Spring 4 MVC Ajax Hello World Example

In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a Spring MVC web project and submit a form via Ajax.

Technologies used :

1. Spring 4.2.2.RELEASE
2. Jackson 2.6.3
3. Logback 1.1.3
4. jQuery 1.10.2
5. Maven 3
6. JDK 1.8
7. Tomcat 8 or Jetty 9
8. Eclipse 4.5
9. Boostrap 3

P.S If the Jackson library is found in the project classpath, Spring will use Jackson to handle the json data to / from object conversion automatically.

1. Quick Reference

1.1 In HTML, use jQuery $.ajax() to send a form request.

	jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
		$("#search-form").submit(function(event) {
			// Prevent the form from submitting via the browser.
			event.preventDefault();
			searchViaAjax();
		});
	});
	function searchAjax() {
		var data = {}
		data["query"] = $("#query").val();
		$.ajax({
			type : "POST",
			contentType : "application/json",
			url : "${home}search/api/getSearchResult",
			data : JSON.stringify(data),
			dataType : 'json',
			timeout : 100000,
			success : function(data) {
				console.log("SUCCESS: ", data);
				display(data);
			},
			error : function(e) {
				console.log("ERROR: ", e);
				display(e);
			},
			done : function(e) {
				console.log("DONE");
		});

1.2 Spring controller to handle the Ajax request.

@Controller
public class AjaxController {
	@ResponseBody
	@RequestMapping(value = "/search/api/getSearchResult")
	public AjaxResponseBody getSearchResultViaAjax(@RequestBody SearchCriteria search) {
		AjaxResponseBody result = new AjaxResponseBody();
		//logic
		return result;

2. Project Directory

Review the project directory, a standard Maven project directory structure.

3. Project Dependencies

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" 
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 
	http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
	<groupId>com.mkyong</groupId>
	<artifactId>spring4-mvc-maven-ajax-example</artifactId>
	<packaging>war</packaging>
	<version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
	<name>spring4 mvc maven ajax example</name>
	<properties>
		<jdk.version>1.8</jdk.version>
		<spring.version>4.2.2.RELEASE</spring.version>
		<jackson.version>2.6.3</jackson.version>
		<logback.version>1.1.3</logback.version>
		<jcl.slf4j.version>1.7.12</jcl.slf4j.version>
		<jstl.version>1.2</jstl.version>
		<servletapi.version>3.1.0</servletapi.version>
	</properties>
	<dependencies>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
			<version>${spring.version}</version>
			<exclusions>
				<exclusion>
					<groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
					<artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
				</exclusion>
			</exclusions>
		</dependency>
		<!-- Need this for json to/from object -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
			<artifactId>jackson-core</artifactId>
			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
		</dependency>
		<!-- JSTL for views -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
			<artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
			<version>${jstl.version}</version>
		</dependency>
		<!-- Logging -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
			<artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
			<version>${jcl.slf4j.version}</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
			<artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
			<version>${logback.version}</version>
		</dependency>
		<!-- compile only, runtime container will provide this -->
		<!-- Need this for config annotation -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
			<artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
			<version>${servletapi.version}</version>
			<scope>provided</scope>
		</dependency>
	</dependencies>
	<build>
		<plugins>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
				<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>3.3</version>
				<configuration>
					<source>${jdk.version}</source>
					<target>${jdk.version}</target>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.eclipse.jetty</groupId>
				<artifactId>jetty-maven-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>9.2.11.v20150529</version>
				<configuration>
					<scanIntervalSeconds>10</scanIntervalSeconds>
					<webApp>
						<contextPath>/spring4ajax</contextPath>
					</webApp>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
				<artifactId>maven-eclipse-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>2.10</version>
				<configuration>
					<downloadSources>true</downloadSources>
					<downloadJavadocs>true</downloadJavadocs>
					<wtpversion>2.0</wtpversion>
					<wtpContextName>spring4ajax</wtpContextName>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
				<artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>2.6</version>
				<configuration>
					<failOnMissingWebXml>false</failOnMissingWebXml>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
			<!-- Deploy to WildFly -->
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.wildfly.plugins</groupId>
				<artifactId>wildfly-maven-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>1.1.0.Alpha5</version>
				<configuration>
					<hostname>127.0.0.1</hostname>
					<port>9990</port>
					<username>admin</username>
					<password>admin</password>
					<name>spring4ajax.war</name>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
		</plugins>
	</build>
</project>

4. Spring Components

Only the important classes will be displayed.

4.1 @RestController to handle the Ajax request. Read the comments for self-explanatory.

package com.mkyong.web.controller;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.annotation.PostConstruct;
import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestBody;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonView;
import com.mkyong.web.jsonview.Views;
import com.mkyong.web.model.AjaxResponseBody;
import com.mkyong.web.model.SearchCriteria;
import com.mkyong.web.model.User;
@RestController
public class AjaxController {
	List<User> users;
	// @ResponseBody, not necessary, since class is annotated with @RestController
	// @RequestBody - Convert the json data into object (SearchCriteria) mapped by field name.
	// @JsonView(Views.Public.class) - Optional, filters json data to display.
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	@RequestMapping(value = "/search/api/getSearchResult")
	public AjaxResponseBody getSearchResultViaAjax(@RequestBody SearchCriteria search) {
		AjaxResponseBody result = new AjaxResponseBody();
		if (isValidSearchCriteria(search)) {
			List<User> users = findByUserNameOrEmail(search.getUsername(), search.getEmail());
			if (users.size() > 0) {
				result.setCode("200");
				result.setMsg("");
				result.setResult(users);
			} else {
				result.setCode("204");
				result.setMsg("No user!");
		} else {
			result.setCode("400");
			result.setMsg("Search criteria is empty!");
		//AjaxResponseBody will be converted into json format and send back to the request.
		return result;
	private boolean isValidSearchCriteria(SearchCriteria search) {
		boolean valid = true;
		if (search == null) {
			valid = false;
		if ((StringUtils.isEmpty(search.getUsername())) && (StringUtils.isEmpty(search.getEmail()))) {
			valid = false;
		return valid;
	// Init some users for testing
	@PostConstruct
	private void iniDataForTesting() {
		users = new ArrayList<User>();
		User user1 = new User("mkyong", "pass123", "mkyong@yahoo.com", "012-1234567", "address 123");
		User user2 = new User("yflow", "pass456", "yflow@yahoo.com", "016-7654321", "address 456");
		User user3 = new User("laplap", "pass789", "mkyong@yahoo.com", "012-111111", "address 789");
		users.add(user1);
		users.add(user2);
		users.add(user3);
	// Simulate the search function
	private List<User> findByUserNameOrEmail(String username, String email) {
		List<User> result = new ArrayList<User>();
		for (User user : users) {
			if ((!StringUtils.isEmpty(username)) && (!StringUtils.isEmpty(email))) {
				if (username.equals(user.getUsername()) && email.equals(user.getEmail())) {
					result.add(user);
					continue;
				} else {
					continue;
			if (!StringUtils.isEmpty(username)) {
				if (username.equals(user.getUsername())) {
					result.add(user);
					continue;
			if (!StringUtils.isEmpty(email)) {
				if (email.equals(user.getEmail())) {
					result.add(user);
					continue;
		return result;

4.2 The “json data” will be converted into this object, via @RequestBody.

package com.mkyong.web.model;
public class SearchCriteria {
	String username;
	String email;
	//getters and setters

4.2 Create a dummy class for @JsonView, to control what should be returned back to the request.

package com.mkyong.web.jsonview;
public class Views {
    public static class Public {}

4.3 User object for search function. Fields which annotated with @JsonView will be displayed.

package com.mkyong.web.model;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonView;
import com.mkyong.web.jsonview.Views;
public class User {
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	String username;
	String password;
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	String email;
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	String phone;
	String address;
	//getters, setters and contructors

4.4 This object will be converted into json format and return back to the request.

package com.mkyong.web.model;
import java.util.List;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonView;
import com.mkyong.web.jsonview.Views;
public class AjaxResponseBody {
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	String msg;
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	String code;
	@JsonView(Views.Public.class)
	List<User> result;
	//getters and setters

5. jQuery Ajax

In JSP, create a simple search form and send the form request with jQuery $.ajax.

<%@page session="false"%>
<%@taglib prefix="spring" uri="http://www.springframework.org/tags"%>
<%@taglib prefix="c" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<c:url var="home" value="/" scope="request" />
<spring:url value="/resources/core/css/hello.css" var="coreCss" />
<spring:url value="/resources/core/css/bootstrap.min.css"
	var="bootstrapCss" />
<link href="${bootstrapCss}" rel="stylesheet" />
<link href="${coreCss}" rel="stylesheet" />
<spring:url value="/resources/core/js/jquery.1.10.2.min.js"
	var="jqueryJs" />
<script src="${jqueryJs}"></script>
</head>
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse">
	<div class="container">
		<div class="navbar-header">
			<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Spring 4 MVC Ajax Hello World</a>
		</div>
	</div>
</nav>
<div class="container" style="min-height: 500px">
	<div class="starter-template">
		<h1>Search Form</h1>
		<br>
		<div id="feedback"></div>
		<form class="form-horizontal" id="search-form">
			<div class="form-group form-group-lg">
				<label class="col-sm-2 control-label">Username</label>
				<div class="col-sm-10">
					<input type=text class="form-control" id="username">
				</div>
			</div>
			<div class="form-group form-group-lg">
				<label class="col-sm-2 control-label">Email</label>
				<div class="col-sm-10">
					<input type="text" class="form-control" id="email">
				</div>
			</div>
			<div class="form-group">
				<div class="col-sm-offset-2 col-sm-10">
					<button type="submit" id="bth-search"
						class="btn btn-primary btn-lg">Search</button>
				</div>
			</div>
		</form>
	</div>
</div>
<div class="container">
	<footer>
		<p>
			© <a href="http://www.mkyong.com">Mkyong.com</a> 2015
		</p>
	</footer>
</div>
<script>
	jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
		$("#search-form").submit(function(event) {
			// Disble the search button
			enableSearchButton(false);
			// Prevent the form from submitting via the browser.
			event.preventDefault();
			searchViaAjax();
		});
	});
	function searchViaAjax() {
		var search = {}
		search["username"] = $("#username").val();
		search["email"] = $("#email").val();
		$.ajax({
			type : "POST",
			contentType : "application/json",
			url : "${home}search/api/getSearchResult",
			data : JSON.stringify(search),
			dataType : 'json',
			timeout : 100000,
			success : function(data) {
				console.log("SUCCESS: ", data);
				display(data);
			},
			error : function(e) {
				console.log("ERROR: ", e);
				display(e);
			},
			done : function(e) {
				console.log("DONE");
				enableSearchButton(true);
		});
	function enableSearchButton(flag) {
		$("#btn-search").prop("disabled", flag);
	function display(data) {
		var json = "<h4>Ajax Response</h4><pre>"
				+ JSON.stringify(data, null, 4) + "</pre>";
		$('#feedback').html(json);
</script>
</body>
</html>

6. Demo

6.1 http://localhost:8080/spring4ajax/

6.2 Empty field validation.

6.3 Search by username.

6.4. Search by email.

5. The Chrome browser, inspect element, network tag.

7. How to run this project?

7.1 Clone the source code from Github

$ git clone https://github.com/mkyong/spring4-mvc-ajax-example

7.2 Run the embedded Jetty container.

$ mvn jetty:run

7.3 Visit this URL – http://localhost:8080/spring4ajax/

References

1. jQuery.ajax()
2. Jackson Feature: JSON Views
3. Using @JsonView with Spring MVC
4. Latest Jackson integration improvements in Spring
5. HTTP : Status Code Definitions
6. Spring – @RequestBody
7. Spring – @ResponseBody
8. Spring – @RestController
9. Gradle – Spring 4 MVC hello world annotation