Double asterisk in a request mapping
java, spring, spring-mvc
Solution
Universally speaking asterisks (in wildcard role) mean
`/welcome*` : anything in THIS folder or URL section, that starts with `"/welcome"` and ends before next `"/"` like `/welcomePage`.
`/welcome**` : any URL, that starts with `"/welcome"` including sub-folders and sub-sections of URL pattern like `/welcome/section2/section3/` or `/welcomePage/index`.
`/welcome/*` : any file, folder or section inside welcome (before next `"/"`) like `/welcome/index`.
`/welcome/**` : any files, folders, sections, sub-folders or sub-sections inside welcome.
In other words one asterisk * ends before next `"/"`, two asterisks ** have no limits.
Problem
What does it mean when double asterisk is present in a request mapping? For instance ``` @RequestMapping(value = { "/", "/welcome**" }, method = RequestMethod.GET) public ModelAndView welcomePage() { ... ```