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Generating a Response

The appendToResponse:inContext: method is invoked in the final phase of the request-response loop, during which the application generates HTML for the response page.

Note: Unlike, takeValuesFromRequest:inContext: and invokeActionForRequest:inContext:, the appendToResponse:inContext: method may be invoked by the direct action request-response loop. If the direct action method returns a WOComponent object, that component's appendtoResponse:inContext: method is invoked to generate the response.

You can override this method to add to the response content or otherwise manipulate the HTTP response. For example, you can add a cookie to the response as in the following example:

- appendToResponse:aResponse inContext:aContext

{

		id aCookie = [WOCookie cookieWithName:@"myCookie" 

			value:@"important information goes here"];



		[super appendToResponse:aResponse inContext:aContext];

		[aResponse addCookie:aCookie];

}
In a similar manner, you can use appendToResponse:inContext: to add text to the response content. In the following example, a component's appendToResponse:inContext: method adds bold and italic markup elements around a string's value as follows: 

id value;

id escapeHTML;

id isBold;

id isItalic;



- appendToResponse:aResponse inContext:aContext

{

		id aString = [value description];



		[super appendToResponse:aResponse inContext:aContext];

		[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:@"<p>"];

		if (isBold) {

			[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:@"<b>"];

		}

		if (isItalic) {

			[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:@"<i>"];

		}



		if (escapeHTML) {

			[aResponse appendContentString:aString];

		} else {

			[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:aString];

		}



		if (isItalic) {

			[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:@"</i>"];

		}

		if (isBold) {

			[aResponse appendContentHTMLString:@"</b>"];

		}

}
After you invoke super's appendToResponse:inContext:, the application generates the response page. At this point you could do something appropriate for the end of the request. For example, the following implementation terminates the current session:

public void appendToResponse(WOResponse response, 

WOContext context) {

	super.appendToResponse(response, context);

	session().terminate();

}
For more details on each phase of the request-response loop, read the chapter "WebObjects Viewed Through Its Classes".

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