Problem in String cpmparison using #{} and ${}

Question

Hi,
I am facing a strange problem. I want to compare values of the following 2 variables:
{color:#0000ff}Variable 1 :{color} It is a variable for a dataTable.
I take data from the dataBase in postDataModel. Variable named "post" is used to iterate over the various selected values of the result set.
E.g. <h:dataTable value="#{ForumBean.postDataModel}" {color:#ff0000}var="post"{color} ......
So, #{post.username} the value of 1 column. It is of type "String".
{color:#0000ff}Variable 2 :{color} It is a variable from Backing Bean. say,{color:#ff0000} UserBean.name{color}
Now,
<c:if test="${UserBean.username == post.username}">
then do something... </c:if>
But the problem here is the above String comparison never returns true i.e. the Strings never match EVEN THOUGH both have the same value.
That's because: {color:#ff0000}${post.username}{color} gives null String, while {color:#ff0000}#{post.username}{color} gives the actual username.
E.g.
${UserBean.name} gives David
#{post.username} gives David
{color:#800000}How do I compare the 2 variables in JSTL? (JSTL only takes expressions with a '$' and not a '#') ?{color}
Depending on these values I have to render or not render a column in dataTable.
{color:#ff0000}{color}

Answer 1

Yes I treid both ways. I even used the rendered attribute. When it failed, I switched to JSTL.
Okay, for the same above question as posted above, according to you if I used the following:
{color:#ff0000}rendered = " #{UserBean.name == post.username} "{color} should be evaluated to {color:#ff0000}true{color} and the column should be visible.
But that is not happening.
Is the above syntax for rendered and in-between String comprison correct?
If not, it would be great if you could give me a work around as that is exactly what I want to do.
Thanks.