Creating a Filter

See Also

A filter is a piece of re-usable code that can transform the contents of HTTP requests, responses, and header information by modifying requests to and responses from a servlet.

You create a filter by implementing the javax.servlet.Filter interface and providing a public constructor taking no arguments. The IDE provides a wizard to help you create filters. The filter template helps you to create a basic filter class, while the wrapping filter template helps you to create a filter class that wraps the Request and Response objects prior to passing on the request.

Filters are declared using the filter element in the web module's deployment descriptor (web.xml) and packaged in a WAR file along with the static content and servlets that make up a web module. A filter or collection of filters can be configured for invocation by defining the filter-mapping elements in the deployment descriptor.

To create a Filter:

  1. Right-click the package where you want to put the filter and choose New and choose All Templates from the contextual menu.
  2. Expand JSP & Servlets, expand Filters, select the filter you want to create, and click Next.
  3. Follow the instructions in the New Wizard and click Finish. The IDE opens the source code in the Source Editor..

For more information about filters, see the Java Servlet Specification available at http://java.sun.com/products/servlet.

See Also

Filters (defined)
File Location in a Web Module
Setting Filter Properties
Adding a Filter to the Deployment Descriptor


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