Select tag always returns null - html

Question

I am trying to create a search module to search shop details from database based on the criteria in select that user chooses
index.scala.html
#import helper._
#import helper.twitterBootstrap._
#main(Html("Home")) {
<!-- Main component for a primary marketing message or call to action -->
<div class="jumbotron">
<h1>Shop Directory</h1>
<p>Lets you search a nearby Shop and get to know their location</p>
<p>Search Shop by Product or Shop name</p>
<form class="form-inline" action="#routes.SearchController.search()" method="post">
<input type="text" class="form-inline input-lg" placeholder="Product/Shop name" name="keyword" required="keyword required">
<select class="form-inline input-lg" id="Select1" name="criteria">
<option value="">-:Select Criteria:- </option>
<option value="shop">Shop</option>
<option value="product">Product</option>
</select>
<button class="btn btn-lg btn-primary" role="button">Search</button>
</form>
</div>
}
Search.java
package viewmodels;
public class Search {
public String keyword;
public String criteria;
}
SearchResult.java
package viewmodels;
import models.Shop;
import play.mvc.Controller;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class SearchResult extends Controller {
public String criteria;
public String keyword;
public List<Shop> shops;
public SearchResult() {
shops = new ArrayList();
}
}
SearchController.java
package controllers;
import models.Product;
import models.Shop;
import play.data.DynamicForm;
import play.data.Form;
import play.mvc.Controller;
import viewmodels.Search;
import viewmodels.SearchResult;
import java.util.List;
import play.mvc.Result;
import static play.data.Form.*;
public class SearchController extends Controller {
public static Result search() {
Form<Search> requestData = form(Search.class).bindFromRequest();
Search datatosearch = requestData.get();
// String criteria="shop";
String criteria = datatosearch.criteria;
SearchResult result = new SearchResult();
result.criteria = criteria;
result.keyword = datatosearch.keyword;
if (criteria == "shop") {
List<Shop> shops = Shop.findByShopName(datatosearch.keyword);
result.shops.addAll(shops);
}
else if (criteria == "product") {
List<Shop> shops = Product.findByShopName(datatosearch.keyword);
result.shops.addAll(shops);
}
return ok(views.html.search.results.render(result));
}
}
if I do String criteria="shop" or String criteria="product" in my SearchController.java then it works fine, meaning my model query is correct, but if I execute the above code with String criteria = datatosearch.criteria it shows a blank screen.
I am using play framework, I am really stuck at this and any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

You are comparing strings with the == operator which is a no-no. Change your string comparisons to use String.equals so you are actually comparing the values instead of object references.
if (criteria.equals("shop") {
...
}
else if (criteria.equals("product") {
...
}
You probably also want to add some validation to check that criteria isn't NULL.