JSP - UseBean action tag

The <jsp:useBean> action tag in JSP is used to create or access JavaBean objects within a JSP page. It helps separate business logic from presentation by using Java classes to store data. This makes JSP pages cleaner, modular, and easier to maintain.

Used to create or access JavaBean objects in JSP
Works with <jsp:setProperty> and <jsp:getProperty>
Helps in separating logic (Java) from presentation (JSP)

Syntax

<jsp:useBean id="beanName" class="fully.qualified.ClassName" scope="scope" />

Attributes:

id -> Name used to reference the bean
class -> Fully qualified JavaBean class name
scope -> Lifecycle of bean (page, request, session, application)

Note: The <jsp:useBean> tag is used to create or retrieve an existing JavaBean instance in a JSP page. Once created, you can set or get its properties using the <jsp:setProperty> and <jsp:getProperty> tags.

Step-by-Step Implementation of <jsp:useBean> Tag

Step 1: Create the JavaBean Class

Create a simple Java class that represents a data model.

The class EmployeeBean follows the JavaBean convention.
It has private fields, public getter/setter methods, and a no-argument constructor (implicit here).

EmployeeBean.java:

Java

package example;

public class EmployeeBean {
    private String name;
    private double salary;

    // Getter and Setter methods
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public double getSalary() {
        return salary;
    }
    public void setSalary(double salary) {
        this.salary = salary;
    }
}

Step 2: Create the JSP Page

Now create a JSP file to use and display the bean properties.

index.jsp

HTML

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=UTF-8" pageEncoding="UTF-8"%>
<%@ page import="example.EmployeeBean" %>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>useBean Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>useBean Action Tag Example</h2>

<!-- Create or access a JavaBean -->
<jsp:useBean id="employee" class="example.EmployeeBean" scope="session" />

<!-- Set properties of the bean -->
<jsp:setProperty name="employee" property="name" value="Mahesh Kadambala" />
<jsp:setProperty name="employee" property="salary" value="50000" />

<!-- Display bean properties -->
<p><b>Name:</b> <jsp:getProperty name="employee" property="name" /></p>
<p><b>Salary:</b> <jsp:getProperty name="employee" property="salary" /></p>

</body>
</html>

Step 3: Deploy and Run the Project

Compile the EmployeeBean.java file and place it under your web application’s WEB-INF/classes/example directory.
Place index.jsp in the web root folder (webapp or WebContent).
Run the JSP application on a servlet container such as Apache Tomcat.
Open your browser and visit:

http://localhost:8080/JSPUseBeanExample/index.jsp

Output:

Below we can see the output in browser.

Output Screen

Explanation:

The <jsp:useBean> tag creates an instance of the EmployeeBean class with the ID employee.
The scope is set to session, meaning the bean remains available throughout the user session.
The <jsp:setProperty> tags assign values to the name and salary properties.
The <jsp:getProperty> tags fetch and display those property values on the page.

Scopes in `<jsp:useBean>`

page: Bean is available only within the current JSP page (default).
request: Bean is accessible during a single HTTP request across multiple pages using forward or include.
session: Bean persists across multiple requests within the same user session.
application: Bean is shared across the entire application for all users.