h:inputSecret redisplay="false" required="false"><s:validateEquality : confirm field either required or not checked at all - seam

Question

I use seam 2.2.0.GA.
My password/confirm fields have redisplay="false" so the current password isn't in html.
validateEquality is in the confirm field.
I want the following behavior: when I create a new entity, both password/confirm fields should be required. When I edit an entity, both fields shouldn't be required, but the equality should be checked in any case. For that I have h:inputSecret required="#{required}" and calculate the param "required".
There're 2 problems:
1) s:validateEquality has the attribute "required" too, but it looks buggy: if I hardcode true or false, it works as expected, but if I use required="#{required}" and during a conversation this param changes, the validator still behaves as if the param hasn't changed.
2) s:validateEquality required="false" doesn't check the equality, if the confirm field is empty.
#{sandboxController.now}
<ui:param name="label" value="password"/>
<ui:param name="labelConfirm" value="confirm password"/>
<ui:param name="message" value="not the same"/>
<ui:param name="id" value="bbb"/>
<ui:param name="redisplay" value="#{sandboxBean.redisplay}"/>
<ui:param name="required" value="#{sandboxBean.required}"/>
<ui:param name="value" value="#{sandboxBean.password}" />
<a4j:form id="personalForm">
<a4j:region>
required: <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{required}">
<a4j:support event="onclick" reRender="passwordpanel" />
</h:selectBooleanCheckbox><br/>
redisplay: <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{redisplay}">
<a4j:support event="onclick" reRender="passwordpanel" />
</h:selectBooleanCheckbox><br/>
</a4j:region>
<a4j:outputPanel id="passwordpanel">
password: #{value}<br/>
<s:decorate styleClass="fieldForm #{formClass}">
<div class="fieldLabel #{labelClass}">
<s:label styleClass="#{invalid?'error':''}" >
#{label}
<s:span styleClass="required" rendered="#{required}">*</s:span>
</s:label>
</div>
<div class="fieldInput">
<s:validateAll>
<h:inputSecret id="#{id}" value="#{value}" required="#{required}" redisplay="#{redisplay}">
</h:inputSecret>
</s:validateAll>
<s:message styleClass="error"/>
</div>
</s:decorate>
<s:decorate styleClass="fieldForm #{formClass}">
<div class="fieldLabel #{labelClass}">
<s:label styleClass="#{invalid?'error':''}" >
#{labelConfirm}
<s:span styleClass="required" rendered="#{required}">*</s:span>
</s:label>
</div>
<div class="fieldInput">
<s:validateAll>
<h:inputSecret value="#{value}" required="#{required}" redisplay="#{redisplay}">
<s:validateEquality for="#{id}" required="#{required}" message="#{message}"/>
</h:inputSecret>
</s:validateAll>
<s:message styleClass="error"/>
</div>
</s:decorate>
</a4j:outputPanel>
<a4j:commandLink value="submit" action="#{sandboxController.getNow}" reRender="personalForm" /><br/>
</a4j:form>
SandboxBean.java :
package org.foo.model;
import java.io.Serializable;
public class SandboxBean implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private String password = "abcde";
private boolean required=false;
private boolean redisplay=false;
public void setRequired(boolean required) { this.required = required; }
public boolean isRequired() { return required; }
public String getPassword() { return password; }
public void setPassword(String password) { this.password = password; }
public void setRedisplay(boolean redisplay) { this.redisplay = redisplay; }
public boolean isRedisplay() { return redisplay; }
}
SandboxController.java :
package org.foo.logic.model;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Date;
import org.foo.model.SandboxBean;
import org.jboss.seam.ScopeType;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Begin;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Factory;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Logger;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Name;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Out;
import org.jboss.seam.annotations.Scope;
import org.jboss.seam.log.Log;
#Name("sandboxController")
#Scope(ScopeType.CONVERSATION)
public class SandboxController implements Serializable{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
#Logger Log log;
#Out(required = false)
SandboxBean sandboxBean;
#Begin(join=true)
#Factory("sandboxBean")
public void initSandBoxBean(){
sandboxBean = new SandboxBean();
}
public Date getNow() {
return new Date();
}
}

Answer 1

Problem #1:
The following code turns your "required" field static, I believe:
<ui:param name="required" value="#{sandboxBean.required}"/>
Problem #2:
http://seamframework.org/Community/CustomValidatorUsingTwoFields
Using a custom validator marked with the appropriate annotation, you can then call the with the custom validator.
#Validator
public class PasswordValidator implements javax.faces.validator.Validator, Serializable{
...
throw new ValidatorException(new FacesMessage("Passwords do not match."));

Answer 2

public class PasswordConverter
implements Converter
{
public static String DONT = "__dontchange__";
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, String value)
{
if (DONT.equals(value) && component instanceof UIOutput) {
return ((UIOutput)component).getValue();
} else {
return value;
}
}
public String getAsString(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value)
{
if (value instanceof String && component instanceof UIOutput && ((String)value).length() > 0) {
return DONT;
} else if (value == null) {
return null;
} else {
return value.toString();
}
}
}