Generic JSF entity converter [duplicate]
I'm writing my first Java EE 6 web app as a learning exercise. I'm not using a framework, just JPA 2.0, EJB 3.1 and JSF 2.0.
I have a Custom Converter to convert a JPA Entity stored in a SelectOne component back to an Entity. I'm using an InitialContext.lookup to obtain a reference to a Session Bean to find the relevant Entity.
I'd like to create a generic Entity Converter so I don't have to create a converter per Entity. I thought I'd create an Abstract Entity and have all Entities extend it. Then create a Custom Converter for the Abstract Entity and use it as the converter for all Entities.
Does that sound sensible and/or practicable?
Would it make more sense not to have an abstract entity, just a converter that converts any entity? In that case I'm not sure how I'd obtain a reference to the appropriate Session Bean.
I've included my current converter because I'm not sure I'm obtaining a reference to my Session Bean in the most efficient manner.
package com.mycom.rentalstore.converters;
import com.mycom.rentalstore.ejbs.ClassificationEJB;
import com.mycom.rentalstore.entities.Classification;
import javax.faces.application.FacesMessage;
import javax.faces.component.UIComponent;
import javax.faces.context.FacesContext;
import javax.faces.convert.Converter;
import javax.faces.convert.ConverterException;
import javax.faces.convert.FacesConverter;
import javax.naming.InitialContext;
import javax.naming.NamingException;
@FacesConverter(forClass = Classification.class)
public class ClassificationConverter implements Converter {
private InitialContext ic;
private ClassificationEJB classificationEJB;
@Override
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, String value) {
try {
ic = new InitialContext();
classificationEJB = (ClassificationEJB) ic.lookup("java:global/com.mycom.rentalstore_RentalStore_war_1.0-SNAPSHOT/ClassificationEJB");
} catch (NamingException e) {
throw new ConverterException(new FacesMessage(String.format("Cannot obtain InitialContext - %s", e)), e);
}
try {
return classificationEJB.getClassificationById(Long.valueOf(value));
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new ConverterException(new FacesMessage(String.format("Cannot convert %s to Classification - %s", value, e)), e);
}
}
@Override
public String getAsString(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value) {
return String.valueOf(((Classification) value).getId());
}
}
Solution 1:
I am using JSF 2.0 view map:
@FacesConverter("entityConverter")
public class EntityConverter implements Converter {
private static final String key = "com.example.jsf.EntityConverter";
private static final String empty = "";
private Map<String, Object> getViewMap(FacesContext context) {
Map<String, Object> viewMap = context.getViewRoot().getViewMap();
@SuppressWarnings({ "unchecked", "rawtypes" })
Map<String, Object> idMap = (Map) viewMap.get(key);
if (idMap == null) {
idMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
viewMap.put(key, idMap);
}
return idMap;
}
@Override
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context, UIComponent c, String value) {
if (value.isEmpty()) {
return null;
}
return getViewMap(context).get(value);
}
@Override
public String getAsString(FacesContext context, UIComponent c, Object value) {
if (value == null) {
return empty;
}
String id = ((Persistent) value).getId().toString();
getViewMap(context).put(id, value);
return id;
}
}
Solution 2:
Well I had the same problem today, and I solved it by creating a generic ConversionHelper and using it in the converter. For this purpose I have an EntityService which is a generic SLSB that I use to perform simple CRUD operations for any entity type. Also my entities implement a PersistentEntity interface, which has a getId and setId methods and I keep them with simple primary keys. That's it.
In the end my converter looks like this:
@FacesConverter(value = "userConverter", forClass = User.class)
public class UserConverter implements Converter {
@Override
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext ctx, UIComponent component, java.lang.String value) {
return ConversionHelper.getAsObject(User.class, value);
}
@Override
public String getAsString(FacesContext ctx, UIComponent component, Object value) {
return ConversionHelper.getAsString(value);
}
}
And my conversion helper looks like this:
public final class ConversionHelper {
private ConversionHelper() {
}
public static <T> T getAsObject(Class<T> returnType, String value) {
if (returnType== null) {
throw new NullPointerException("Trying to getAsObject with a null return type.");
}
if (value == null) {
throw new NullPointerException("Trying to getAsObject with a null value.");
}
Long id = null;
try {
id = Long.parseLong(value);
} catch (NumberFormatException e) {
throw new ConverterException("Trying to getAsObject with a wrong id format.");
}
try {
Context initialContext = new InitialContext();
EntityService entityService = (EntityService) initialContext.lookup("java:global/myapp/EntityService");
T result = (T) entityService.find(returnType, id);
return result;
} catch (NamingException e) {
throw new ConverterException("EntityService not found.");
}
}
public static String getAsString(Object value) {
if (value instanceof PersistentEntity) {
PersistentEntity result = (PersistentEntity) value;
return String.valueOf(result.getId());
}
return null;
}
}
Now creating converters for simple JPA entities is a matter of duplicate a converter and change 3 parameters.
This is working well for me, but I don't know if it is the best approach in terms of style and performance. Any tips would be appreciated.
Solution 3:
my solution is the following :
@ManagedBean
@SessionScoped
public class EntityConverterBuilderBean {
private static Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(EntityConverterBuilderBean.class);
@EJB
private GenericDao dao;
public GenericConverter createConverter(String entityClass) {
return new GenericConverter(entityClass, dao);
}
}
public class GenericConverter implements Converter {
private Class clazz;
private GenericDao dao;
public GenericConverter(String clazz, Generic dao) {
try {
this.clazz = Class.forName(clazz);
this.dao = dao;
} catch (Exception e) {
logger.error("cannot get class: " + clazz, e);
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
}
public Object getAsObject(javax.faces.context.FacesContext facesContext, javax.faces.component.UIComponent uiComponent, java.lang.String s) {
Object ret = null;
if (!"".equals(s)) {
Long id = new Long(s);
ret = dao.findById(clazz, id);
}
return ret;
}
public String getAsString(javax.faces.context.FacesContext facesContext, javax.faces.component.UIComponent uiComponent, java.lang.Object o) {
if (o != null) {
return ((SimpleEntity) o).getId() + "";
} else {
return "";
}
}
}
and in pages:
<h:selectOneMenu id="x" value="#{controller.x}"
converter="#{entityConverterBuilderBean.createConverter('com.test.model.TestEntity')}">
Solution 4:
Use Seam Faces, it provides a Converter class that does what you want.
org.jboss.seam.faces.conversion.Converter
While it's a JBoss project, Seam 3 works fine with Glassfish 3.1 and newer.
http://seamframework.org/Seam3/FacesModule
On 3.1 it does have a couple of additional dependencies; see http://blog.ringerc.id.au/2011/05/using-seam-3-with-glassfish-31.html