16.8 Registering a Custom Converter

As is the case with a custom validator, if the application developer creates a custom converter, you must register it with the application either by using the @FacesConverter annotation, as described in Creating a Custom Converter, or by using the converter XML element in the application configuration resource file. Here is a hypothetical converter configuration for CreditCardConverter from the Duke's Bookstore case study:

<converter>
    <description>
        Converter for credit card numbers that normalizes
        the input to a standard format
    </description>
    <converter-id>CreditCardConverter</converter-id>
    <converter-class>
        dukesbookstore.converters.CreditCardConverter
    </converter-class>
</converter>

Attributes specified in a converter tag override any settings in the @FacesConverter annotation.

The converter element represents a javax.faces.convert.Converter implementation and contains required converter-id and converter-class elements.

The converter-id element identifies an ID that is used by the converter attribute of a UI component tag to apply the converter to the component's data. Using a Custom Converter includes an example of referencing the custom converter from a component tag.

The converter-class element identifies the Converter implementation.

Creating and Using a Custom Converter explains how to create a custom converter.