[SOLVED] JSF or PrimeFaces component for Boolean / how to use Boolean with p:triStateCheckbox

JSF or PrimeFaces component for Boolean / how to use Boolean with p:triStateCheckbox

PrimeFaces p:selectBooleanCheckbox and p:selectBooleanButton can be linked to a primitive data type boolean variable in a controller.

I want to have a controller which can be linked to a reference data type Boolean. It must be able to show the null, true and false values.

The p:triStateCheckbox can be linked to a String variable, but not a Boolean value.

Is there any JSF / PrimeFaces UI component which can represent reference data type Boolean in a Java Controller?

Solution

PrimeFaces 15+

Boolean is now natively supported.

See https://github.com/primefaces/primefaces/issues/13244

PrimeFaces 14 and lower

You should write a converter for String to Boolean if you want to use the TriStateCheckbox as explained in the documentation:

TriStateCheckbox passes values “0”, “1”, “2” by default for each state and this can be customized using a converter.

So, use something like:

public class TriStateBooleanConverter implements Converter {

  @Override
  public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, String value) {
    if (value == null) {
      return null;
    }
    switch (value) {
      case "0": return null;
      case "1": return Boolean.TRUE;
      case "2": return Boolean.FALSE;
      default: throw new ConverterException();
    }
  }

  @Override
  public String getAsString(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value) {
    Boolean bool = (Boolean) value;
    if (bool == null) {
      return "0";
    }
    return bool ? "1" : "2";
  }

}