javax.portlet

Interface PortletRequest

public interface PortletRequest

The PortletRequest defines the base interface to provide client request information to a portlet. The portlet container uses two specialized versions of this interface when invoking a portlet, ActionRequest and RenderRequest. The portlet container creates these objects and passes them as arguments to the portlet's processAction and render methods.

See Also: ActionRequest RenderRequest

Field Summary
static StringBASIC_AUTH
String identifier for Basic authentication.
static StringCLIENT_CERT_AUTH
String identifier for Certification based authentication.
static StringDIGEST_AUTH
String identifier for Digest based authentication.
static StringFORM_AUTH
String identifier for Form based authentication.
static StringUSER_INFO
Used to retrieve user information attributes with the getAttribute call.
Method Summary
ObjectgetAttribute(String name)
Returns the value of the named attribute as an Object, or null if no attribute of the given name exists.
EnumerationgetAttributeNames()
Returns an Enumeration containing the names of the attributes available to this request.
StringgetAuthType()
Returns the name of the authentication scheme used for the connection between client and portal, for example, BASIC_AUTH, CLIENT_CERT_AUTH, a custom one or null if there was no authentication.
StringgetContextPath()
Returns the context path which is the path prefix associated with the deployed portlet application.
LocalegetLocale()
Returns the preferred Locale in which the portal will accept content.
EnumerationgetLocales()
Returns an Enumeration of Locale objects indicating, in decreasing order starting with the preferred locale in which the portal will accept content for this request.
StringgetParameter(String name)
Returns the value of a request parameter as a String, or null if the parameter does not exist.
MapgetParameterMap()
Returns a Map of the parameters of this request.
EnumerationgetParameterNames()
Returns an Enumeration of String objects containing the names of the parameters contained in this request.
String[]getParameterValues(String name)
Returns an array of String objects containing all of the values the given request parameter has, or null if the parameter does not exist.
PortalContextgetPortalContext()
Returns the context of the calling portal.
PortletModegetPortletMode()
Returns the current portlet mode of the portlet.
PortletSessiongetPortletSession()
Returns the current portlet session or, if there is no current session, creates one and returns the new session.
PortletSessiongetPortletSession(boolean create)
Returns the current portlet session or, if there is no current session and the given flag is true, creates one and returns the new session.
PortletPreferencesgetPreferences()
Returns the preferences object associated with the portlet.
EnumerationgetProperties(String name)
Returns all the values of the specified request property as a Enumeration of String objects.
StringgetProperty(String name)
Returns the value of the specified request property as a String.
EnumerationgetPropertyNames()
Returns a Enumeration of all the property names this request contains.
StringgetRemoteUser()
Returns the login of the user making this request, if the user has been authenticated, or null if the user has not been authenticated.
StringgetRequestedSessionId()
Returns the session ID indicated in the client request.
StringgetResponseContentType()
Returns the portal preferred content type for the response.
EnumerationgetResponseContentTypes()
Gets a list of content types which the portal accepts for the response.
StringgetScheme()
Returns the name of the scheme used to make this request.
StringgetServerName()
Returns the host name of the server that received the request.
intgetServerPort()
Returns the port number on which this request was received.
PrincipalgetUserPrincipal()
Returns a java.security.Principal object containing the name of the current authenticated user.
WindowStategetWindowState()
Returns the current window state of the portlet.
booleanisPortletModeAllowed(PortletMode mode)
Returns true, if the given portlet mode is a valid one to set for this portlet in the context of the current request.
booleanisRequestedSessionIdValid()
Checks whether the requested session ID is still valid.
booleanisSecure()
Returns a boolean indicating whether this request was made using a secure channel between client and the portal, such as HTTPS.
booleanisUserInRole(String role)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the authenticated user is included in the specified logical "role".
booleanisWindowStateAllowed(WindowState state)
Returns true, if the given window state is valid to be set for this portlet in the context of the current request.
voidremoveAttribute(String name)
Removes an attribute from this request.
voidsetAttribute(String name, Object o)
Stores an attribute in this request.

Field Detail

BASIC_AUTH

public static final String BASIC_AUTH
String identifier for Basic authentication. Value "BASIC".

CLIENT_CERT_AUTH

public static final String CLIENT_CERT_AUTH
String identifier for Certification based authentication. Value "CLIENT_CERT".

DIGEST_AUTH

public static final String DIGEST_AUTH
String identifier for Digest based authentication. Value "DIGEST".

FORM_AUTH

public static final String FORM_AUTH
String identifier for Form based authentication. Value "FORM".

USER_INFO

public static final String USER_INFO
Used to retrieve user information attributes with the getAttribute call. The user information is returned as a Map object. The portlet must define the user information attribute it is interested in inside the user-attribute section of the deployment descriptor. If an attribute is not supported by the current runtime system it will not show up in the user attribute map.
If the user-attribute is supported by the runtime system, but not defined for a particular user, then for that user the attribute exists in the returned map and the attribute has a null value.

If the user-attribute is not defined for the current user it will not show up in the Map.

The value is javax.portlet.userinfo.

Method Detail

getAttribute

public Object getAttribute(String name)
Returns the value of the named attribute as an Object, or null if no attribute of the given name exists.

Attribute names should follow the same conventions as package names. This specification reserves names matching java.*, and javax.*.

In a distributed portlet web application the Object needs to be serializable.

Parameters: name a String specifying the name of the attribute

Returns: an Object containing the value of the attribute, or null if the attribute does not exist.

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

getAttributeNames

public Enumeration getAttributeNames()
Returns an Enumeration containing the names of the attributes available to this request. This method returns an empty Enumeration if the request has no attributes available to it.

Returns: an Enumeration of strings containing the names of the request attributes, or an empty Enumeration if the request has no attributes available to it.

getAuthType

public String getAuthType()
Returns the name of the authentication scheme used for the connection between client and portal, for example, BASIC_AUTH, CLIENT_CERT_AUTH, a custom one or null if there was no authentication.

Returns: one of the static members BASIC_AUTH, FORM_AUTH, CLIENT_CERT_AUTH, DIGEST_AUTH (suitable for == comparison) indicating the authentication scheme, a custom one, or null if the request was not authenticated.

getContextPath

public String getContextPath()
Returns the context path which is the path prefix associated with the deployed portlet application. If the portlet application is rooted at the base of the web server URL namespace (also known as "default" context), this path must be an empty string. Otherwise, it must be the path the portlet application is rooted to, the path must start with a '/' and it must not end with a '/' character.

To encode a URL the PortletResponse method must be used.

Returns: a String specifying the portion of the request URL that indicates the context of the request

See Also: PortletResponse

getLocale

public Locale getLocale()
Returns the preferred Locale in which the portal will accept content. The Locale may be based on the Accept-Language header of the client.

Returns: the prefered Locale in which the portal will accept content.

getLocales

public Enumeration getLocales()
Returns an Enumeration of Locale objects indicating, in decreasing order starting with the preferred locale in which the portal will accept content for this request. The Locales may be based on the Accept-Language header of the client.

Returns: an Enumeration of Locales, in decreasing order, in which the portal will accept content for this request

getParameter

public String getParameter(String name)
Returns the value of a request parameter as a String, or null if the parameter does not exist. Request parameters are extra information sent with the request. The returned parameter are "x-www-form-urlencoded" decoded.

Only parameters targeted to the current portlet are accessible.

This method should only be used if the parameter has only one value. If the parameter might have more than one value, use PortletRequest.

If this method is used with a multivalued parameter, the value returned is equal to the first value in the array returned by getParameterValues.

Parameters: name a String specifying the name of the parameter

Returns: a String representing the single value of the parameter

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

See Also: PortletRequest

getParameterMap

public Map getParameterMap()
Returns a Map of the parameters of this request. Request parameters are extra information sent with the request. The returned parameters are "x-www-form-urlencoded" decoded.

The values in the returned Map are from type String array (String[]).

If no parameters exist this method returns an empty Map.

Returns: an immutable Map containing parameter names as keys and parameter values as map values, or an empty Map if no parameters exist. The keys in the parameter map are of type String. The values in the parameter map are of type String array (String[]).

getParameterNames

public Enumeration getParameterNames()
Returns an Enumeration of String objects containing the names of the parameters contained in this request. If the request has no parameters, the method returns an empty Enumeration.

Only parameters targeted to the current portlet are returned.

Returns: an Enumeration of String objects, each String containing the name of a request parameter; or an empty Enumeration if the request has no parameters.

getParameterValues

public String[] getParameterValues(String name)
Returns an array of String objects containing all of the values the given request parameter has, or null if the parameter does not exist. The returned parameters are "x-www-form-urlencoded" decoded.

If the parameter has a single value, the array has a length of 1.

Parameters: name a String containing the name of the parameter the value of which is requested

Returns: an array of String objects containing the parameter values.

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

See Also: PortletRequest

getPortalContext

public PortalContext getPortalContext()
Returns the context of the calling portal.

Returns: the context of the calling portal

getPortletMode

public PortletMode getPortletMode()
Returns the current portlet mode of the portlet.

Returns: the portlet mode

getPortletSession

public PortletSession getPortletSession()
Returns the current portlet session or, if there is no current session, creates one and returns the new session.

Creating a new portlet session will result in creating a new HttpSession on which the portlet session is based on.

Returns: the portlet session

getPortletSession

public PortletSession getPortletSession(boolean create)
Returns the current portlet session or, if there is no current session and the given flag is true, creates one and returns the new session.

If the given flag is false and there is no current portlet session, this method returns null.

Creating a new portlet session will result in creating a new HttpSession on which the portlet session is based on.

Parameters: create true to create a new session,
false to return null if there is no current session

Returns: the portlet session

getPreferences

public PortletPreferences getPreferences()
Returns the preferences object associated with the portlet.

Returns: the portlet preferences

getProperties

public Enumeration getProperties(String name)
Returns all the values of the specified request property as a Enumeration of String objects.

If the request did not include any propertys of the specified name, this method returns an empty Enumeration. The property name is case insensitive. You can use this method with any request property.

Parameters: name a String specifying the property name

Returns: a Enumeration containing the values of the requested property. If the request does not have any properties of that name return an empty Enumeration.

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

getProperty

public String getProperty(String name)
Returns the value of the specified request property as a String. If the request did not include a property of the specified name, this method returns null.

A portlet can access portal/portlet-container specific properties through this method and, if available, the headers of the HTTP client request.

This method should only be used if the property has only one value. If the property might have more than one value, use PortletRequest.

If this method is used with a multivalued parameter, the value returned is equal to the first value in the Enumeration returned by getProperties.

Parameters: name a String specifying the property name

Returns: a String containing the value of the requested property, or null if the request does not have a property of that name.

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

getPropertyNames

public Enumeration getPropertyNames()
Returns a Enumeration of all the property names this request contains. If the request has no properties, this method returns an empty Enumeration.

Returns: an Enumeration of all the property names sent with this request; if the request has no properties, an empty Enumeration.

getRemoteUser

public String getRemoteUser()
Returns the login of the user making this request, if the user has been authenticated, or null if the user has not been authenticated.

Returns: a String specifying the login of the user making this request, or null if the user login is not known.

getRequestedSessionId

public String getRequestedSessionId()
Returns the session ID indicated in the client request. This session ID may not be a valid one, it may be an old one that has expired or has been invalidated. If the client request did not specify a session ID, this method returns null.

Returns: a String specifying the session ID, or null if the request did not specify a session ID

See Also: PortletRequest

getResponseContentType

public String getResponseContentType()
Returns the portal preferred content type for the response.

The content type only includes the MIME type, not the character set.

Only content types that the portlet has defined in its deployment descriptor are valid return values for this method call. If the portlet has defined '*' or '* / *' as supported content types, these may also be valid return values.

Returns: preferred MIME type of the response

getResponseContentTypes

public Enumeration getResponseContentTypes()
Gets a list of content types which the portal accepts for the response. This list is ordered with the most preferable types listed first.

The content type only includes the MIME type, not the character set.

Only content types that the portlet has defined in its deployment descriptor are valid return values for this method call. If the portlet has defined '*' or '* / *' as supported content types, these may also be valid return values.

Returns: ordered list of MIME types for the response

getScheme

public String getScheme()
Returns the name of the scheme used to make this request. For example, http, https, or ftp. Different schemes have different rules for constructing URLs, as noted in RFC 1738.

Returns: a String containing the name of the scheme used to make this request

getServerName

public String getServerName()
Returns the host name of the server that received the request.

Returns: a String containing the name of the server to which the request was sent

getServerPort

public int getServerPort()
Returns the port number on which this request was received.

Returns: an integer specifying the port number

getUserPrincipal

public Principal getUserPrincipal()
Returns a java.security.Principal object containing the name of the current authenticated user.

Returns: a java.security.Principal containing the name of the user making this request, or null if the user has not been authenticated.

getWindowState

public WindowState getWindowState()
Returns the current window state of the portlet.

Returns: the window state

isPortletModeAllowed

public boolean isPortletModeAllowed(PortletMode mode)
Returns true, if the given portlet mode is a valid one to set for this portlet in the context of the current request.

Parameters: mode portlet mode to check

Returns: true, if it is valid for this portlet in this request to change to the given portlet mode

isRequestedSessionIdValid

public boolean isRequestedSessionIdValid()
Checks whether the requested session ID is still valid.

Returns: true if this request has an id for a valid session in the current session context; false otherwise

See Also: PortletRequest PortletRequest

isSecure

public boolean isSecure()
Returns a boolean indicating whether this request was made using a secure channel between client and the portal, such as HTTPS.

Returns: true, if the request was made using a secure channel.

isUserInRole

public boolean isUserInRole(String role)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the authenticated user is included in the specified logical "role". Roles and role membership can be defined using deployment descriptors. If the user has not been authenticated, the method returns false.

Parameters: role a String specifying the name of the role

Returns: a boolean indicating whether the user making this request belongs to a given role; false if the user has not been authenticated.

isWindowStateAllowed

public boolean isWindowStateAllowed(WindowState state)
Returns true, if the given window state is valid to be set for this portlet in the context of the current request.

Parameters: state window state to checked

Returns: true, if it is valid for this portlet in this request to change to the given window state

removeAttribute

public void removeAttribute(String name)
Removes an attribute from this request. This method is not generally needed, as attributes only persist as long as the request is being handled.

Attribute names should follow the same conventions as package names. Names beginning with java.*, javax.*, and com.sun.* are reserved for use by Sun Microsystems.

Parameters: name a String specifying the name of the attribute to be removed

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.

setAttribute

public void setAttribute(String name, Object o)
Stores an attribute in this request.

Attribute names should follow the same conventions as package names. Names beginning with java.*, javax.*, and com.sun.* are reserved for use by Sun Microsystems.
If the value passed into this method is null, the effect is the same as calling PortletRequest.

Parameters: name a String specifying the name of the attribute o the Object to be stored

Throws: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException if name is null.