[richfaces-issues] [JBoss JIRA] (RF-12241) rich:column sortBy attribute expects a value expression not a constant

[Craig Ringer (JIRA)]

Craig Ringer created RF-12241:
---------------------------------

             Summary: rich:column sortBy attribute expects a value expression not a constant
                 Key: RF-12241
                 URL: https://issues.jboss.org/browse/RF-12241
             Project: RichFaces
          Issue Type: Bug
      Security Level: Public (Everyone can see)
          Components: component-tables
    Affects Versions: 4.2.1.Final
         Environment: JBoss AS 7.1.1.Final

craig at wallace:~/projects/booksys/nymm$ uname -a
Linux wallace 3.2.0-24-generic-pae #37-Ubuntu SMP Wed Apr 25 10:47:59 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
craig at wallace:~/projects/booksys/nymm$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Release:	12.04
Codename:	precise
craig at wallace:~/projects/booksys/nymm$ java -version
java version "1.7.0"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0-b147)
Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM (build 21.0-b17, mixed mode)

            Reporter: Craig Ringer
            Priority: Minor


Using a rich:dataTable with a rich:column that has a sortOrder and sortBy set, backed by an ExtendedDataModel implementing Arrangeable, no ArrangeableState is set on the underlying model unless `sortBy' is an EL value expression. If `sortBy' is a constant, the arrangeable state remains null.

The ValueExpression may point to a bean accessor that returns the exact same string value as was provided as a constant. The value expression version will work, the constant one won't. Even if the value expression is simply an EL expression for a string literal it works.

This works:

   sortBy="#{'code'}"

this silently fails as if sortBy= wasn't present:

   sortBy="code"

... and that looks like a bug to me.



For example, take the toy code:

{code}
            <h:form id="customerForm">
                <rich:dataTable id="customerTable"
                                var="customer"
                                value="#{customers.model}"
                                rows="50">
                    
                    <!-- Change `sortBy' below to sortBy="code" and it'll fail, even though the result should be IDENTICAL -->
                    <!-- Use sortBy="#{'code'}" and it'll work -->
                    <rich:column sortBy="${customers.sortBy}" sortOrder="#{customers.codeSortOrder}" id="code">
                        <f:facet name="header">
                            <h:outputText value="Customer Code"/>
                            <h:outputText value="Sorting: #{customers.codeSortOrder}"/>
                        </f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{customer.code}" />
                    </rich:column>
                    
                    <rich:column id="name">
                        <f:facet name="header">
                            <h:outputText value="Customer Name"/>
                        </f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{customer.name}" />
                    </rich:column>
                    
                </rich:dataTable>
    
                <rich:dataScroller for="customerTable" />
                
            </h:form>
{code}

where "customers" is:

{code}
@Named
@RequestScoped
public class Customers {
    
    // "CustomerDataModel" is a JPADataModel<Customer> as per
    //   http://showcase.richfaces.org/richfaces/component-sample.jsf?demo=dataTable&sample=arrangeableModel&skin=blueSky
    // and the nature of the "Customer" entity is irrelevant beyond the fact that it has "name" and "code" properties.
    @Inject
    private CustomerDataModel dataModel;
       
    private SortOrder codeSortOrder = SortOrder.ascending, nameSortOrder = SortOrder.ascending;
    
    public CustomerDataModel getModel() {
        return dataModel;
    }

    public String getSortBy() {
        return "code";
    }

    // blah blah accessors for members omitted for brevity since most IDE-generate them anyway
    // Maybe Java will get real properties one day....
}
{code}



Clearly, #{customers.sortBy} evaluates to the string "code". Yet if we write:

   sortBy="code"

no ArrangeableState is set on the backing Arrangeable ExtendedDataModel. Writing the effectively identical:

   sortBy="#{customers.sortBy}"

works, as does:

   sortBy="#{'code'}"


Try it out on the RichFaces showcase example. I suspect the reason this didn't get caught was that the showcase uses an include to repeat the columns, so it's using a value expression to indirect the constant.

  http://showcase.richfaces.org/richfaces/component-sample.jsf?demo=dataTable&sample=arrangeableModel&skin=blueSky

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