How do I get hold of the HttpServletRequest?

How do I get hold of the HttpServletRequest?

HttpServletRequest request = ServletActionContext.getRequest();
if (request != null)
{
     // do something here
}

You should always assume that ServletActionContext.getRequest() will return null. ServletActionContext is only populated if the request comes in through WebWork. There are a number of circumstances in which it will not be populated, either because a web request has come in through some other path, or because there was no web request in the first place:

• AJAX requests that come in via the DWR servlet
• SOAP/XML-RPC requests
• Scheduled tasks, including the sending of email notifications

Treat ServletActionContext as a bonus. If it's populated you can do neat things with it, but don't rely on it.