Staying DRY with JAXB

Question

I'm developing a number of Java classes that must serialize to XML in the following format:

<foo value="123"/>

<!-- or this -->
<bar value="abc"/>

<!-- or this -->
<baz value="true"/>

In the beginning, Foo.java looked something like this:

@XmlRootElement
@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
class Foo {
    @XmlAttribute
    String value;

    // snip constructors

    // snip methods
    // getValue
    // equals, hashCode, toString
    // static valueOf(String), static valueOf(int)
}

It doesn't take much imagination to guess what Bar.java and Baz.java might look like. These are very simple wrapper classes for (in this example) int, String, and boolean. Up to this point, everything's hunky dory. After writing the ninth round of

class WhoCares {
    @XmlAttribute
    Whatever value;
    /* 2 constructors */
    /* 6 methods found in every one of these classes */
}

I thought: "Hey, I know how I can solve this — I just need one level of abstraction!" Introducing Wrapper<T>:

abstract class Wrapper<T> {
    @XmlAttribute
    private T value;

    Wrapper() {} // default ctor for JAXB
    Wrapper(T value) {
        this.value = value;
    }

    T getValue() {
        return value;
    }

    // snip equals, hashCode, toString
}

Now, to implement Foo, all I need to do is extend Wrapper, implement the factory methods I need:

class Foo extends Wrapper<String> {
    // snip constructors

    static Foo valueOf(String value) {
        return new Foo(value);
    }
}

and add an @XmlSeeAlso({... Foo.class ...}) to Wrapper's declaration.

Pro: this is much nicer.
Con: JAXB won't serialize these objects.

Any calls to JAXBContext.getInstance(Wrapper.class) or JAXBContext.getInstance(Foo.class) fail due to a NullPointerException thrown somewhere deep in the bowels of JAXB:

17:06:03,706 ERROR [org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.[jboss.web].[localhost].[/Redacted].[JAX-RS Servlet]] Servlet.service() for servlet JAX-RS Servlet threw exception: java.lang.NullPointerException
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.reflect.TransducedAccessor.get(TransducedAccessor.java:165) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.property.AttributeProperty.<init>(AttributeProperty.java:87) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.property.PropertyFactory.create(PropertyFactory.java:104) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.ClassBeanInfoImpl.<init>(ClassBeanInfoImpl.java:179) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.getOrCreate(JAXBContextImpl.java:515) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.ClassBeanInfoImpl.<init>(ClassBeanInfoImpl.java:166) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.getOrCreate(JAXBContextImpl.java:515) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.getOrCreate(JAXBContextImpl.java:534) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.property.SingleElementNodeProperty.<init>(SingleElementNodeProperty.java:101) [:2.2]
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor49.newInstance(Unknown Source) [:1.6.0_24]
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:27) [:1.6.0_24]
    at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:513) [:1.6.0_24]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.property.PropertyFactory.create(PropertyFactory.java:124) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.ClassBeanInfoImpl.<init>(ClassBeanInfoImpl.java:179) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.getOrCreate(JAXBContextImpl.java:515) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.ClassBeanInfoImpl.<init>(ClassBeanInfoImpl.java:166) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.getOrCreate(JAXBContextImpl.java:515) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl.<init>(JAXBContextImpl.java:330) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.runtime.JAXBContextImpl$JAXBContextBuilder.build(JAXBContextImpl.java:1140) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.ContextFactory.createContext(ContextFactory.java:154) [:2.2]
    at com.sun.xml.bind.v2.ContextFactory.createContext(ContextFactory.java:121) [:2.2]
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) [:1.6.0_24]
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39) [:1.6.0_24]
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25) [:1.6.0_24]
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597) [:1.6.0_24]
    at javax.xml.bind.ContextFinder.newInstance(ContextFinder.java:201) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at javax.xml.bind.ContextFinder.find(ContextFinder.java:362) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext.newInstance(JAXBContext.java:618) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext.newInstance(JAXBContext.java:565) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractJAXBProvider.getStoredJAXBContext(AbstractJAXBProvider.java:189) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractJAXBProvider.getJAXBContext(AbstractJAXBProvider.java:182) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractJAXBProvider.getMarshaller(AbstractJAXBProvider.java:160) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractJAXBProvider.getMarshaller(AbstractJAXBProvider.java:139) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractRootElementProvider.writeTo(AbstractRootElementProvider.java:151) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.ContainerResponse.write(ContainerResponse.java:306) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl._handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1310) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl.handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1223) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl.handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1213) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.WebComponent.service(WebComponent.java:414) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.ServletContainer.service(ServletContainer.java:537) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.ServletContainer.service(ServletContainer.java:699) [:1.6]
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:847) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:324) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at com.example.mgp.filter.RetryFilter.doFilter(RetryFilter.java:109) [:]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at com.example.mgp.filter.AuthFilter.doFilter(AuthFilter.java:57) [:]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.weld.servlet.ConversationPropagationFilter.doFilter(ConversationPropagationFilter.java:67) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:275) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityAssociationValve.invoke(SecurityAssociationValve.java:181) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.modcluster.catalina.CatalinaContext$RequestListenerValve.event(CatalinaContext.java:285) [:1.1.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.modcluster.catalina.CatalinaContext$RequestListenerValve.invoke(CatalinaContext.java:261) [:1.1.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.JaccContextValve.invoke(JaccContextValve.java:88) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.invoke(SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.java:100) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:127) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.service.jca.CachedConnectionValve.invoke(CachedConnectionValve.java:158) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.service.request.ActiveRequestResponseCacheValve.invoke(ActiveRequestResponseCacheValve.java:53) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:362) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:877) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:654) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:951) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:662) [:1.6.0_24]

I've already tried switching my JAXB implementation from Metro to MOXy (and I did check that the implementation changed) but a similar NPE is thrown with MOXy:

17:46:48,481 SEVERE [com.sun.jersey.spi.container.ContainerResponse] Mapped exception to response: 500 (Internal Server Error): javax.ws.rs.WebApplicationException: javax.xml.bind.MarshalException
 - with linked exception:
[Exception [EclipseLink-25003] (Eclipse Persistence Services - 2.2.0.v20110202-r8913): org.eclipse.persistence.exceptions.XMLMarshalException
Exception Description: An error occurred marshalling the object
Internal Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractRootElementProvider.writeTo(AbstractRootElementProvider.java:159) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.ContainerResponse.write(ContainerResponse.java:306) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl._handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1310) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl.handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1223) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl.handleRequest(WebApplicationImpl.java:1213) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.WebComponent.service(WebComponent.java:414) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.ServletContainer.service(ServletContainer.java:537) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.ServletContainer.service(ServletContainer.java:699) [:1.6]
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:847) [:1.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:324) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at com.example.mgp.filter.RetryFilter.doFilter(RetryFilter.java:109) [:]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at com.example.mgp.filter.AuthFilter.doFilter(AuthFilter.java:57) [:]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.weld.servlet.ConversationPropagationFilter.doFilter(ConversationPropagationFilter.java:67) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:274) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:242) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:275) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityAssociationValve.invoke(SecurityAssociationValve.java:181) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.modcluster.catalina.CatalinaContext$RequestListenerValve.event(CatalinaContext.java:285) [:1.1.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.modcluster.catalina.CatalinaContext$RequestListenerValve.invoke(CatalinaContext.java:261) [:1.1.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.JaccContextValve.invoke(JaccContextValve.java:88) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.invoke(SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.java:100) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:127) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.service.jca.CachedConnectionValve.invoke(CachedConnectionValve.java:158) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.jboss.web.tomcat.service.request.ActiveRequestResponseCacheValve.invoke(ActiveRequestResponseCacheValve.java:53) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:362) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:877) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:654) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:951) [:6.0.0.Final]
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:662) [:1.6.0_24]
Caused by: javax.xml.bind.MarshalException
 - with linked exception:
[Exception [EclipseLink-25003] (Eclipse Persistence Services - 2.2.0.v20110202-r8913): org.eclipse.persistence.exceptions.XMLMarshalException
Exception Description: An error occurred marshalling the object
Internal Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.jaxb.JAXBMarshaller.marshal(JAXBMarshaller.java:314) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractRootElementProvider.writeTo(AbstractRootElementProvider.java:179) [:1.6]
    at com.sun.jersey.core.provider.jaxb.AbstractRootElementProvider.writeTo(AbstractRootElementProvider.java:157) [:1.6]
    ... 36 more
Caused by: Exception [EclipseLink-25003] (Eclipse Persistence Services - 2.2.0.v20110202-r8913): org.eclipse.persistence.exceptions.XMLMarshalException
Exception Description: An error occurred marshalling the object
Internal Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException
    at org.eclipse.persistence.exceptions.XMLMarshalException.marshalException(XMLMarshalException.java:78) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.oxm.XMLMarshaller.marshal(XMLMarshaller.java:516) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.jaxb.JAXBMarshaller.marshal(JAXBMarshaller.java:312) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    ... 38 more
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
    at org.eclipse.persistence.oxm.record.OutputStreamRecord.outputStreamWrite(OutputStreamRecord.java:511) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.oxm.record.OutputStreamRecord.openStartElement(OutputStreamRecord.java:159) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XPathNode.startElement(XPathNode.java:330) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.marshalSingleValue(XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.java:185) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.marshal(XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.java:116) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.NodeValue.marshal(NodeValue.java:104) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.record.ObjectMarshalContext.marshal(ObjectMarshalContext.java:60) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XPathNode.marshal(XPathNode.java:322) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.TreeObjectBuilder.marshalAttributes(TreeObjectBuilder.java:338) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XPathNode.startElement(XPathNode.java:344) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.marshalSingleValue(XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.java:167) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.marshal(XMLCompositeObjectMappingNodeValue.java:116) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.NodeValue.marshal(NodeValue.java:104) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.record.ObjectMarshalContext.marshal(ObjectMarshalContext.java:60) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XPathNode.marshal(XPathNode.java:322) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.TreeObjectBuilder.buildRow(TreeObjectBuilder.java:325) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLAnyObjectMappingNodeValue.marshalSingleValue(XMLAnyObjectMappingNodeValue.java:154) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XMLAnyObjectMappingNodeValue.marshal(XMLAnyObjectMappingNodeValue.java:70) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.NodeValue.marshal(NodeValue.java:104) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.record.ObjectMarshalContext.marshal(ObjectMarshalContext.java:60) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.XPathNode.marshal(XPathNode.java:322) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.internal.oxm.TreeObjectBuilder.buildRow(TreeObjectBuilder.java:325) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.oxm.XMLMarshaller.marshal(XMLMarshaller.java:932) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    at org.eclipse.persistence.oxm.XMLMarshaller.marshal(XMLMarshaller.java:486) [:2.2.0.v20110202-r8913]
    ... 39 more

Is there any way to produce the required XML while minimizing boilerplate and staying DRY?

Sure, I'm working on it. It looks like it might not actually be using MOXy for all of the domain classes, which are spread out over quite a few packages. — Matt Ball, May 02 '11 at 21:45

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

3

The issue you are seeing is due to bugs in both the Metro (reference implementation) and EclipseLink MOXy JAXB implementations. The relevant MOXy bug is:

https://bugs.eclipse.org/344539

One thing to note about your use case is that due to type erasure, a JAXB implementation is going to treat the value property as type Object. This means that marshal operations will work for you, but an unmarshal operation will return the value as a String. This is why if the value field was annotated with @XmlElement that xsi:type information would be included to preserve the type information:

@XmlRootElement and <T extends Serializable> throws IllegalAnnotationExceptions

MOXy Workaround

You workaround the MOXy bug by leveraging the following XmlAdapter:

import javax.xml.bind.annotation.adapters.XmlAdapter;

public class ObjectAdapter extends XmlAdapter<Object, Object> {

    @Override
    public Object unmarshal(Object v) throws Exception {
        return v;
    }

    @Override
    public Object marshal(Object v) throws Exception {
        return v;
    }

}

The XML Adapter is registered on your property as follows:

import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessorType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAttribute;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlSeeAlso;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlTransient;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.adapters.XmlJavaTypeAdapter;

@XmlTransient
@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
@XmlSeeAlso(Foo.class)
abstract class Wrapper<T> {

    @XmlAttribute
    @XmlJavaTypeAdapter(ObjectAdapter.class)
    private T value;

    Wrapper() {} // default ctor for JAXB

    public Wrapper(T t) {
        value = t;
    }

}

edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

Community

1
1

answered May 02 '11 at 22:59

bdoughan

147,609
23
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400

So there should be no annoations on the `Wrapper` declaration except for `@XmlTransient`? – Matt Ball May 02 '11 at 23:03
@Matt Ball - Current annotations plus type level @XmlTransient. – bdoughan May 02 '11 at 23:06
I guess it shouldn't matter either way, since `@XmlTransient` is mutually exclusive with all other JAXB defined annotations (from the JavaDoc). Still, adding `@XmlTransient` doesn't solve the problem. – Matt Ball May 02 '11 at 23:13
1

@Matt Ball - I think I have your issue recreated. I'll post back when I have something working. – bdoughan May 02 '11 at 23:38
@Matt Ball - I have confirmed the issue as a bug, and have updated my answer to include a workaround for MOXy. As I put in the bug your model will always unmarshal as a String property. Is there an unmarshal aspect of your use case? – bdoughan May 03 '11 at 09:18
Great, I will give this a shot. Yes, there is an unmarshal use case as well. Is there anyway to determine which concrete subclass of `Wrapper` to unmarshal to, based on the element's tag name? That would be ideal. – Matt Ball May 03 '11 at 13:46
With this workaround (which worked, so **thank you**) an extra `xsi:type` attribute is added. I understand the reason for this, but is it possible to omit that attribute when marshalling? – Matt Ball May 03 '11 at 14:08
1

@Matt Ball - Have you marked your Wrapper class as @XmlTransient? This will get rid of the xsi:type attribute. – bdoughan May 03 '11 at 14:13
I thought I had, but I double-checked and you're right, I didn't. Any input on unmarshaling to a Java type based on the tag name? – Matt Ball May 03 '11 at 14:19
@Matt Ball - With an @XmlRootElement on each of your child objects you're going to get the right child object instance. However JAXB is going to consider that the value field is of type Object. This means that value is going to always unmarshal as String. I'm currently thinking how to handle your unmarshal case. – bdoughan May 03 '11 at 14:22
1

@Matt Ball - A fix for this issue has been checked into EclipseLink 2.2.1 and 2.3.0. It will be available from the nightly download page (http://www.eclipse.org/eclipselink/downloads/nightly.php) starting on May 4, 2011. – bdoughan May 03 '11 at 16:14
Excellent! Thank you. I assume that a nightly with green or blue checks across the table is going to be reasonably stable for a demo application? – Matt Ball May 03 '11 at 16:21
@Blaise in the interest of just getting this working and moving on, I basically gave up on the completely generic approach, giving up `Wrapper` for `IntWrapper`, `StringWrapper`, `LongWrapper`, `ByteArrayWrapper`, etc. I was not able to find a nicer way to avoid [heap pollution](http://www.angelikalanger.com/GenericsFAQ/FAQSections/TechnicalDetails.html#Topic2) since, as you said, the value would always unmarshal as a string. – Matt Ball Jun 14 '11 at 23:51

Staying DRY with JAXB

1 Answers1

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