Show JDBC ResultSet in HTML in JSP page using MVC and DAO pattern

In a well designed MVC approach, the JSP file should not contain any line of Java code and the servlet class should not contain any line of JDBC code.

Assuming that you want to show a list of products in a webshop, the following code needs to be created.

A Product class representing a real world entity of a product, it should be just a Javabean. public class Product { private Long id; private String name; private String description; private BigDecimal price; // Add/generate getters/setters/c'tors/equals/hashcode boilerplate. }

A DAO class which does all the nasty JDBC work and returns a nice List. public class ProductDAO { private DataSource dataSource; public ProductDAO(DataSource dataSource) { this.dataSource = dataSource; } public List list() throws SQLException { List products = new ArrayList(); try ( Connection connection = dataSource.getConnection(); PreparedStatement statement = connection.prepareStatement("SELECT id, name, description, price FROM product"); ResultSet resultSet = statement.executeQuery(); ) { while (resultSet.next()) { Product product = new Product(); product.setId(resultSet.getLong("id")); product.setName(resultSet.getString("name")); product.setDescription(resultSet.getString("description")); product.setPrice(resultSet.getBigDecimal("price")); products.add(product); } } return products; } }

A servlet class which obtains the list and puts it in the request scope. @WebServlet("/products") public class ProductsServlet extends HttpServlet { @Resource(name="jdbc/YourDB") // For Tomcat, define as in context.xml and declare as in web.xml. private DataSource dataSource; private ProductDAO productDAO; @Override public void init() { productDAO = new ProductDAO(dataSource); } @Override protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException { try { List products = productDAO.list(); request.setAttribute("products", products); // Will be available as ${products} in JSP request.getRequestDispatcher("/WEB-INF/products.jsp").forward(request, response); } catch (SQLException e) { throw new ServletException("Cannot obtain products from DB", e); } } }

Finally a JSP file in /WEB-INF/products.jsp which uses JSTL to iterate over List which is made available in EL by ${products}, and uses JSTL to escape string properties in order to avoid XSS holes when it concerns user-controlled input. <%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %> <%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/format" prefix="fmt" %> ...

${product.id}

To get it to work, just call the servlet by its URL. Provided that the servlet is annotated @WebServlet("/products") or mapped in web.xml with <url-pattern>/products</url-pattern>, then you can call it by http://example.com/contextname/products

See also:

How to avoid Java code in JSP files?

doGet and doPost in Servlets

How should I connect to JDBC database / datasource in a servlet based application?

Design Patterns web based applications

RequestDispatcher.forward() vs HttpServletResponse.sendRedirect()

How to map a ResultSet with unknown amount of columns to a List and display it in a HTML table?

How do I pass current item to Java method by clicking a hyperlink or button in JSP page?

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MVC, in a web application context, doesn't consist in using a class from a JSP. It consists in using the following model :

browser sends a request to a web server the web server is configured so that the request is handled by a servlet or a filter (the controller : Java code, not JSP code) The servlet/filter usually dispatches the request to a specific class (called an Action, the specific part of the controller), based on configuration/annotations The action executes the business logic (i.e. fetch the data from the database in your example : the model) The action forwards the request to a JSP. The role of the JSP is only to generate HTML code (i.e. display your data : the view)

Since the JSP usually uses JSP tags (the JSTL, for example) and the JSP expression language, and since JSP tags and the EL are designed to get information from JavaBeans, you'd better have your data available in the form of JavaBeans or collections of JavaBeans.

The role of the controller (the action class) is thus to fetch the data, to create JavaBean instances containing the data, in a suitable format for the JSP, to put them in request attributes, and then to dispatch to the JSP. The JSP will then iterate through the JavaBean instances and display what they contain.

You should not implement the MVC framework yourself. Use existing ones (Stripes, Struts, etc.)

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I don't know how should I return the ResultSet from the class file to the JSP page

Well, you don't.

The point of MVC is to separate your model ( the M DB info in this case ) from your view ( V a jsp, in this case ) in such a way you can change the view without braking to application.

To do this you might use an intermediate object to represent your data ( usually called DTO - after Data Transfer Object -, don't know how they call it these days ), and other object to fetch it ( usually a DAO ).

So basically you have your JSP file, get the request parameters, and then invoke a method from the DAO. The dao, internally has the means to connect to the db and fetch the data and builds a collections of DTO's which are returned to the JSP for rendering.

Something like this extremely simplified ( and insecure ) code:

Employee.java

class Employee {
   String name;
   int emplid;
}

EmployeeDAO.java

class EmployeeDAO { 
   ... method to connect 
   etc. 
   List<Employee> getAllNamed( String name ) { 
       String query = "SELECT name, emplid FROM employee where name like ?";
       ResultSet rs = preparedStatement.executeQuery etc etc.
       List<Employee> results = ....
       while( rs.hasNext() ) { 
          results.add( new Employee( rs.getString("name"), rs.getInt("emplid")));
       }
       // close resources etc 
       return results;
    }
}

employee.jsp

<%
   request.setAttribute("employees", dao.getAllNamed( request.getParameter("name") );
%>
<table>
<c:forEach items="${employees}" var="employee">
<tr><td>${employee.emplid}</td><td>${employee.name}</td></tr>
</c:forEach>
</table>

I hope this give you a better idea.

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I have a problem. I don't understand clearly the code. I have a similar problem with my code.

I have created database SQL and filled up. Then I want to implement a MainServlet (code below) that richieve data from database and in a different jsp page, I want to insert that data in section like h1, h2 ecc... I must use the ${} sintax but I don't know how do that.

Briefly, In jsp file (code below, I MUST USE ${} SINTAX) I want to "call" MainServlet and there I want to richieve data from database and view in jsp file.

I hope I have explained correctly, thank you very much!

MainServlet.java

import java.io.IOException;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.sql.Statement;

import javax.servlet.ServletConfig;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.annotation.WebServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;


/**
 * Servlet implementation class MainServlet
 */
@WebServlet({ "/MainServlet" })
public class MainServlet extends HttpServlet {
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
    private static final String PATH_JSP = "/WEB-INF/";
       
    /**
     * @see HttpServlet#HttpServlet()
     */
    public MainServlet() {
        super();
        // TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
    }

    /**
     * @see Servlet#init(ServletConfig)
     */
    public void init(ServletConfig config) throws ServletException {
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    }

    /**
     * @see Servlet#destroy()
     */
    public void destroy() {
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    }

    /**
     * @see HttpServlet#doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
     */
    protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
        String doveAndare = request.getParameter("azione");
        if(doveAndare==null)
            doveAndare = "index";
        try {
            String driverString = "com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver";
            Class.forName(driverString);
            String connString = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/ldd_jewels?user=root&password=";
            Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(connString);
            Statement stmt = conn.createStatement();
            ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM JEWEL");
            while (rs.next() == true) {
                System.out.println(rs.getString("Category") + "\t" + rs.getString("Name"));
                
                /* I try that but does not work
                request.setAttribute("name", rs.getString("Name"));
                javax.servlet.RequestDispatcher dispatcher = request.getRequestDispatcher("/WEB-INF/widering_male.jsp");
                dispatcher.forward(request, response); */
            }
            stmt.close();
            conn.close();
        } catch(Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        request.getRequestDispatcher(PATH_JSP+doveAndare+".jsp").forward(request, response);
    }

    /**
     * @see HttpServlet#doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
     */
    protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
        doGet(request, response);
    }

}

doublerow.jsp

   <section id="portfolio-details" class="portfolio-details">
        <div class="container">
          <div class="row gy-4">
            <div class="col-lg-8">
              <div class="portfolio-details-slider swiper">
                <div class="swiper-wrapper align-items-center">
                  <div class="swiper-slide">
                    <img src="assets/img/jewels/doublerow_1.jpg" alt="" />
                  </div>

                  <div class="swiper-slide">
                    <img src="assets/img/jewels/doublerow_2.jpg" alt="" />
                  </div>

                  <div class="swiper-slide">
                    <img src="assets/img/jewels/doublerow_3.jpg" alt="" />
                  </div>
                </div>
                <div class="swiper-pagination"></div>
              </div>
            </div>

            <div class="col-lg-4">
              <div class="portfolio-info">
                <h3>Product details</h3>
                <ul>
                  <li><strong>Code</strong>: 1S3D5</li>
                  <li><strong>Category</strong>: Bracelets</li>
                  <li><strong>Name</strong>: Double Row Hinged Bangle</li>
                  <li><strong>Gender</strong>: Female</li>
                  <li><strong>Material</strong>: Yellow gold</li>
                  <li><strong>Size</strong>: 121mm</li>
                  <li><strong>Price</strong>: €5500</li>
                </ul>
              </div>
              <div class="portfolio-description">
                <h2>Description of product</h2>
                <p>
                  The entwined ends of Tiffany Knot’s signature motif symbolize
                  the power of connections between people. Balancing strength
                  and elegance, each Tiffany Knot design is a complex feat of
                  craftsmanship. This bangle is crafted with yellow gold and
                  polished by hand for high shine. Wear on its own or partnered
                  with classic silhouettes for an unexpected pairing.
                </p>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </section>

https://i.stack.imgur.com/Uwif5.png

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You can use the <c:forEach > tag

you can find a detailed example in the following link example use

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I think it will be better for you to contain the data of the table into a collection such as list and return the list from the Java class and reuse this collection in the JSP.

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