Uncatchable exception when using @Transactional

Question

When I annotate this method in my Service class with @Transactional, I get an exception which I can't seem to catch or do anything about. My goal is to get a dataAccessException if there is one, and show it to the user in the controller class. I do a check whether or not I get an exception returned in my controller.

Note that this works perfectly fine if I don't annotate it with @Transactional. And it works perfectly fine with @Transactional unless I violate a constraint. The purpose of catching these exceptions is to see if there is a constraint so I can handle this in the controller class.

When debugging, I can see that the exception thrown is of type DataIntegrityViolationException which means that it hit a constraint.

   public DataAccessException addNewCategory(Category category){
        try{
            Category c = categoryRepository.save(category);
            categoryObservableList.add(c);
        }catch(DataAccessException e){
            return e;
        }
        return null;
    }

The exception thrown:

    Exception in thread "JavaFX Application Thread" java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
    at javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$MethodHandler.invoke(FXMLLoader.java:1774)
    at javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ControllerMethodEventHandler.handle(FXMLLoader.java:1657)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:86)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:49)
    at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
    at javafx.scene.Node.fireEvent(Node.java:8413)
    at javafx.scene.control.Button.fire(Button.java:185)
    at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.behavior.ButtonBehavior.mouseReleased(ButtonBehavior.java:182)
    at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase$1.handle(BehaviorSkinBase.java:96)
    at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase$1.handle(BehaviorSkinBase.java:89)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler$NormalEventHandlerRecord.handleBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:218)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:80)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:49)
    at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.process(Scene.java:3757)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.access$1500(Scene.java:3485)
    at javafx.scene.Scene.impl_processMouseEvent(Scene.java:1762)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$ScenePeerListener.mouseEvent(Scene.java:2494)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:394)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:295)
    at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.lambda$handleMouseEvent$353(GlassViewEventHandler.java:432)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.QuantumToolkit.runWithoutRenderLock(QuantumToolkit.java:389)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.handleMouseEvent(GlassViewEventHandler.java:431)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.View.handleMouseEvent(View.java:555)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.View.notifyMouse(View.java:937)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication._enterNestedEventLoopImpl(Native Method)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication._enterNestedEventLoop(WinApplication.java:204)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.Application.enterNestedEventLoop(Application.java:511)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.EventLoop.enter(EventLoop.java:107)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.QuantumToolkit.enterNestedEventLoop(QuantumToolkit.java:590)
    at javafx.stage.Stage.showAndWait(Stage.java:474)
    at be.vincentnagy.ehka.controller.MenuBarController.manageCategoryMenuItemHandler(MenuBarController.java:29)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
    at sun.reflect.misc.Trampoline.invoke(MethodUtil.java:71)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor20.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
    at sun.reflect.misc.MethodUtil.invoke(MethodUtil.java:275)
    at javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$MethodHandler.invoke(FXMLLoader.java:1769)
    at javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ControllerMethodEventHandler.handle(FXMLLoader.java:1657)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:86)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:49)
    at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
    at javafx.scene.control.MenuItem.fire(MenuItem.java:462)
    at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.ContextMenuContent$MenuItemContainer.doSelect(ContextMenuContent.java:1405)
    at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.ContextMenuContent$MenuItemContainer.lambda$createChildren$343(ContextMenuContent.java:1358)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler$NormalEventHandlerRecord.handleBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:218)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:80)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
    at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:54)
    at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.process(Scene.java:3757)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.access$1500(Scene.java:3485)
    at javafx.scene.Scene.impl_processMouseEvent(Scene.java:1762)
    at javafx.scene.Scene$ScenePeerListener.mouseEvent(Scene.java:2494)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:394)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:295)
    at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.lambda$handleMouseEvent$353(GlassViewEventHandler.java:432)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.QuantumToolkit.runWithoutRenderLock(QuantumToolkit.java:389)
    at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.handleMouseEvent(GlassViewEventHandler.java:431)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.View.handleMouseEvent(View.java:555)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.View.notifyMouse(View.java:937)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication._runLoop(Native Method)
    at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication.lambda$null$147(WinApplication.java:177)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:748)
Caused by: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
    at sun.reflect.misc.Trampoline.invoke(MethodUtil.java:71)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor20.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
    at sun.reflect.misc.MethodUtil.invoke(MethodUtil.java:275)
    at javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$MethodHandler.invoke(FXMLLoader.java:1769)
    ... 105 more
Caused by: org.springframework.transaction.TransactionSystemException: Could not commit JPA transaction; nested exception is javax.persistence.RollbackException: Transaction marked as rollbackOnly
    at org.springframework.orm.jpa.JpaTransactionManager.doCommit(JpaTransactionManager.java:526)
    at org.springframework.transaction.support.AbstractPlatformTransactionManager.processCommit(AbstractPlatformTransactionManager.java:761)
    at org.springframework.transaction.support.AbstractPlatformTransactionManager.commit(AbstractPlatformTransactionManager.java:730)
    at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionAspectSupport.commitTransactionAfterReturning(TransactionAspectSupport.java:518)
    at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionAspectSupport.invokeWithinTransaction(TransactionAspectSupport.java:292)
    at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor.invoke(TransactionInterceptor.java:96)
    at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:179)
    at org.springframework.aop.framework.CglibAopProxy$DynamicAdvisedInterceptor.intercept(CglibAopProxy.java:673)
    at be.vincentnagy.ehka.category.CategoryService$$EnhancerBySpringCGLIB$$4ead1d26.addNewCategory(<generated>)
    at be.vincentnagy.ehka.controller.OptionsController.addNewCategoryButtonClick(OptionsController.java:51)
    ... 115 more
Caused by: javax.persistence.RollbackException: Transaction marked as rollbackOnly
    at org.hibernate.jpa.internal.TransactionImpl.commit(TransactionImpl.java:58)
    at org.springframework.orm.jpa.JpaTransactionManager.doCommit(JpaTransactionManager.java:517)
    ... 124 more

You only catch `DataAccessException`, which `TransactionSystemException` is not a subtype of, so it makes sense it won't be caught. If you want to catch any exception thrown by the code in the try clause - either add additional `catch` clauses, or modify the existing one to encompass all possible exceptions. — Itai, Feb 11 '18 at 08:13
Thanks for your reply. Changing the catch clause to Exception doesn't work either. It still throws an exception instead of just catching it and returning it. — Vinagy, Feb 11 '18 at 09:36

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 11 '18 at 10:12

The expection is not thrown while your code is executed, but during the attempt to commit your transaction. JPA synchronizes your current session with the database at the end of the transaction, and this happens after the method annotated with @Transactional has been finished. Only while writing your data to the database the constraints are being checked, not before.

You have two options:

catch the exception in your client code, e.g. at the place where you call addNewCategory
flush the jpa session inside of your method to trigger the constraint checks.

I would prefer the first opion, but if you choose option two, this question gives additional hints

The first option did the trick. Flushing the session made it catch the exception, but it still fired another exception I couldn't catch. Thanks for the answer. — Vinagy, Feb 11 '18 at 10:21

Uncatchable exception when using @Transactional

1 Answers1