JSP Coding Standard

General rules

Separate HTML from Java
Try to put only presentation logic in JSP
Favor HTML in Java handler classes over Java in JSPs
Don't overuse Java code in HTML pages
Use JSP comments in most cases
Indentations should be filled with space characters

Code examples

JSP Page Directive(s)

<%@ page session="false" %>
<%@ page import="java.util.*" %>
<%@ page errorPage="/common/errorPage.jsp" %>

<%@ page session="false"
import="java.util.*"
errorPage="/common/errorPage.jsp"
%>

JSP Declaration(s) -- Try not to use business logic

<%!
private int hitCount;
private Date today;

public int getHitCount() {
return hitCount;
}
%>

Not preferred

<%! private int hitCount; %>
<%! private Date today; %>
...
<%! public int getHitCount() {
return hitCount;
}
%>

Compound Indentation with JSP, HTML and Java

<table>
<% if ( tableHeaderRequired ) { %>
<tr>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>First Name</th>
</tr>
<% } %>
<c:forEach var="customer" items="${customers}">
<tr>
<td><c:out value="${customer.lastName}"/></td>
<td><c:out value="${customer.firstName}"/></td>
</tr>
</c:forEach>
</table>

Not this

References