ControllerLinkBuilder.linkTo fails to build a link to a method that uses entity as a target of @PathVariable in its signature

[vtsukur]

Consider a project using Spring Data JPA / Spring Data REST to manage an entity MyEntity via repository annotated with @RepositoryRestResource:

@RepositoryRestResource
public interface MyEntityRepository extends PagingAndSortingRepository<MyEntity, Long> {}

Consider the following (custom) Spring MVC controller in such an application:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/path/{id}/subpath")
public class MyResourceController {

    @RequestMapping(method = RequestMethod.GET)
    public ... getSomething(@PathVariable("id") MyEntity myEntity) ...

}

and the following ResourceProcessor:

@Component
public class MyResourceProcessor implements ResourceProcessor<Resource<MyEntity>> {

    @Override
    public Resource<MyEntity> process(Resource<MyEntity> resource) {
        resource.add(linkTo(methodOn(MyResourceController.class).getSomething(resource.getContent())).withRel("payment"));
        return resource;
    }

}

ResourceProcessor will fail to generate the link avoiding the knowledge and capabilities of DomainClassConverter and @PathVariable

org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException: No converter found capable of converting from type @org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable org...domain.MyEntity to type java.lang.String
        at org.springframework.core.convert.support.GenericConversionService.handleConverterNotFound(GenericConversionService.java:313)
        at org.springframework.core.convert.support.GenericConversionService.convert(GenericConversionService.java:195)
        at org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.AnnotatedParametersParameterAccessor$BoundMethodParameter.asString(AnnotatedParametersParameterAccessor.java:172)
        at org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.ControllerLinkBuilderFactory.linkTo(ControllerLinkBuilderFactory.java:130)
        at org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.ControllerLinkBuilder.linkTo(ControllerLinkBuilder.java:136)
        at org...MyResourceProcessor.process(BookingProcessor.java:25)
        at org...MyResourceProcessor.process(BookingProcessor.java:16)

[gregturn]

For a Spring data rest project, you should not use RestController. See https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-data-rest/pull/177 for documentation updates on the proper way to build overriding controllers.

[vtsukur]

Thanks a lot for the quick turnaround and the hint on @RepositoryRestController to override controllers. This is going to be useful in many cases and I already started using it ;-).

Still, it does not solve the initial concern of having an ability to generate links to methods where @PathVariables help to resolve entities - builder will fail for the very same reason even if @RepositoryRestController is used. Using identifier instead of the entity and repository lookup would solve it of course (that is what I do right now), but it would be better if @PathVariable semantics works with ControllerLinkBuilder.

[gregturn]

I don't understand how @PathVariable("id") MyEntity myEntity is supposed to map onto /path/{id}/subpath. Looks like {id} should map to Long id, and plugging in resource.getContent().getId() to invoke it would line up cleaner.

[gregturn]

To clarify on the @RepositoryRestController stuff, the entire @RequestMapping needs to be on the method and none of it at the class level.

[vtsukur]

Spring Data JPA reference documentation says that DomainClassConverter allows to use domain types in Spring MVC controller method signatures, exactly like this: @PathVariable("id") MyEntity myEntity. Same mapping works perfectly well for @RepositoryRestControllers. It is only the link generation which fails.

@PathVariable("id") MyEntity myEntity is supposed to map onto /path/{id}/subpath by serializing identifier of the entity: /path/5/subpath if entity id is 5. The need to map {id} to Long id and then play around with resource.getContext().getId() is exactly what I am trying to avoid because it can potentially be done by the framework itself. Does it make sense?

[aglassman]

Just ran into this issue as well. I have a controller that has MyDomainId as a parameter. I have registered a Converter<String,MyDomainId>, but when passing the instance of MyDomainId into the linkTo method, I receive the same error @vtsukur posted above. Registering a Converter<MyDomainId,String> converter did not solve the issue.

FYI I'm not using SpringData, just Spring Hateoas.

[rgacki]

I have a similar issue. It seems to be the same for other annotations like @RequestParam. I am using custom types along with org.springframework.core.convert.converter.Converter implementations. org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.AnnotatedParametersParameterAccessor.BoundMethodParameter is using a self-instantiated ConversionService. This service does not see any of the custom converters registered elsewhere.

This is a bad show stopper for me!

[gregturn]

The issue is that the existing conversion service is baked into Spring HATEOAS. There is currently no means to pick up and inject your own.

[leonslack]

Hello @vtsukur You should use linkTo Controller passing the pathVariable property like linkTo(MyResourceController .class, id) instead of linkToMethod

[trungie]

I've been able to get around this error using a hack - creating a String based constructor on the object with a toString()....

This will get picked up by a default converter FallBackObjectToStringConverter

I use a Hashid based argument in a controller method, encapsulated in an object (similar concept to @aglassman's MyDomainId) and it's annoying i have to use this hack till a real solution is out...

[Kidlike]

According to this thread, these cases are not working:

• @PathVariable
• @RequestParam

To add to the list, I have another case that is not working. If a controller method has aggregated query params like so:

@GetMapping("/find")
public ... findSomething(FindParams findParams) ...

public class FindParams {
    private String name;
    private String type;
    private boolean includeSomething;
    // etc...
}

Hateoas in this case would completely ignore any FindParams objects you pass to it. It will always generate just a /find URL.

This might even be more dangerous than the previously mentioned issues, because there's no exception.

---

Is any of this fixable?!

[odrotbohm]

Duplicates #118.