RequestDispatcher.forward() and filters

If you have read this post then you probably know that if you use RequestDispatcher.forward() (or RequestDispatcher.include()) the filter chain does not get re-called for the forwarded servlet/jsp. However, if you read more closely you see that Craig was talking about the 2.3 servlet spec. Since we are using tomcat 5.5 which conforms to the 2.4 spec, you should know that there's a new <dispatcher> element in the deployment descriptor with possible values REQUEST, FORWARD, INCLUDE, and ERROR. You can add any number of entries to a <filter-mapping> tag and individually decide which filter gets called when. An Example:

    <filter-mapping>
        <filter-name>UrlRewriteFilter</filter-name>
        <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
    </filter-mapping>

    <filter-mapping>
        <filter-name>SecurityFilter</filter-name>
        <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
        <dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
        <dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
    </filter-mapping>