Develop Reference

Jackson Custom Deserializer for polymorphic objects and String literals as defaults

I'd like to deserialize an object from YAML with the following properties, using Jackson in a Spring Boot application:
Abstract class Vehicle, implemented by Boat and Car
For simplicity, imagine both have a name, but only Boat has also a seaworthy property, while Car has a top-speed.
mode-of-transport:
type: boat
name: 'SS Boatface'
seaworthy: true
----
mode-of-transport:
type: car`
name: 'KITT'
top-speed: 123
This all works fine in my annotated subclasses using #JsonTypeInfo and #JsonSubTypes!
Now, I'd like to create a shorthand using only a String value, which should create a Car by default with that name:
mode-of-transport: 'KITT'
I tried creating my own custom serializer, but got stuck on most of the relevant details. Please help me fill this in, if this is the right approach:
public class VehicleDeserializer extends StdDeserializer<Merger> {
/* Constructors here */
#Override
public Vehicle deserialize(JsonParser p, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException {
if (/* it is an OBJECT */){
// Use the default polymorphic deserializer
} else if (/* it is a STRING */) {
Car car = new Car();
car.setName( /* the String value */ );
return car;
}
return ???; /* what to return here? */
}
}
I found these 2 answers for inspiration, but it looks like combining it with polymorphic types makes it more difficult: How do I call the default deserializer from a custom deserializer in Jackson and Deserialize to String or Object using Jackson
A few things are different than the solutions offered in those questions:
I am processing YAML, not JSON. Not sure about the subtle differences there.
I have no problem hardcoding the 'default' type for Strings inside my Deserializer, hopefully making it simpler.

This was actually easier than I thought to solve it. I got it working using the following:
Custom deserializer implementation:
public class VehicleDeserializer extends StdDeserializer<Vehicle> {
public VehicleDeserializer() {
super(Vehicle.class);
}
#Override
public Vehicle deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException {
if (jp.currentToken() == JsonToken.VALUE_STRING) {
Car car = new Car();
car.setName(jp.readValueAs(String.class));
return car;
}
return jp.readValueAs(Vehicle.class);
}
}
To avoid circular dependencies and to make the custom deserializer work with the polymorphic #JsonTypeInfo and #JsonSubTypes annotations I kept those annotations on the class level of Vehicle, but put the following annotations on the container object I am deserializing:
public class Transport {
#JsonDeserialize(using = VehicleDeserializer.class)
#JsonTypeInfo(use = JsonTypeInfo.Id.NONE)
private Vehicle modeOfTransport;
// Getter, setters
}
This means that by default a Vehicle is deserialized as a polymorphic object, unless explicitly specified to deserialize it using my custom deserializer. This deserializer will then in turn defer to the polymorphism if the input is not a String.
Hopefully this will help someone running into this issue :)

So there is a solution that requires you to handle the jackson errors using a DeserializationProblemHandler (since you want to parse the same type using different inputs, this is not achieved easily using regular means):
public class MyTest {
#Test
public void doTest() throws JsonParseException, JsonMappingException, IOException {
final ObjectMapper om = new ObjectMapper();
om.addHandler(new DeserializationProblemHandler() {
#Override
public Object handleMissingInstantiator(final DeserializationContext ctxt, final Class<?> instClass, final JsonParser p, final String msg) throws IOException {
if (instClass.equals(Car.class)) {
final JsonParser parser = ctxt.getParser();
final String text = parser.getText();
switch (text) {
case "KITT":
return new Car();
}
}
return NOT_HANDLED;
}
#Override
public JavaType handleMissingTypeId(final DeserializationContext ctxt, final JavaType baseType, final TypeIdResolver idResolver, final String failureMsg) throws IOException {
// if (baseType.isTypeOrSubTypeOf(Vehicle.class)) {
final JsonParser parser = ctxt.getParser();
final String text = parser.getText();
switch (text) {
case "KITT":
return TypeFactory.defaultInstance().constructType(Car.class);
}
return super.handleMissingTypeId(ctxt, baseType, idResolver, failureMsg);
}
});
final Container objectValue = om.readValue(getObjectJson(), Container.class);
assertTrue(objectValue.getModeOfTransport() instanceof Car);
final Container stringValue = om.readValue(getStringJson(), Container.class);
assertTrue(stringValue.getModeOfTransport() instanceof Car);
}
private String getObjectJson() {
return "{ \"modeOfTransport\": { \"type\": \"car\", \"name\": \"KITT\", \"speed\": 1}}";
}
private String getStringJson() {
return "{ \"modeOfTransport\": \"KITT\"}";
}
}
class Container {
private Vehicle modeOfTransport;
public Vehicle getModeOfTransport() {
return modeOfTransport;
}
public void setModeOfTransport(final Vehicle modeOfTransport) {
this.modeOfTransport = modeOfTransport;
}
}
#JsonTypeInfo(use = JsonTypeInfo.Id.NAME, include = JsonTypeInfo.As.PROPERTY, property = "type", visible = true)
#JsonSubTypes({
#Type(name = "car", value = Car.class)
})
abstract class Vehicle {
protected String type;
protected String name;
public String getType() {
return type;
}
public void setType(final String type) {
this.type = type;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(final String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
#JsonTypeName("car")
class Car extends Vehicle {
private int speed;
public int getSpeed() {
return speed;
}
public void setSpeed(final int speed) {
this.speed = speed;
}
}
Note that I used JSON, not YAML, and you need to add your other subtypes as well.

Jackson specifc field name

I have this class:
#Data
public class DiscountDto {
#JsonProperty(required = true)
private DiscountType type;
#JsonProperty(required = true)
private double discountValue;
}
DiscountType is enum:
public enum DiscountType {
PERCENT, AMOUNT
}
I want to serialize the discountValue to a specific value, depending on the Enum value. If enum have value PERCENT, then discountValue must be serialize to percent_off. If enum have value AMOUNT then discountValue must be serialize to amount_off. How could I possibly do that?
Expected result:
If type == AMOUNT, I want discountValue name = amount_off
"discountDto": {
"amount_off": "11.0",
"type": "AMOUNT"
}
If type == PERCENT, I want discountValue name = percent_off
"discountDto": {
"percent_off": "11.0",
"type": "PERCENT"
}

Possible solutions:
1.Create a constructor with both DiscountType and discountValue and set directly the value of the percentOff or amountOff field:
#JsonInclude(Include.NON_NULL)
public class DiscountDto {
private DiscountType type;
#JsonProperty("percent_off")
private Double percentOff;
#JsonProperty("amount_off")
private Double amountOff;
public DiscountDto(DiscountType type, double discountValue){
this.type = type;
if(type.equals(DiscountType.PERCENT)){
this.percentOff = discountValue;
}else {
this.discountOff = discountValue;
}
}
//getters and setters
}
2.Use a custom JSON serializer:
public class DiscountDtoSerializer extends StdSerializer<DiscountDto> {
public DiscountDtoSerializer() {
this(null);
}
public DiscountDtoSerializer(Class<DiscountDto> t) {
super(t);
}
#Override
public void serialize(DiscountDto value, JsonGenerator jgen, SerializerProvider provider)
throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
jgen.writeStartObject();
jgen.writeNumberField("type", value.getDiscountType());
if(value.getDiscountType().equals(DiscountType.PERCENT)){
jgen.writeStringField("percent_off", value.getDiscountValue());
}else{
jgen.writeStringField("amount_off", value.getDiscountValue());
}
jgen.writeEndObject();
}
}
and your ObjectMapper should have this new serializer:
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
SimpleModule module = new SimpleModule();
module.addSerializer(DiscountDto.class, new DiscountDtoSerializer());
mapper.registerModule(module);

This is a typical example of how not to do polymorphism. Don't get me wrong, I am not crticizing you, this has happend to most of us. This is a sort of inner-state polymorphism, that is, depending on the value of some property (type even the name says it, right?) some other property gets a different meaning.
To solve the problem correctly, you should move the poperty type, at the level of the class, having a class for each type. You can start by having an abstract, uninstantiable type, and your specific types will derive from it.
You can find some sample implementation here, for technical reference.

Decide class for Jackson deserialisation based on JSON value of a specific key [duplicate]

I want to write json deserializer on class Type so that when Type is deserialized from given json based on name it maps value (of type interface Being) to its current implementation based on some factory method that returns correct class name based on name, and populates remaining class without any explicit deserialization and without creating object of TigerBeing or HumanBeing explicitly using new.
I tried to use #jsonCreator but there i have to initialize entire HumanBeing or TigerBeing using new and passing all json in constructor. I need auto mapping for types further used as further pojo can be quite complex.
{type:[{
"name": "Human",
"value": {
"height":6,
"weight":100,
"languages":["spanish","english"]
}
},
{
"name":"Tiger",
"value":{
"extinct":1,
"found":["Asia", "America", "Europe", "Africa"]
}
}
]}
I have:
public class Type {
String name;
Being value;
}
public interface Being {
}
public class TigerBeing implements Being {
Integer extinct;
String[] found;
}
public class HumanBeing implement Being {
Integer height;
Integer weight;
String[] languages;
}

import java.io.IOException;
public class BeingDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<Being> {
#Override
public Expertise deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonMappingException {
JsonNode node = jp.getCodec().readTree(jp);
String beingName = node.get("name").asText();
JsonNode valueNode = node.get("value");
BeingName beingByName = ExpertiseName.getBeingByName(beingName);
if(beingByName ==null) {
throw new JsonMappingException("Invalid Being " + beingName);
}
Being being = JsonUtils.getObjectFromJsonNode(valueNode,
ExpertiseFactory.getExpertise(beingByName).getClass());
return being;
}
}
In this way I was able to solve the above problem.

Json Deserialization in Java /w Jackson of mixed types, contained in one array

Consider the following json, getting from an public API:
anyObject : {
attributes: [
{
"name":"anyName",
"value":"anyValue"
},
{
"name":"anyName",
"value":
{
"key":"anyKey",
"label":"anyLabel"
}
}
]
}
As you can see, sometimes the value is a simple string and sometimes its an object. Is it somehow possible to deserialize those kind of json-results, to something like:
class AnyObject {
List<Attribute> attributes;
}
class Attribute {
private String key;
private String label;
}
How would I design my model to cover both cases. Is that possible ?

Despite being hard to manage as others have pointed out, you can do what you want. Add a custom deserializer to handle this situation. I rewrote your beans because I felt your Attribute class was a bit misleading. The AttributeEntry class in the object that is an entry in that "attributes" list. The ValueObject is the class that represents that "key"/"label" object. Those beans are below, but here's the custom deserializer. The idea is to check the type in the JSON, and instantiate the appropriate AttributeEntry based on its "value" type.
public class AttributeDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<AttributeEntry> {
#Override
public AttributeEntry deserialize(JsonParser p, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
JsonNode root = p.readValueAsTree();
String name = root.get("name").asText();
if (root.get("value").isObject()) {
// use your object mapper here, this is just an example
ValueObject attribute = new ObjectMapper().readValue(root.get("value").asText(), ValueObject.class);
return new AttributeEntry(name, attribute);
} else if (root.get("value").isTextual()) {
String stringValue = root.get("value").asText();
return new AttributeEntry(name, stringValue);
} else {
return null; // or whatever
}
}
}
Because of this ambiguous type inconvenience, you will have to do some type checking throughout your code base.
You can then add this custom deserializer to your object mapper like so:
ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
SimpleModule simpleModule = new SimpleModule();
simpleModule.addDeserializer(AttributeEntry.class, new AttributeDeserializer());
objectMapper.registerModule(simpleModule);
Here's the AttributeEntry:
public class AttributeEntry {
private String name;
private Object value;
public AttributeEntry(String name, String value) {
this.name = name;
this.value = value;
}
public AttributeEntry(String name, ValueObject attributes) {
this.name = name;
this.value = attributes;
}
/* getters/setters */
}
Here's the ValueObject:
public class ValueObject {
private String key;
private String label;
/* getters/setters */
}

how to write jackson deserializer based on property in json

I want to write json deserializer on class Type so that when Type is deserialized from given json based on name it maps value (of type interface Being) to its current implementation based on some factory method that returns correct class name based on name, and populates remaining class without any explicit deserialization and without creating object of TigerBeing or HumanBeing explicitly using new.
I tried to use #jsonCreator but there i have to initialize entire HumanBeing or TigerBeing using new and passing all json in constructor. I need auto mapping for types further used as further pojo can be quite complex.
{type:[{
"name": "Human",
"value": {
"height":6,
"weight":100,
"languages":["spanish","english"]
}
},
{
"name":"Tiger",
"value":{
"extinct":1,
"found":["Asia", "America", "Europe", "Africa"]
}
}
]}
I have:
public class Type {
String name;
Being value;
}
public interface Being {
}
public class TigerBeing implements Being {
Integer extinct;
String[] found;
}
public class HumanBeing implement Being {
Integer height;
Integer weight;
String[] languages;
}

import java.io.IOException;
public class BeingDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<Being> {
#Override
public Expertise deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonMappingException {
JsonNode node = jp.getCodec().readTree(jp);
String beingName = node.get("name").asText();
JsonNode valueNode = node.get("value");
BeingName beingByName = ExpertiseName.getBeingByName(beingName);
if(beingByName ==null) {
throw new JsonMappingException("Invalid Being " + beingName);
}
Being being = JsonUtils.getObjectFromJsonNode(valueNode,
ExpertiseFactory.getExpertise(beingByName).getClass());
return being;
}
}
In this way I was able to solve the above problem.