Defining the Date Field Component

Summary

This chapter gave you a blueprint and an understanding of what is required to write a JSF custom component. It covered topics including creating Renderers, creating renderer-specific subclasses, using external resources, registering component objects, and creating JSP tag handlers and TLDs. In later chapters, you will leverage this knowledge as the foundation for building more advanced JSF components.

The structure of how to build components will remain the same throughout the book. First you analyze the markup needed to create the intended behavior and user interface. Then you create the client-specific Renderer with all attributes needed for your component. Optionally, but recommended, you create the renderer-specific subclass that the application developer can use to customize the component at runtime. Finally, you implement support for the page description of choice—JSP. You should also now understand how to use ValueBinding and MethodBinding and how to support these concepts in your own JSF tag handlers.