MOXy XPath unmarshalling Element is null

Question

Im trying to unmarshall the camunda:property elements into a List using XPath to skip the unnecessary wrapper elements. Unfortunately my propertyList is always null. This is located in the Task Class. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit#1: I followed the following links who were supposed to help with my problem unfortunately without success. http://blog.bdoughan.com/2011/05/specifying-eclipselink-moxy-as-your.html which is the official guide. Apparently there are some challenges with the maven pom.xml file. I suspect that the problem lies inside the pom file. I followed this guide https://www.javacodegeeks.com/2012/07/eclipselink-moxy-as-jaxb-provider.html but still did not get it to work.

pom.xml file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>org.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>BPMN-Marshaller</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <properties>
        <maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
        <maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
    </properties>
    <repositories><repository>
        <id>EclipseLink Repo</id>
        <url>http://download.eclipse.org/rt/eclipselink/maven.repo</url>
        <name>EclipseLink Repo</name>
    </repository></repositories>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.eclipse.persistence</groupId>
            <artifactId>org.eclipse.persistence.moxy</artifactId>
            <version>3.0.0-M1</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
            <artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
            <version>2.5.3</version>
        </dependency>
        <!-- Runtime, com.sun.xml.bind module -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.glassfish.jaxb</groupId>
            <artifactId>jaxb-runtime</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.2</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>jakarta.xml.bind</groupId>
            <artifactId>jakarta.xml.bind-api</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.2</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

</project>

jaxb.properties file in the same package and folder as my java classes(see attached image with name "Project Structure")

javax.xml.bind.context.factory=org.eclipse.persistence.jaxb.JAXBContextFactory

package-info.java file

@XmlSchema(namespace="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL", elementFormDefault=XmlNsForm.QUALIFIED, xmlns = {@XmlNs(prefix="bpmn", namespaceURI="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL")
        ,@XmlNs(prefix = "camunda", namespaceURI = "http://camunda.org/schema/1.0/bpmn")})

package bpmn;

import javax.xml.bind.annotation.*;

xml file snippet

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<bpmn:definitions xmlns:bpmn="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL" xmlns:bpmndi="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DI" xmlns:dc="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DC" xmlns:camunda="http://camunda.org/schema/1.0/bpmn" xmlns:di="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DI" id="Definitions_13d3a6z" targetNamespace="http://bpmn.io/schema/bpmn" exporter="Camunda Modeler" exporterVersion="4.1.1">
  <bpmn:process id="Process_1tovjba" isExecutable="true">
    <bpmn:startEvent id="StartEvent_1">
      <bpmn:outgoing>Flow_06i118e</bpmn:outgoing>
    </bpmn:startEvent>
    <bpmn:task id="Activity_1d3friu" name="Task 1">
      <bpmn:extensionElements>
        <camunda:properties>
          <camunda:property name="start_date" value="01-04-2018" />
          <camunda:property name="duration" value="5" />
        </camunda:properties>
      </bpmn:extensionElements>
      <bpmn:incoming>Flow_06i118e</bpmn:incoming>
      <bpmn:outgoing>Flow_0linmbs</bpmn:outgoing>
    </bpmn:task>

Definitions Class

@XmlRootElement
public class Definitions {

 private String id;
 private Process process;



    public Definitions(){};
    public Definitions(String id, Process process){
        super();
        this.id = id;
        this.process = process;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    public String getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(String id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    @XmlElement
    public Process getProcess() {
        return process;
    }

    public void setProcess(Process process) {
        this.process = process;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString(){
        return "Definitions [id23=" + id + ", process=23499999999999999" + process + "]";
    }

}

Process Class

public class Process {

    private String id;
    private List<Task> taskList;
    private List<SequenceFlow> sequenceFlowList;

    public Process(){};
    public Process(String id, List<Task> taskList, List<SequenceFlow> sequenceFlowList){
        super();
        this.id = id;
        this.taskList = taskList;
        this.sequenceFlowList = sequenceFlowList;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    public String getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(String id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    @XmlElement(name = "task")
    public List<Task> getTaskList() {
        return taskList;
    }

    public void setTaskList(List<Task> taskList) {
        this.taskList = taskList;
    }

    @XmlElement(name = "sequenceFlow")
    public List<SequenceFlow> getSequenceFlowList() {
        return sequenceFlowList;
    }

    public void setSequenceFlowList(List<SequenceFlow> sequenceFlowList) {
        this.sequenceFlowList = sequenceFlowList;
    }
}

Task Class

public class Task {

    private String id;
    private String name;
    private List<Property> propertyList;

    public Task(){}
    public Task(String id, String name, List<Property> propertyList){
        super();
        this.id = id;
        this.name = name;
        this.propertyList = propertyList;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    @JsonProperty("text")
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    public String getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(String id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    @XmlElement(name = "property")
    @XmlPath("bpmn:extensionElements/camunda:properties/camunda:property")
    public List<Property> getPropertyList() {
        return propertyList;
    }

    public void setPropertyList(List<Property> propertyList) {
        this.propertyList = propertyList;
    }
}

Property Class

public class Property {

    private String name;
    private String value;

    public Property(){}
    public Property(String name, String value) {
        super();
        this.name = name;
        this.value = value;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    @XmlAttribute
    public String getValue() {
        return value;
    }

    public void setValue(String value) {
        this.value = value;
    }
}

Main Class

public class XMLToObject {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        try {

            File file = new File("process.bpmn");
            JAXBContext jaxbContext = JAXBContext.newInstance(Definitions.class);
            Unmarshaller jaxbUnmarshaller = jaxbContext.createUnmarshaller();
            Definitions definitions = (Definitions) jaxbUnmarshaller.unmarshal(file);
            System.out.println(definitions.getProcess().getTaskList().get(0).getPropertyList());

        } catch (JAXBException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }


    }
}

Project Structure

Not a solution, just an observation: To activate Moxy, your `jaxb.properties` file needs to be placed in the same Java package(s) as the classes on which you want Moxy to operate - and not in a separate resource folder. See [here](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4781958/how-to-know-what-jaxb-implementation-is-used) for how to double-check if Moxy is actually being used. — andrewJames, Aug 18 '20 at 13:32
https://github.com/bdoughan/blog20110819 . In this example the jaxb.properties file is also in the resource folder. However I still tried moving the file inside the same java folder as the classes without any success. I followed the link you sent me. In both case, whether the properties file is in resource folder or in the java folder it says "Metro". So i suppose my properties file is not being used utilised? — Ioakeim, Aug 18 '20 at 15:40
In case it helps (because this is a mistake I have made in the past): It's not sufficient to locate the properties file with your `*.java` files - it has to be where your `*.class` files are deployed at runtime. You may need to adjust your Maven/Ant/Gradle/other build process, to ensure this happens. Regarding the location of the properties file, I am basing my guidance on the official guide [here](https://www.eclipse.org/eclipselink/documentation/2.7/concepts/blocks003.htm#CHDBGGJD) and to Blaise Doughan's blog [here](http://blog.bdoughan.com/2011/05/specifying-eclipselink-moxy-as-your.html). — andrewJames, Aug 18 '20 at 16:13

andrewJames · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-18T17:53:41.683

I made the following changes to your approach, and I am able to access the duration and start_date properties data from your XML file.

I am using OpenJDK 14, by the way. But this approach runs OK using version 8 also.

The POM I am using has the following dependencies:

        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.sun.activation</groupId>
            <artifactId>javax.activation</artifactId>
            <version>1.2.0</version>
        </dependency>

        <!-- 
             Use 2.3.1 below to prevent "illegal 
             reflective access operation" warnings.
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>javax.xml.bind</groupId>
            <artifactId>jaxb-api</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.1</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.sun.xml.bind</groupId>
            <artifactId>jaxb-core</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.0.1</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.sun.xml.bind</groupId>
            <artifactId>jaxb-impl</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.1</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.eclipse.persistence</groupId>
            <artifactId>eclipselink</artifactId>
            <version>2.7.6</version>
        </dependency>

(I skipped the Jackson dependency just for this test.)

I also added the following section at the end of my POM, to handle the properties file:

    <!-- to copy the jaxb.properties file to its class package: -->
    <build>
        <resources>
            <resource>
                <directory>src/main/java</directory>
                <excludes>
                    <exclude>**/*.java</exclude>
                </excludes>
            </resource>
        </resources>
    </build>

This ensures the properties file is deployed to the correct location with its related class files.

I added the code to check for which JAXB provider is being used - just as a positive confirmation:

    private void checkProvider() throws JAXBException {
        JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance(Definitions.class);

        String jaxbContextImpl = jc.getClass().getName();
        if(MOXY_JAXB_CONTEXT.equals(jaxbContextImpl)) {
            System.out.println("EclipseLink MOXy");
        } else if(METRO_JAXB_CONTEXT.equals(jaxbContextImpl)) {
            System.out.println("Metro");
        } else {
            System.out.println("Other");
        }
    }

I modified the code to loop through the properties data, to explicitly print the final properties values:

List<Property> props = definitions.getProcess().getTaskList().get(0).getPropertyList();
props.forEach(prop -> {
    System.out.println(prop.getName() + " - " + prop.getValue());
});
//System.out.println(definitions.getProcess().getTaskList().get(0).getPropertyList());

The resulting output is:

EclipseLink MOXy
start_date - 01-04-2018
duration - 5

It is working for me too. Thank you very much. I'm using OpenJDK 11 in case someone else stumbles upon this problem. — Ioakeim, Aug 18 '20 at 19:59
Hi Andrew, I am trying to unmarshal the `XML` using `Moxy @XmlPath` but for some reason, I am unable to get the values for some fields. I have made a post for the same. If you get a chance, can you please have a look and provide your suggestion or workarounds? https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67648941/jaxb-moxy-unmarshalling-assigns-all-field-values-to-mapstring-object-rather-th — BATMAN_2008, May 23 '21 at 11:01

MOXy XPath unmarshalling Element is null

1 Answers1