Integrating IceFaces with JavaServer Faces (JSF)

27 Sep 2023

IceFaces

IceFaces is a popular open-source Java web framework that offers rich, interactive and highly customizable user interfaces for JavaServer Faces (JSF) applications. In this blog post, we will explore how to integrate IceFaces with JSF to enhance the user experience of your web application.

Step 1: Adding IceFaces Dependencies to your Project

To start integrating IceFaces with JSF, you need to add the necessary dependencies to your project. Include the IceFaces JSF libraries in your project’s build configuration file, such as Maven or Gradle.

For Maven, add the following dependencies to your pom.xml file:

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.icefaces</groupId>
        <artifactId>icefaces</artifactId>
        <version>4.3.0</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.icefaces</groupId>
        <artifactId>icefaces-compat</artifactId>
        <version>4.3.0</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

For Gradle, add the following dependencies to your build.gradle file:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.icefaces:icefaces:4.3.0'
    implementation 'org.icefaces:icefaces-compat:4.3.0'
}

Step 2: Configuring JSF to use IceFaces

After adding the necessary dependencies, you need to configure your JSF application to use IceFaces. Modify your faces-config.xml file to include the IceFaces library as follows:

<application>
    <view-handler>com.icesoft.faces.facelets.D2DFaceletViewHandler</view-handler>
    
    <el-resolver>org.icefaces.application.DelegatingVariableResolver</el-resolver>
    
    <default-render-kit-id>org.icefaces.application.PortletRenderKit</default-render-kit-id>
</application>

By configuring the DelegatingVariableResolver as the EL resolver, IceFaces provides additional EL functions and variables to enhance JSF functionality.

Step 3: Creating an IceFaces Component

Now, you can start creating and using IceFaces components in your JSF views. For example, let’s create a simple IceFaces datatable component:

import javax.faces.bean.ManagedBean;

@ManagedBean
public class ExampleBean {

    private List<String> items;

    public ExampleBean() {
        items = new ArrayList<>();
        items.add("Item 1");
        items.add("Item 2");
        items.add("Item 3");
    }

    public List<String> getItems() {
        return items;
    }

    public void setItems(List<String> items) {
        this.items = items;
    }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
      xmlns:ice="http://www.icesoft.com/icefaces/component">

<h:head>
    <title>IceFaces Example</title>
</h:head>
<h:body>
    <ice:dataTable value="#{exampleBean.items}">
        <ice:column>
            <ice:outputText value="#{item}" />
        </ice:column>
    </ice:dataTable>
</h:body>
</html>

In this example, we use the <ice:dataTable> component to display a list of items. The #{exampleBean.items} expression refers to the list of items defined in the ExampleBean. Each item is then displayed in a <ice:column> using the <ice:outputText> component.

Step 4: Running and Testing the Application

Once you have completed the integration, you can build, deploy, and run your JSF application to see the IceFaces components in action. Ensure that your application server or container supports JSF and IceFaces.

By integrating IceFaces with JSF, you can take advantage of its rich set of components and features to create highly interactive and visually appealing web applications. So go ahead and explore the possibilities of IceFaces in your next JSF project!

#java #JSF #IceFaces