Evaluate empty or null JSTL c tags

Question

How can I validate if a String is null or empty using the c tags of JSTL?

I have a variable of name var1 and I can display it, but I want to add a comparator to validate it.

<c:out value="${var1}" />

I want to validate when it is null or empty (my values are strings).

Answer 1

How can I validate if a String is null or empty using the c tags of JSTL?

You can use the empty keyword in a <c:if> for this:

<c:if test="${empty var1}">
    var1 is empty or null.
</c:if>
<c:if test="${not empty var1}">
    var1 is NOT empty or null.
</c:if>

Or the <c:choose>:

<c:choose>
    <c:when test="${empty var1}">
        var1 is empty or null.
    </c:when>
    <c:otherwise>
        var1 is NOT empty or null.
    </c:otherwise>
</c:choose>

Or if you don't need to conditionally render a bunch of tags and thus you could only check it inside a tag attribute, then you can use the EL conditional operator ${condition? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse}:

<c:out value="${empty var1 ? 'var1 is empty or null' : 'var1 is NOT empty or null'}" />

To learn more about those ${} things (the Expression Language, which is a separate subject from JSTL), check here.

See also:

• How does EL empty operator work in JSF?

Answer 2

Here's the one liner.

Ternary operator inside EL

${empty value?'value is empty or null':'value is NOT empty or null'}

Answer 3

Here's an example of how to validate a int and a String that you pass from the Java Controller to the JSP file.

MainController.java:

@RequestMapping(value="/ImportJavaToJSP")
public ModelAndView getImportJavaToJSP() {
    ModelAndView model2= new ModelAndView("importJavaToJSPExamples");

    int someNumberValue=6;
    String someStringValue="abcdefg";
    //model2.addObject("someNumber", someNumberValue);
    model2.addObject("someString", someStringValue);

    return model2;
}

importJavaToJSPExamples.jsp

<%@ taglib prefix="c" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core"%>
<p>${someNumber}</p>
<c:if test="${not empty someNumber}">
    <p>someNumber is Not Empty</p>
</c:if>
<c:if test="${empty someNumber}">
    <p>someNumber is Empty</p>
</c:if>
<p>${someString}</p>
<c:if test="${not empty someString}">
    <p>someString is Not Empty</p>
</c:if>
<c:if test="${empty someString}">
    <p>someString is Empty</p>
</c:if>

Answer 4

if you check only null or empty then you can use the with default option for this: <c:out default="var1 is empty or null." value="${var1}"/>

Answer 5

to also check blank string, I suggest following

<%@ taglib prefix="fn" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/functions"%>
<%@ taglib prefix="c" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core"%>

<c:if test="${empty fn:trim(var1)}">

</c:if>

It also handles nulls

Answer 6

In this step I have Set the variable first:

<c:set var="structureId" value="<%=article.getStructureId()%>" scope="request"></c:set>

In this step I have checked the variable empty or not:

 <c:if test="${not empty structureId }">
    <a href="javascript:void(0);">Change Design</a>
 </c:if>