Configure velocity to render an object with something other than toString?

Question

Is there a way to configure Velocity to use something other than toString() to convert an object to a string in a template? For example, suppose I'm using a simple date class with a format() method, and I use the same format every time. If all of my velocity code looks like this:

$someDate.format('M-D-yyyy')

is there some configuration I could add that would let me just say

$someDate

instead? (Assuming I'm not in a position to just edit the date class and give it an appropriate toString()).

I'm doing this in the context of a webapp built with WebWork, if that helps.

Answer 1

Velocity allows for a JSTL like utility called velocimacros:

http://velocity.apache.org/engine/devel/user-guide.html#Velocimacros

This would allow you to define a macro like:

#macro( d $date)
   $date.format('M-D-yyyy')
#end

And then call it like so:

#d($someDate)

Answer 2

You could also create your own ReferenceInsertionEventHandler that watches for your dates and automatically does the formatting for you.

Answer 3

Oh, and the 1.6+ versions of Velocity have a new Renderable interface. If you don't mind tying your date class to a Velocity API, then implement this interface and Velocity will use the render(context, writer) method (for your case, you just ignore the context and use the writer) instead of toString().