JSF engine configuration parameters

In WebSphere® Application Server, you can configure the JavaServer Faces (JSF) engine configuration parameters for optimal performance in a production server environment and in a development environment.

The JSF engine parameters are case-sensitive. If the value specified for a parameter is composed of two or more words that are separated by spaces, you must add quotation marks around the value.

JSF options for MyFaces

Table 1. JSF options for MyFaces . The following table shows JSF parameter names, descriptions, and default values:
JSF parameter name Description Default value
org.apache.myfaces.DETECT_JAVASCRIPT   false
org.apache.myfaces.AUTO_SCROLL If true, a JavaScript function is rendered that can restore the former vertical scroll on every request. This feature is convenient if you have pages with long lists and you do not want the browser page to jump to the beginning of the page if you trigger a link or button action that stays on the same page. false
org.apache.myfaces.ADD_RESOURCE_CLASS   org.apache.myfaces.renderkit.html.util.DefaultAddResource
org.apache.myfaces.CHECK_EXTENSIONS_FILTER This parameter checks for a properly configured Extensions-Filter if it is needed by the web application. true
org.apache.myfaces.COMPRESS_STATE_IN_SESSION Set this option to true to compress the serialized state before it is written to the session. If this option is set to false, the state is not compressed. This option is only applicable if the state saving method is set to server and if org.apache.myfaces.SERIALIZE_STATE_IN_SESSION is set to true. true
org.apache.myfaces.FLASH_SCOPE_DISABLED Set this context parameter to true to disable the Flash Scope that results in the cookie not being sent. false
org.apache.myfaces.NUMBER_OF_VIEWS_IN_SESSION Defines the number of the latest views that are stored in session. This option is only applicable if the state saving method is set to server. 20
org.apache.myfaces.READONLY_AS_DISABLED_FOR_SELECTS   true
org.apache.myfaces.SERIALIZE_STATE_IN_SESSION Set this option to true to serialize the state to a byte stream before it is written to the session. If this option is set to false, the state is not serialized to a byte stream. This option is only applicable if the state saving method is set to server. true
org.apache.myfaces.STRICT_JSF_2_CC_EL_RESOLVER Ensures that, when a getType() is called over the source EL expression, components that are working with chained EL expressions can use the metadata information that composite: attribute added. Setting this property to true disables this function. false
org.apache.el.parser.COERCE_TO_ZERO Specifies whether the Expression Language (EL) implementation used by WebSphere Application Server will coerce null and empty string integer values to a 0 value.  The default value is false - so null and empty string integers will not be coerced to a 0 value.

The default value for this parameter has changed from its default in previous WebSphere versions due to a change in the EL 3.0 specification.

You can set the org.apache.el.parser.COERCE_TO_ZERO property by using the administrative console:

  1. Expand Servers, and then select WebSphere Application Servers. Click the appropriate server from the list.
  2. Under Server Infrastructure, expand Java and Process Management > click Process definition.
  3. Under Additional Properties, click Java virtual machine.
  4. Under Additional Properties, click Custom properties.
  5. Click New and add the org.apache.el.parser.COERCE_TO_ZERO property with the value of true if you DO want null values coerced to zero.
  6. Click Save to save the change and restart the WebSphere Application Server to ensure that the change takes place.
  
org.apache.myfaces.DEBUG_PHASE_LISTENER Enables the DebugPhaseListener in the Development Project Stage. true
com.ibm.ws.jsf.disablealternatefacesconfigsearch Disables MyFaces searching for META-INF/*.faces-config.xml for only the web application that this context parameter is set on. If the context parameter and the web container custom property are set, the context parameter takes precedence. false
com.ibm.ws.jsf.get.facesConfig.via.WAS.classloader (JVM property) Application bundled commons-logging implementations such as Log4J can conflict with the WebSphere provided commons-logging implementation when the application classloader mode is set to PARENT_LAST.  Set this JVM property to true to enable the correct classloading behavior when the application classloader mode is set to PARENT_LAST. false

General JSF options

Table 2. JSF options . The following table shows JSF parameter names, descriptions, and default values for any JSF implementation:
JSF parameter name Description Default value
javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD Specifies the location where state information is saved. Valid values are server, which is saved in HttpSession, and client, which is saved as a hidden field in the form.
Note: If you use javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD to save on the client side, there are limitations between JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL) and Facelets. For certain processing scenarios, JSF Facelets support has limitations in processing all of the client-side saving requirements for Facelets. For these scenarios, server-side saving is an option. If client-side state saving is a requirement, then use JSF tags.
 server
javax.faces.CONFIG_FILES Use this parameter to specify a comma-delimited list of context-relative resource paths under which the JSF implementation looks for application configuration resources before it loads a configuration resource named /WEB-INF/facesconfig.xml, if a resource exists. n/a
javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX Specifies the default suffix for extension-mapped resources that contain JSF components. .jsp
javax.faces.LIFECYCLE_ID Use this parameter to configure an alternative lifecycle ID. n/a
com.ibm.ws.jsf.JSF_IMPL_CHECK Specifies that the JSP files in a web module must be recompiled when the application is restarted because the implementation of JSF that is used has changed. After the application is restarted, the next time a JSP file is accessed for this module the JSP file is recompiled against the selected implementation of JSF specified in the administration console. Subsequent calls to the JSP file do not recompile. The default setting for this option is false. Use this option for development and not in a production environment. n/a
javax.faces.INTERPRET_EMPTY_STRING_SUBMITTED_VALUES_AS_NULL Specifies that the submitted values are decoded as null values instead of empty strings.
Note: This parameter is ignored for components that extend from UISelectOne/UISelectMany.
Note: This parameter has no effect when EL 3.0 or later is used because a custom ELResolver is required.
 false

Sun RI context parameters that have an equivalent behavior in MyFaces

Table 3. Sun RI context parameters and equivalent MyFaces behavior . The following table shows SUN RI parameters names and MyFaces equivalent:
SUN RI parameter name Description RI default MyFaces equivalent MyFaces default
com.sun.faces.numberOfViewsInSession Defines the maximum number of serialized views that are stored in the session. Works with server state saving. 15 org.apache.myfaces.NUMBER_OF_VIEWS_IN_SESSION 20
com.sun.faces.compressViewState When true the view is compressed after it is serialized and before base64 encoded. Works with client state saving. As of 1.2_09, this option also affects server-side state saving when com.sun.faces.serializeServerState is set to true (this has a large impact of the size of the state in the session when you use this option, at the expense of more CPU.) true org.apache.myfaces.COMPRESS_STATE_IN_CLIENT for client-side state saving or org.apache.myfaces.COMPRESS_STATE_IN_SESSION for server-side state saving false for client-side state saving, true for server-side state saving
com.sun.faces.validateXml When true JSF validates the configuration files. false org.apache.myfaces.VALIDATE false
com.sun.faces.injectionProvider This parameter specifies a class that implements the InjectionProvider. n/a Injection provider is provided by the WebSphere Application Server run time n/a
com.sun.faces.serializationProvider This parameter specifies a class that implements the SerializationProvider SPI. This implementation represents a hook that the JSF implementation uses to enable the alternative Serialization implementations. n/a org.apache.myfaces.SERIAL_FACTORY - class must implement org.apache.myfaces.shared_impl.util.serial.SerialFactory SPI instead of com.sun.faces.spi.SerializationProvider n/a
com.sun.faces.enabledJSStyleHiding If true, inline JavaScript rendered by the HTML ResponseWriter implementation is rendered so that the script is hidden from older browser implementations. false org.apache.myfaces.WRAP_SCRIPT_CONTENT_WITH_XML_COMMENT_TAG true
com.sun.faces.serializeServerState If enabled, the component state (not the tree) is serialized before it is stored in the session. This might be desirable for applications that have issues with view state being sensitive to model changes. false org.apache.myfaces.SERIALIZE_STATE_IN_SESSION true
For transitioning users: Previous to Version 8.5.5.3, when you use javax.faces.component.UIComponent.findComponent (String expression), an incorrect UIComponent might be returned. In this release of the product, the javax.faces.component.UIComponent.findComponent returns the correct UIComponent. The com.ibm.ws.jsf.FIND_COMPONENT_RECURSE_CHILD_ID JSF context parameter must be set to true.