Implementing search functionality in Apache Wicket applications

25 Sep 2023

Apache Wicket is a popular Java web framework that provides a robust and component-based approach to building web applications. While Wicket offers a wide range of features, one area that developers often need to implement on their own is search functionality. In this blog post, we will explore how to add search functionality to your Apache Wicket application.

The first step in implementing search functionality is to create a search form where users can enter their search queries. Using Wicket’s component-based approach, we can easily create a form with input fields and a submit button.

// SearchForm.java
public class SearchForm extends Form<Void> {
    private String searchQuery;
    
    public SearchForm(String id) {
        super(id);
        
        // Create search input field
        TextField<String> searchField = new TextField<>("searchField", Model.of(""));
        add(searchField);
        
        // Create submit button
        Button submitButton = new Button("submitButton") {
            @Override
            public void onSubmit() {
                onSearch();
            }
        };
        add(submitButton);
    }
    
    private void onSearch() {
        searchQuery = searchField.getModelObject();
        // Perform search logic based on searchQuery
    }
    
    // Getter for searchQuery
    public String getSearchQuery() {
        return searchQuery;
    }
}

Once we have our search form implemented, we need to add it to a page. This can be easily done by creating a new Wicket page class and adding our search form to its constructor or existing markup.

// SearchPage.java
public class SearchPage extends WebPage {
    public SearchPage() {
        // Create search form
        SearchForm searchForm = new SearchForm("searchForm");
        add(searchForm);
    }
}

Step 3: Performing the search

Finally, we need to utilize the search query entered by the user to perform the actual search. This can be done in the onSearch method of our search form, where we can implement the desired search logic.

// SearchForm.java
private void onSearch() {
    searchQuery = searchField.getModelObject();
    
    // Perform search logic based on searchQuery
    List<SearchResult> searchResults = performSearch(searchQuery);
    
    // Display search results or redirect to search results page
    if (searchResults.isEmpty()) {
        error("No results found");
    } else {
        setResponsePage(new SearchResultsPage(searchResults));
    }
}

private List<SearchResult> performSearch(String query) {
    // Implement your search logic here
    // Return a list of search results
}

Conclusion

Implementing search functionality in Apache Wicket applications is straightforward, thanks to Wicket’s component-based approach. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can easily add search functionality to your Wicket applications and provide a better user experience for your users.

#tech #webdevelopment

Step 1: Setting up the search form

Step 2: Adding the search form to a page

Step 3: Performing the search

Conclusion