Do we have to add any configurations to get Java object data into freemarker template?

Do we have to add any configurations to get Java object data into freemarker template ? In my template while using ‘If’ condition as shown below

<#if searchForm.frm_searchType == "Non-Member">
  <#assign isMember = true>
  <#assign isNonMember = false>
<#else>
  <#assign isMember = false>
  <#assign isNonMember = true>
</#if>

Getting this error below

ERROR [freemarker.runtime] (default task-1) Error executing FreeMarker template: freemarker.core.InvalidReferenceException: The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> searchForm.frm_searchType  [in template "memberSearch.ftl" at line 83, column 6]


Tip: It's the step after the last dot that caused this error, not those before it.

Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??



FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
    - Failed at: #if searchForm.frm_searchType == "Non...  [in template "memberSearch.ftl" at line 83, column 1]

    at freemarker.core.InvalidReferenceException.getInstance(InvalidReferenceException.java:134)
    at freemarker.core.EvalUtil.compare(EvalUtil.java:198)
    at freemarker.core.EvalUtil.compare(EvalUtil.java:115)
    at freemarker.core.ComparisonExpression.evalToBoolean(ComparisonExpression.java:78)
    at freemarker.core.IfBlock.accept(IfBlock.java:49)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.visit(Environment.java:347)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.visit(Environment.java:353)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.process(Environment.java:326)
    at freemarker.template.Template.process(Template.java:383)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.view.freemarker.FreeMarkerView.processTemplate(FreeMarkerView.java:367)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.view.freemarker.FreeMarkerView.doRender(FreeMarkerView.java:284)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.view.freemarker.FreeMarkerView.renderMergedTemplateModel(FreeMarkerView.java:234)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.view.AbstractTemplateView.renderMergedOutputModel(AbstractTemplateView.java:167)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.view.AbstractView.render(AbstractView.java:303)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.render(DispatcherServlet.java:1244)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.processDispatchResult(DispatcherServlet.java:1027)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.doDispatch(DispatcherServlet.java:971)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.doService(DispatcherServlet.java:893)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.processRequest(FrameworkServlet.java:970)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.doGet(FrameworkServlet.java:861)
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:686)
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.service(FrameworkServlet.java:846)
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:791)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.ServletHandler.handleRequest(ServletHandler.java:74)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.FilterHandler$FilterChainImpl.doFilter(FilterHandler.java:129)
    at com.cgi.kym.web.filter.ZipFilter.doFilter(ZipFilter.java:45)
    at io.undertow.servlet.core.ManagedFilter.doFilter(ManagedFilter.java:61)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.FilterHandler$FilterChainImpl.doFilter(FilterHandler.java:131)
    at com.cgi.kym.web.filter.SecurityFilter.doFilter(SecurityFilter.java:169)
    at io.undertow.servlet.core.ManagedFilter.doFilter(ManagedFilter.java:61)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.FilterHandler$FilterChainImpl.doFilter(FilterHandler.java:131)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.FilterHandler.handleRequest(FilterHandler.java:84)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.security.ServletSecurityRoleHandler.handleRequest(ServletSecurityRoleHandler.java:62)
    at io.undertow.servlet.handlers.ServletChain$1.handleRequest(ServletChain.java:68)
    at

FYI: searchForm and frm_searchType are public. If these two are initially null and will be getting data later, then how to get the template rendered initially.

Answer

If they are initially null, you should define default values for this case. From manual “Handle missing values”:

(product.color)!"red"

This will handle if product.color is missing. That is, if product is missing, or product exists but it does not contain color, the result will be “red”, and no error will occur.

So what should work is:

<#if (searchForm.frm_searchType)!"Non-Member" == "Non-Member">