Thymeleaf rendering error when using ampersand in script tag

Question

I want to add google map javascript to a Thymeleaf template, like this:

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3.exp&libraries=places

It throws the exception:

org.xml.sax.SAXParseException; lineNumber: 209; columnNumber: 93; The reference to entity "key" must end with the ';' delimiter

I tried to change & to & but nothing changed.

Your help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

You have some options:

1) Don't use the th:src at all.

2) Since the URL is absolute, you can add it server-side using a static method:

<script th:src="${@urlService.getMapsUrl()}">...</script> 

3) Use a rewrite filter.

Not sure whether the issue is corrected in Thymeleaf 3, but it could be worth upgrading quickly and taking a look.

Answer 2

Thymeleaf uses XML parser, and the character & is considered a special character in XML. You have to replace & with its XML equvilant &.Your URL will be:

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3.exp&libraries=places

In thymeleaf 3, it won't be a problem since they wrote a new parser for thymeleaf.

Answer 3

It was a bug in Thymeleaf but it was fixed since 2.1.4.

Look at this issue. (The trouble described in this question).