gx%

userDefinedType:attr1="val1";attr2="val2"

trigger:name="Clock";arg1="hello"

Suppose a JSP contains the following custom tag:

<gx type=Trigger_Method id=CSStates_Trigger></gx>

public class MyTemplateMap extends  TemplateMapBasic 

{ 

   public String getString(String id,IObject data,

      IObject mark) { 

      String ret = null; 

      String key; 

      int delim; 



      key = id; 

   

      String keyU = key.toUpperCase();

      if ((keyU.startsWith("TRIGGER")) ||

         (keyU.startsWith("IF"))) 

      { 

         IValList valpara = getTriggerParser(key); 

         if (valpara.count() != 0)

         {

            String typestr =

            (valpara.getValString("type")).toUpperCase();

            if (typestr.startsWith("TRIGGER"))

            {

               ret = Trigger_Execute(valpara); 

            }

            else if (typestr.startsWith("IF"))

           {

               ret = Condition_Execute(valpara);

           }

        }

         else

        {

            caller.log("Trigger -- " + key + 

                        " not fired...");

            ret = "";

        }

     }

      else

      { 

         ret = super.getString(key, data, mark); 

      } 

   return ret; 

} 

• Multiple data sources with different column names
• A data source whose schema changes over time
• Dynamic calculations made at runtime
• Memory-based data sources defined using an implementation of theITemplateData interface, such as the TemplateDataBasic class in the Netscape Application Server Foundation Class Library.

%gx type=cell id=CURDATE%%/gx% <br>

Dear %gx type=cell id=$CUST.custname% :

1. Instantiate an object from the TemplateMapBasic class. For example:

Use the putString( ) method to specify the field name pairs or placeholder and value pairs. The first item in each pair is the field name or placeholder used in the HTML template. For example:

map.putString("LOGIN", login);

map.putString("CURTIME", getcurrtime());

map.putString("$STATES.state", "ST.name");

You can place the putString( ) method call inside a loop to construct the template map iteratively. For example, you could use this technique to read the map from a file line by line.

2. Pass the template map to evalTemplate( ) or evalOutput( ). For example:

result = evalTemplate("template.html", data, map);

The following code constructs a template map for the following three items in an HTML template called template.html:

• The placeholder LOGIN is mapped to the value of the login parameter, which is one of the AppLogic's input parameters.
• The placeholder CURTIME is mapped to a function call which evaluates the current time at the moment the HTML template is merged with data.
• The database field name STATES.state is mapped to the new field name ST.name. In the HTML template, the original field name is preceded by a dollar sign ($STATES.state).

login = valIn.getValString("login");

TemplateMapBasic map = GX.CreateTemplateMapBasic();

map.putString("LOGIN", login);

map.putString("CURTIME", getcurrtime());

map.putString("$STATES.state", "ST.name");

result = evalTemplate("template.html", data, map);

User %gx type=cell id=LOGIN%%/gx% 

accessed the system at %gx type=cell id=CURTIME%%/gx%

from the following state:

%gx type=cell id=$STATES.state%%/gx%

• Filter data from the database before allowing the Template Engine to merge the data with the template. This technique is illustrated in the example code later in this section.
• Perform special character formatting.
• Add counters.
• Insert large, dynamically generated HTML fragments into an output HTML page.
• Evaluate placeholders multiple times per template. The default implementation of get( ) in the TemplateMapBasic class evaluates the placeholders just once for the entire template.

Suppose the placeholder CURTIME is mapped to a function that returns the current time. When you set the time by calling putString( ) in the TemplateMapBasic class, the time is calculated once, and if CURTIME appears in several places in the template, the same time is printed in each place. Instead, you might want to re-evaluate the placeholder each time it is encountered in the template, so you can implement the get( ) method in your template map subclass to recalculate CURTIME every time it is called.

help.id and HELPDESK_PRIORITY fields. The code for MyTemplateBasic provides special processing for the HELPDESK_PRIORITY field.

package acme.helpdesk;

import java.lang.*;

import java.util.*;

import java.io.*;

import com.kivasoft.*;

import com.kivasoft.types.*;

import com.kivasoft.applogic.*;

import com.kivasoft.util.*;

// A subclass of TemplateMapBasic to map from priority

// numbers stored in database to human-readable strings.

public class MyTemplateMapBasic extends TemplateMapBasic

{

   private IHierResultSet hrs;

   public MyTemplateMapBasic(IHierResultSet hrsIn)

   {

      hrs = hrsIn;

   };

   /**

   * Method get() returns the value of a mapping. 

   * The Template Engine will call this method when 

   * field mapping and when in the body generation 

   * stage of template processing.

   */

   public String getString(String gxTagId, Object data, 

      Object mark)

   {

      String ret = null;

      // Is Template Engine is asking about priority field?

      if (gxTagId.equals("HELPDESK_PRIORITY"))

      {

         // Pull the value from the result set and convert

         int key = hrs.getValueInt("help", "priority");

         switch (key) {

            default:

            case 0:

               return "Unknown Priority";

            case 1:

               return "Low Priority";

            case 2:

               return "High Priority";

            case 3:

               return "Late";

         }

      }

      // Otherwise, forward request to superclass.

      // Required for any value not handled by this subclass

      return super.getString(gxTagId, null, null);

   }

}

IHierQuery hqry = createHierQuery();

hqry.addQuery(qry, conn, "help", "", "");

IHierResultSet hrs = hqry.execute(0, 0, null);

MyTemplateMapBasic map = new MyTemplateMapBasic(hrs);

result = evalTemplate("reportHelpCalls.html",

                           (ITemplateData) hrs,

                           (ITemplateMap) map);

return result(null);

Your help desk calls are...<br>

%gx type=tile id=help%

   ID :%gx type=cell id=help.id%unknown%/gx%<br>

   Priority :%gx type=cell id=HELPDESK_PRIORITY%unknown

      %/gx%<br>

%/gx%

1. Create an instance of the TemplateDataBasic class for the first parent level of data in the hierarchy.
2. Create another instance of TemplateDataBasic for a group of data at the child level.
3. Call the child TemplateDataBasic object's rowAppend( ) method one or more times to specify the data in the first group.
4. Call the parent TemplateDataBasic object's rowAppend( ) method to add a row for the child TemplateDataBasic object.
5. Call the parent TemplateDataBasic object's groupAppend( ) method to add the child group of data.
6. Repeat Step 2 through Step 5 for each group of data in the result set.
7. After constructing the TemplateDataBasic object, pass it to evalTemplate( ) or evalOutput( ) instead of passing in the name of a hierarchical query. Each of these methods provides an alternative syntax for this purpose.

The following code constructs a flat result set with a single level of data:

text for all browsers.

text for all browsers.



%gx type=cell id=netscapeOnly%

   text for netscape browser only.

   text for netscape browser only.

%/gx%

text for all browsers.

%gx type=cell id=microsoftOnly%

   text for internet explorer browser only. 

   <blink>you're using

    MS!</blink>

   text for internet explorer browser only.

%/gx%

text for all browsers.

text for all browsers.

This template contains two nested tile tags, one to loop over the states and another to loop over the counties within each state. In this example, comments are provided before each GX markup tag. For information about the other tags in the template, refer to your HTML documentation.

<HTML>

<HEAD>

<TITLE>Region And States Report</TITLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY BACKGROUND="/GXApp/Demo/States/Backgrounds

   /logo30pctbkglight.gif">

<H3>Region And States Report</H3>

<TABLE BORDER=1>

   <TR>

      <TH COLSPAN=2>Counties by State</TH>

   </TR>

%gx type=tile id=STATES MAX=50%

   <TR>

      <TD ALIGN=CENTER>

<b>%gx type=cell id=STATES.STATE%Name of a state%/gx%

</b>

</TD>

<TD ALIGN=RIGHT>

      %gx type=replace id=STATES.STATE value=ABBR%

         <IMG SRC="/GXApp/Demo/States/Images/ABBR.gif"

             width=100 height=60>

      %/gx%

   </TD>

</TR>

<TR ALIGN=RIGHT>

   <TD><b>County</b></TD>

   <TD><b>Population</b></TD>

</TR>

%gx type=tile id=DETAILS MAX=100%

   <TR ALIGN=RIGHT>

            <TD>%gx type=cell id=DETAILS.COUNTYNAM%

               Name of a             county%/gx%</TD>

            <TD>%gx type=cell id=DETAILS.POP%

               Its population

            %/gx%</TD>

         </TR>

      %/gx%

   %/gx%

</TABLE>

</BODY>

</HTML>