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Spring Boot: Optional mapping of request parameters to POJO

I'm trying to map request parameters of a controller method into a POJO object, but only if any of its fields are present. However, I can't seem to find a way to achieve this. I have the following POJO:
public class TimeWindowModel {
#NotNull
public Date from;
#NotNull
public Date to;
}
If none of the fields are specified, I'd like to get an empty Optional, otherwise I'd get an Optional with a validated instance of the POJO. Spring supports mapping request parameter into POJO objects by leaving them unannotated in the handler:
#GetMapping("/shop/{shopId}/slot")
public Slice<Slot> getSlots(#RequestAttribute("staff") Staff staff,
#PathVariable("shopId") Long shopId, #Valid TimeWindowModel timeWindow) {
// controller code
}
With this, Spring will map request parameters "from" and "to" to an instance of TimeWindowModel. However, I want to make this mapping optional. For POST requests you can use #RequestBody #Valid Optional<T>, which will give you an Optional<T> containing an instance of T, but only if a request body was provided, otherwise it will be empty. This makes #Valid work as expected.
When not annotated, Optional<T> doesn't appear to do anything. You always get an Optional<T> with an instance of the POJO. This is problematic when combined with #Valid because it will complain that "from" and "to" are not set.
The goal is to get either (a) an instance of the POJO where both "from" and "to" are not null or (b) nothing at all. If only one of them is specified, then #Valid should fail and report that the other is missing.

I came up with a solution with a custom HandlerMethodArgumentResolver, Jackson and Jackson Databind.
The annotation:
#Target(ElementType.PARAMETER)
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public #interface RequestParamBind {
}
The resolver:
public class RequestParamBindResolver implements HandlerMethodArgumentResolver {
private final ObjectMapper mapper;
public RequestParamBindResolver(ObjectMapper mapper) {
this.mapper = mapper.copy();
this.mapper.disable(DeserializationFeature.FAIL_ON_UNKNOWN_PROPERTIES);
}
#Override
public boolean supportsParameter(MethodParameter parameter) {
return parameter.getParameterAnnotation(RequestParamBind.class) != null;
}
#Override
public Object resolveArgument(MethodParameter parameter, ModelAndViewContainer mav, NativeWebRequest webRequest, WebDataBinderFactory binderFactory) throws Exception {
// take the first instance of each request parameter
Map<String, String> requestParameters = webRequest.getParameterMap()
.entrySet().stream()
.collect(Collectors.toMap(Map.Entry::getKey, e -> e.getValue()[0]));
// perform the actual resolution
Object resolved = doResolveArgument(parameter, requestParameters);
// *sigh*
// see: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18091936/spring-mvc-valid-validation-with-custom-handlermethodargumentresolver
if (parameter.hasParameterAnnotation(Valid.class)) {
String parameterName = Conventions.getVariableNameForParameter(parameter);
WebDataBinder binder = binderFactory.createBinder(webRequest, resolved, parameterName);
// DataBinder constructor unwraps Optional, so the target could be null
if (binder.getTarget() != null) {
binder.validate();
BindingResult bindingResult = binder.getBindingResult();
if (bindingResult.getErrorCount() > 0)
throw new MethodArgumentNotValidException(parameter, bindingResult);
}
}
return resolved;
}
private Object doResolveArgument(MethodParameter parameter, Map<String, String> requestParameters) {
Class<?> clazz = parameter.getParameterType();
if (clazz != Optional.class)
return mapper.convertValue(requestParameters, clazz);
// special case for Optional<T>
Type type = parameter.getGenericParameterType();
Class<?> optionalType = (Class<?>)((ParameterizedType)type).getActualTypeArguments()[0];
Object obj = mapper.convertValue(requestParameters, optionalType);
// convert back to a map to find if any fields were set
// TODO: how can we tell null from not set?
if (mapper.convertValue(obj, new TypeReference<Map<String, String>>() {})
.values().stream().anyMatch(Objects::nonNull))
return Optional.of(obj);
return Optional.empty();
}
}
Then, we register it:
#Configuration
public class WebConfig implements WebMvcConfigurer {
//...
#Override
public void addArgumentResolvers(
List<HandlerMethodArgumentResolver> argumentResolvers) {
argumentResolvers.add(new RequestParamBindResolver(new ObjectMapper()));
}
}
Finally, we can use it like so:
#GetMapping("/shop/{shopId}/slot")
public Slice<Slot> getSlots(#RequestAttribute("staff") Staff staff,
#PathVariable("shopId") Long shopId,
#RequestParamBind #Valid Optional<TimeWindowModel> timeWindow) {
// controller code
}
Which works exactly as you'd expect.
I'm sure it's possible to accomplish this by using Spring's own DataBind classes in the resolver. However, Jackson Databind seemed like the most straight-forward solution. That said, it's not able to distinguish between fields that are set to null and fields that just not set. This is not really an issue for my use-case, but it's something that should be noted.

To implement logic (a) both not null or (b) both are nulls you need to implement custom validation.
Examples are here:
https://blog.clairvoyantsoft.com/spring-boot-creating-a-custom-annotation-for-validation-edafbf9a97a4
https://www.baeldung.com/spring-mvc-custom-validator
Generally, you create a new annotation, it's just a stub, and then you create a validator which implements ConstraintValidator where you provide your logic and then you put your new annotation to your POJO.

Spring Boot using Json as request parameters instead of an entity/model

Our company is planning to switch our microservice technology to Spring Boot. As an initiative I did some advanced reading and noting down its potential impact and syntax equivalents. I also started porting the smallest service we had as a side project.
One issue that blocked my progress was trying to convert our Json request/response exchange to Spring Boot.
Here's an example of the code: (This is Nutz framework for those who don't recognize this)
#POST
#At // These two lines are equivalent to #PostMapping("/create")
#AdaptBy(type=JsonAdapter.class)
public Object create(#Param("param_1") String param1, #Param("param_2) int param2) {
MyModel1 myModel1 = new MyModel1(param1);
MyModel2 myModel2 = new MyModel2(param2);
myRepository1.create(myMode12);
myRepository2.create(myModel2);
return new MyJsonResponse();
}
On PostMan or any other REST client I simply pass POST:
{
"param_1" : "test",
"param_2" : 1
}
I got as far as doing this in Spring Boot:
#PostMapping("/create")
public Object create(#RequestParam("param_1") String param1, #RequestParam("param_2) int param2) {
MyModel1 myModel1 = new MyModel1(param1);
MyModel2 myModel2 = new MyModel2(param2);
myRepository1.create(myMode12);
myRepository2.create(myModel2);
return new MyJsonResponse();
}
I am not sure how to do something similar as JsonAdapter here. Spring doesn't recognize the data I passed.
I tried this but based on the examples it expects the Json paramters to be of an Entity's form.
#RequestMapping(path="/wallet", consumes="application/json", produces="application/json")
But I only got it to work if I do something like this:
public Object (#RequestBody MyModel1 model1) {}
My issue with this is that MyModel1 may not necessarily contain the fields/parameters that my json data has.
The very useful thing about Nutz is that if I removed JsonAdapter it behaves like a regular form request endpoint in spring.
I couldn't find an answer here in Stack or if possible I'm calling it differently than what existing spring devs call it.
Our bosses expect us (unrealistically) to implement these changes without forcing front-end developers to adjust to these changes. (Autonomy and all that jazz). If this is unavoidable what would be the sensible explanation for this?

In that case you can use Map class to read input json, like
#PostMapping("/create")
public Object create(#RequestBody Map<String, ?> input) {
sout(input.get("param1")) // cast to String, int, ..
}

I actually figured out a more straightforward solution.
Apparently this works:
#PostMapping("/endpoint")
public Object endpoint(#RequestBody MyWebRequestObject request) {
String value1 = request.getValue_1();
String value2 = request.getValue_2();
}
The json payload is this:
{
"value_1" : "hello",
"value_2" : "world"
}
This works if MyRequestObject is mapped like the json request object like so. Example:
public class MyWebRequestObject {
String value_1;
String value_2
}
Unmapped values are ignored. Spring is smart like that.
I know this is right back where I started but since we introduced a service layer for the rest control to interact with, it made sense to create our own request model object (DTOs) that is separate from the persistence model.

You can use #RequestBody Map as a parameter for #PostMapping, #PutMapping and #PatchMapping. For #GetMapping and #DeleteMapping, you can write a class which implements Converter to convert from json-formed request parameters to Map. And you would register that class as a bean with #Component annotation. Then you can bind your parameters to #RequestParameter Map.
Here is an example of Converter below.
#Component
public class StringToMapConverter implements Converter<String, Map<String, Object>> {
private final ObjectMapper objectMapper;
#Autowired
public StringToMapConverter(ObjectMapper objectMapper) {
this.objectMapper = objectMapper;
}
#Override
public Map<String, Object> convert(String source) {
try {
return objectMapper.readValue(source, new TypeReference<Map<String, Object>>(){});
} catch (IOException e) {
return new HashMap<>();
}
}
}
If you want to exclude specific field of your MyModel1 class, use #JsonIgnore annotation onto the field like below.
class MyModel1 {
private field1;
#JsonIgnore field2;
}
Then, I guess you can just use what you have done.(I'm not sure.)
public Object (#RequestBody MyModel1 model1) {}

i think that you can use a strategy that involve dto
https://auth0.com/blog/automatically-mapping-dto-to-entity-on-spring-boot-apis/
you send a json to your rest api that is map like a dto object, after you can map like an entity or use it for your needs

try this:
Add new annotation JsonParam and implement HandlerMethodArgumentResolver of this, Parse json to map and get data in HandlerMethodArgumentResolver
{
"aaabbcc": "aaa"
}
#Target(ElementType.PARAMETER)
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public #interface JsonParam {
String value();
}
#Component
public class JsonParamMethodResolver implements HandlerMethodArgumentResolver {
#Override
public boolean supportsParameter(MethodParameter parameter) {
return parameter.hasParameterAnnotation(JsonParam.class);
}
#Override
public Object resolveArgument(MethodParameter parameter, ModelAndViewContainer mavContainer, NativeWebRequest webRequest, WebDataBinderFactory binderFactory) throws Exception {
RepeatedlyRequestWrapper nativeRequest = webRequest.getNativeRequest(RepeatedlyRequestWrapper.class);
if (nativeRequest == null) {
return null;
}
Gson gson = new Gson();
Map<String, Object> response = gson.fromJson(nativeRequest.getReader(), new TypeToken<Map<String, Object>>() {
}.getType());
if (response == null) {
return null;
}
JsonParam parameterAnnotation = parameter.getParameterAnnotation(JsonParam.class);
String value = parameterAnnotation.value();
Class<?> parameterType = parameter.getParameterType();
return response.get(value);
}
}
#Configuration
public class JsonParamConfig extends WebMvcConfigurerAdapter {
#Autowired
JsonParamMethodResolver jsonParamMethodResolver;
#Override
public void addArgumentResolvers(List<HandlerMethodArgumentResolver> argumentResolvers) {
argumentResolvers.add(jsonParamMethodResolver);
}
}
#PostMapping("/methodName")
public void methodName(#JsonParam("aaabbcc") String ddeeff) {
System.out.println(username);
}

Using Jackson to dynamically serialize an entity as either its ID or its full representation at runtime

We're developing a RESTful API using Java EE 7 (RESTEasy / Hibernate / Jackson).
We want the API to serialize all child entities using their IDs, by default. We're doing this mostly to maintain consistency with our deserialization strategy, where we insist on receiving an ID.
However, we also want our users to be able to choose to get an expanded view of any of our child entities, either through a custom endpoint or a query parameter (undecided). For example:
// http://localhost:8080/rest/operator/1
// =====================================
{
"operatorId": 1,
"organization": 34,
"endUser": 23
}
// http://localhost:8080/rest/operator/1?expand=organization
// =====================================
{
"operatorId": 1,
"organization": {
"organizationId": 34,
"organizationName": "name"
},
"endUser": 23
}
// http://localhost:8080/rest/operator/1?expand=enduser
// =====================================
{
"operatorId": 1,
"organization": 34,
"endUser": {
"endUserId": 23,
"endUserName": "other name"
}
}
// http://localhost:8080/rest/operator/1?expand=organization,enduser
// =====================================
{
"operatorId": 1,
"organization": {
"organizationId": 34,
"organizationName": "name"
},
"endUser": {
"endUserId": 23,
"endUserName": "other name"
}
}
Is there a way to dynamically change the behavior of Jackson to determine whether a specified AbstractEntity field is serialized in full form or as its ID? How might it be done?
Additional Info
We know of a few ways to serialize our child entities using their IDs, including:
public class Operator extends AbstractEntity {
...
#JsonIdentityInfo(generator=ObjectIdGenerators.PropertyGenerator.class, property="organizationId")
#JsonIdentityReference(alwaysAsId=true)
public getOrganization() { ... }
...
}
and
public class Operator extends AbstractEntity {
...
#JsonSerialize(using=AbstractEntityIdSerializer.class)
public getOrganization() { ... }
...
}
where AbstractEntityIdSerializer serializes the entity using its ID.
The problem is that we don't know of a way for the user to override that default behavior and revert to standard Jackson object serialization. Ideally they'd also be able to choose which child properties to serialize in full form.
It would be awesome to dynamically toggle the alwaysAsId argument of #JsonIdentityReference for any property at runtime, if that's possible, or make the equivalent change to ObjectMapper/ObjectWriter.
Update: Working(?) Solution
We haven't had a chance to fully test this yet, but I've been working on a solution that leverages overriding Jackson's AnnotationIntrospector class. It seems to be working as intended.
public class CustomAnnotationIntrospector extends JacksonAnnotationIntrospector {
private final Set<String> expandFieldNames_;
public CustomAnnotationIntrospector(Set<String> expandFieldNames) {
expandFieldNames_ = expandFieldNames;
}
#Override
public ObjectIdInfo findObjectReferenceInfo(Annotated ann, ObjectIdInfo objectIdInfo) {
JsonIdentityReference ref = _findAnnotation(ann, JsonIdentityReference.class);
if (ref != null) {
for (String expandFieldName : expandFieldNames_) {
String expandFieldGetterName = "get" + expandFieldName;
String propertyName = ann.getName();
boolean fieldNameMatches = expandFieldName.equalsIgnoreCase(propertyName);
boolean fieldGetterNameMatches = expandFieldGetterName.equalsIgnoreCase(propertyName);
if (fieldNameMatches || fieldGetterNameMatches) {
return objectIdInfo.withAlwaysAsId(false);
}
}
objectIdInfo = objectIdInfo.withAlwaysAsId(ref.alwaysAsId());
}
return objectIdInfo;
}
}
At serialization time, we copy our ObjectMapper (so the AnnotationIntrospector runs again) and apply CustomAnnotationIntrospector as follows:
#Context
private HttpRequest httpRequest_;
#Override
writeTo(...) {
// Get our application's ObjectMapper.
ContextResolver<ObjectMapper> objectMapperResolver = provider_.getContextResolver(ObjectMapper.class,
MediaType.WILDCARD_TYPE);
ObjectMapper objectMapper = objectMapperResolver.getContext(Object.class);
// Get Set of fields to be expanded (pre-parsed).
Set<String> fieldNames = (Set<String>)httpRequest_.getAttribute("ExpandFields");
if (!fieldNames.isEmpty()) {
// Pass expand fields to AnnotationIntrospector.
AnnotationIntrospector expansionAnnotationIntrospector = new CustomAnnotationIntrospector(fieldNames);
// Replace ObjectMapper with copy of ObjectMapper and apply custom AnnotationIntrospector.
objectMapper = objectMapper.copy();
objectMapper.setAnnotationIntrospector(expansionAnnotationIntrospector);
}
ObjectWriter objectWriter = objectMapper.writer();
objectWriter.writeValue(...);
}
Any glaring flaws in this approach? It seems relatively straightforward and is fully dynamic.

The answer is Jackson's mixin feature:
You create a simple Java class that has the exact same method signature as the anotated method of the entity. You annotate that method with the modified value. the body of the method is insignificant (it would not be called):
public class OperatorExpanded {
...
#JsonIdentityInfo(generator=ObjectIdGenerators.PropertyGenerator.class, property="organizationId")
#JsonIdentityReference(alwaysAsId=false)
public Organization getOrganization() { return null; }
...
}
you tie the mixin to the entity-to-be-serialized using Jackson's module system: this can be decided at run time
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
if ("organization".equals(request.getParameter("exapnd")) {
SimpleModule simpleModule = new SimpleModule();
simpleModule.setMixInAnnotation(Operator.class, OperatorExpanded.class);
mapper.registerModule(simpleModule);
}
now, the mapper will take the annotations from the mixin, but invoke the method of the entity.

If you are looking for a generalized solution that needs to be extended to all of your resources you may try following approach. I tried below solution using Jersey and Jackson. It should also work with RestEasy.
Basically, you need to write a custom jackson provider which set a special serializer for an expand field. Also, you need to pass the expand fields to the serializer so that you can decide how to do the serialization for expand fields.
#Singleton
public class ExpandFieldJacksonProvider extends JacksonJaxbJsonProvider {
#Inject
private Provider<ContainerRequestContext> provider;
#Override
protected JsonEndpointConfig _configForWriting(final ObjectMapper mapper, final Annotation[] annotations, final Class<?> defaultView) {
final AnnotationIntrospector customIntrospector = mapper.getSerializationConfig().getAnnotationIntrospector();
// Set the custom (user) introspector to be the primary one.
final ObjectMapper filteringMapper = mapper.setAnnotationIntrospector(AnnotationIntrospector.pair(customIntrospector, new JacksonAnnotationIntrospector() {
#Override
public Object findSerializer(Annotated a) {
// All expand fields should be annotated with '#ExpandField'.
ExpandField expField = a.getAnnotation(ExpandField.class);
if (expField != null) {
// Use a custom serializer for expand field
return new ExpandSerializer(expField.fieldName(), expField.idProperty());
}
return super.findSerializer(a);
}
}));
return super._configForWriting(filteringMapper, annotations, defaultView);
}
#Override
public void writeTo(final Object value, final Class<?> type, final Type genericType, final Annotation[] annotations, final MediaType mediaType, final MultivaluedMap<String, Object> httpHeaders,
final OutputStream entityStream) throws IOException {
// Set the expand fields to java's ThreadLocal so that it can be accessed in 'ExpandSerializer' class.
ExpandFieldThreadLocal.set(provider.get().getUriInfo().getQueryParameters().get("expand"));
super.writeTo(value, type, genericType, annotations, mediaType, httpHeaders, entityStream);
// Once the serialization is done, clear ThreadLocal
ExpandFieldThreadLocal.remove();
}
ExpandField.java
#Retention(RUNTIME)
public #interface ExpandField {
// name of expand field
String fieldName();
// name of Id property in expand field. For eg: oraganisationId
String idProperty();
}
ExpandFieldThreadLocal.java
public class ExpandFieldThreadLocal {
private static final ThreadLocal<List<String>> _threadLocal = new ThreadLocal<>();
public static List<String> get() {
return _threadLocal.get();
}
public static void set(List<String> expandFields) {
_threadLocal.set(expandFields);
}
public static void remove() {
_threadLocal.remove();
}
}
ExpandFieldSerializer.java
public static class ExpandSerializer extends JsonSerializer<Object> {
private String fieldName;
private String idProperty;
public ExpandSerializer(String fieldName,String idProperty) {
this.fieldName = fieldName;
this.idProperty = idProperty;
}
#Override
public void serialize(Object value, JsonGenerator gen, SerializerProvider serializers) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
// Get expand fields in current request which is set in custom jackson provider.
List<String> expandFields = ExpandFieldThreadLocal.get();
if (expandFields == null || !expandFields.contains(fieldName)) {
try {
// If 'expand' is not present in query param OR if the 'expand' field does not contain this field, write only id.
serializers.defaultSerializeValue(value.getClass().getMethod("get"+StringUtils.capitalize(idProperty)).invoke(value),gen);
} catch (Exception e) {
//Handle Exception here
}
} else {
serializers.defaultSerializeValue(value, gen);
}
}
}
Operator.java
public class Operator extends AbstractEntity {
...
#ExpandField(fieldName = "organization",idProperty="organizationId")
private organization;
...
}
The final step is to register the new ExpandFieldJacksonProvider. In Jersey, we register it through an instance of javax.ws.rs.core.Application as shown below. I hope there is something similar in RestEasy. By default, most of the JAX-RS libraries tend to load default JacksonJaxbJsonProvider through auto-discovery. You have to make sure auto-discovery is disabled for Jackson and new ExpandFieldJacksonProvider is registered.
public class JaxRsApplication extends Application{
#Override
public Set<Class<?>> getClasses() {
Set<Class<?>> clazzes=new HashSet<>();
clazzes.add(ExpandFieldJacksonProvider.class);
return clazzes;
}
}

Object Mapper mapping for a particular class during http calls

Is there a way where we can add ObjectMapper for a particular class through annotation.
#JsonRootName("employee")
public class Sample implements Serializable{
private String name;
private String id;
// Getters and setters
}
In the RestController i have RequestMapping and a method like:-
#ResponseBody
public Sample (#RequestBody Sample sample){
//some logic
return sample;
}
My input payload to this will be like
{
"employee":{
"name":"abcd",
"id":"1234"
}
}
My desired output would be
{
"name":"abcd",
"id":"1234"
}
1)Is there a way i can use the same class to fulfill the input and the output.
2) I have added #JsonRootName at the top of the class which requires ObjectMapper's Serialization feature enable to WRAP_ROOT_VALUE like :-
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
mapper.enable(SerializationFeature.WRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
mapper.enable(DeserializationFeature.UNWRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
where this can be added to reflect in only this class.

Maybe just leave the default serialization behavior? Then, at deserialization you would still pull out the "employee" wrapper, but at serialization you would write it without the wrapper.
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
//mapper.enable(SerializationFeature.WRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
mapper.enable(DeserializationFeature.UNWRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
With your input, I got the desired serialization output:
{"name":"abcd","id":"1234"}
EDIT
As for where to put this code, I'd recommend a singleton or class with static methods that handle your (de)serialization. You could have two different mappers than perform the "normal" or "wrapped" behavior. Here's an outline of the static method approach:
public class SerializationUtil {
private static ObjectMapper normalObjectMapper;
private static ObjectMapper wrappedObjectMapper;
static {
/* configure different (de)serialization strategies */
normalObjectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
wrappedObjectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
wrappedObjectMapper.enable(SerializationFeature.WRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
wrappedObjectMapper.enable(DeserializationFeature.UNWRAP_ROOT_VALUE);
}
public static <T> T normalDeserialize(String json, Class<T> clazz) throws Exception {
return normalObjectMapper.readValue(json, clazz);
}
public static String normalSerialize(Object bean) throws Exception {
return normalObjectMapper.writeValueAsString(bean);
}
public static <T> T deserializeWrappedObject(String json, Class<T> clazz) throws Exception {
return wrappedObjectMapper.readValue(json, clazz);
}
public static String serializeWrappedObject(Object bean) throws Exception {
return wrappedObjectMapper.writeValueAsString(bean);
}
}
The benefit of this method is it allows the caller to decide the serialization behavior. So if there are portions of your code where you need to handle it differently you can call another method. Note that the wrapping/unwrapping are both enabled. So to get your desired behavior, you would call these methods like so:
public static void main(String[] args) {
Bean bean = SerializationUtil.deserializeWrappedObject(jsonInput, Bean.class);
String jsonOutput = SerializationUtil.normalSerialize(bean);
}
If this does not appeal to you, you could alternatively detect the special case and handle it in the same method call:
public static <T> T deserialize(String json, Class<T> clazz) throws Exception {
if (clazz instanceof Bean) {
return wrappedObjectMapper.readValue(json, clazz);
} else {
return normalObjectMapper.readValue(json, clazz);
}
}

Jersey, Jackson and JAX-RS POST multiple JSON formats

I am trying to be able to define the following code:
public class MyObject {
private String name;
... // Other attributes
}
#Path(...)
#Stateless
public class MyRestResource {
#POST
#Consumes(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public Response create(List<MyObject> myObjects) {
// Do some stuff there
}
}
I know that I need to use:
DeserializationConfig.Feature.ACCEPT_SINGLE_VALUE_AS_ARRAY, true
to setup correctly my object mapper to be able to accept single value as array on my rest resources. I succeed to setup that part.
My problem with this approach is that the following content is not differentiable:
{
"name": "a name",
... // other attributes
}
and
[{
"name": "a name",
... // other attributes
}]
will result into a list (List) of size one. Then, in the method create(List myObjects), I will not be able to do the difference between the List and the Single Object sent to the Rest Resource.
Then, my question is how to do something like that. The idea is to have only one #POST that accepts both Arrays and Single values?
Ideally, I will get rid of the configuration of the ObjectMapper to avoid letting the possibility to set Single Object into the other level of the JSON document. For example, I do not want to allow that:
{
...
"attributes": {
...
}
}
where normally this format should be mandatory:
{
...
"attributes": [{
...
}]
}
Based on that, I tried to put in place an object wrapper of my List to set if I am able to the difference between the list and the object. With something like that:
public class ObjectWrapper<T> {
private List<T> list;
private T object;
public boolean isObject() {
return list == null;
}
}
with the resource that becomes:
#Path(...)
#Stateless
public class MyRestResource {
#POST
#Consumes(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public Response create(ObjectWrapper myObjects) {
// Do some stuff there
}
}
and trying to put in place the deserialization of my content through the JAX-RS/Jersey/Jackson mechanisms. If I let the solution as it is now, the deserialization fails due to the fact that the JSON format expected is the following:
{
"list": [{
"name": "a name",
... // other attributes
}]
}
Then I tried to write a custom deserializer but I am a bit lost in this task. I have something like that:
public class ObjectWrapperDeserializer<T> extends JsonDeserializer<T> {
#Override
public T deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
... // What to put there to deserialize Array or Object
}
}
I just want to deserialize the root level to set the content deserialized into the object wrapper. I also want to keep the feature configured in a class annotated with #ApplicationPath when the configuraiton of the different #Provider are done.
I hope that all the info will give a sufficient picture of what I want to do and what I already tested.
Waiting for suggestion on how to do a resource that accept Arrays or Objects on the same path.
Thanks a lot in advance.

Ok, finally I succeed to put in place a mechanism that do exactly what I am looking for. But, I am not sure if there are negative consequences such the performance or such things.
First, I defined a class that can accept both List or Single Object:
public class RootWrapper<T> {
private List<T> list;
private T object;
}
Then, I need a custom deserializer that is able to know which kind of T type to deserialize and to handle the collection or the single object.
public class RootWrapperDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<CollectionWrapper<?>> {
private Class contentType;
public RootWrapperDeserializer(Class contentType) {
this.contentType = contentType;
}
#Override
public RootWrapper deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt)
throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
// Retrieve the object mapper and read the tree.
ObjectMapper mapper = (ObjectMapper) jp.getCodec();
JsonNode root = mapper.readTree(jp);
RootWrapper wrapper = new RootWrapper();
// Check if the root received is an array.
if (root.isArray()) {
List list = new LinkedList();
// Deserialize each node of the array using the type expected.
Iterator<JsonNode> rootIterator = root.getElements();
while (rootIterator.hasNext()) {
list.add(mapper.readValue(rootIterator.next(), contentType));
}
wrapper.setList(list);
}
// Deserialize the single object.
else {
wrapper.setObject(mapper.readValue(root, contentType));
}
return wrapper;
}
}
As far as I know, I try to only deserialize the root level manually and then let Jackson take the next operations in charge. I only have to know which real type I expect to be present in the Wrapper.
At this stage, I need a way to tell Jersey/Jackson which deserializer to use. One way I found for that is to create a sort of deserializer registry where are stored the type to deserialize with the right deserializer. I extended the Deserializers.Base class for that.
public class CustomDeserializers extends Deserializers.Base {
// Deserializers caching
private Map<Class, RootWrapperDeserializer> deserializers = new HashMap<>();
#Override
public JsonDeserializer<?> findBeanDeserializer(JavaType type,
DeserializationConfig config, DeserializerProvider provider,
BeanDescription beanDesc, BeanProperty property) throws JsonMappingException {
// Check if we have to provide a deserializer
if (type.getRawClass() == RootWrapper.class) {
// Check the deserializer cache
if (deserializers.containsKey(type.getRawClass())) {
return deserializers.get(type.getRawClass());
}
else {
// Create the new deserializer and cache it.
RootWrapperDeserializer deserializer =
new RootWrapperDeserializer(type.containedType(0).getRawClass());
deserializers.put(type.getRawClass(), deserializer);
return deserializer;
}
}
return null;
}
}
Ok, then I have my deserializers registry that create new deserializer only on demand and keep them once created. What I am not sure about that approach is if there is any concurrency issue. I know that Jackson do a lot of caching and do not call every time the findBeanDeserializer once it was called a first time on a specific deserialization context.
Now I have created my different classes, I need to do some plumbing to combine everything together. In a provider where I create the ObjectMapper, I can setup the deserializers registry to the created object mapper like below:
#Provider
#Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public class JsonObjectMapper implements ContextResolver<ObjectMapper> {
private ObjectMapper jacksonObjectMapper;
public JsonObjectMapper() {
jacksonObjectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
// Do some custom configuration...
// Configure a new deserializer registry
jacksonObjectMapper.setDeserializerProvider(
jacksonObjectMapper.getDeserializerProvider().withAdditionalDeserializers(
new RootArrayObjectDeserializers()
)
);
}
#Override
public ObjectMapper getContext(Class<?> arg0) {
return jacksonObjectMapper;
}
}
Then, I can also define my #ApplicationPath that is my REST application like following:
public abstract class AbstractRestApplication extends Application {
private Set<Class<?>> classes = new HashSet<>();
public AbstractRestApplication() {
classes.add(JacksonFeature.class);
classes.add(JsonObjectMapper.class);
addResources(classes);
}
#Override
public Set<Class<?>> getClasses() {
return classes;
}
#Override
public Set<Object> getSingletons() {
final Set<Object> singletons = new HashSet<>(1);
singletons.add(new JacksonJsonProvider());
return singletons;
}
private void addResources(Set<Class<?>> classes) {
classes.add(SomeRestResource.class);
// ...
}
}
Now, everything is in place and I can write a REST resource method like that:
#POST
#Path("somePath")
#Consumes(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
#Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public Response create(RootWrapper<SpecificClass> wrapper) {
if (wrapper.isObject()) {
// Do something for one single object
SpecificClass sc = wrapper.getObject();
// ...
return Response.ok(resultSingleObject).build();
}
else {
// Do something for list of objects
for (SpecificClass sc = wrapper.getList()) {
// ...
}
return Response.ok(resultList).build();
}
}
That's all. Do not hesitate to comment the solution. Feedbacks are really welcome especially around the way of deserialization process where I am really not sure that it is safe for performance and concurrency.