Implementing Validation for RESTful Services With Spring Boot

Validation is an important part of an application, be it a website or a service. So, we look at how to implement validation for a Spring Boot-based RESTful service.

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This guide will help you implement effective validations for a REST API/Service with Spring Boot.

You Will Learn

  • What is validation?
  • Why do you need validation?
  • What is Hibernate Validator?
  • What is Bean Validation API?
  • What are the default validation capabilities provided by Spring Boot?
  • How to implement validation with Spring Boot?
  • How to implement validation with Bean Validation API?

Project Code Structure

The following files contain the important components of the project we will create. 

A few details:

  • SpringBoot2RestServiceApplication.java - The Spring Boot Application class generated with Spring Initializer. This class acts as the launching point for the application.
  • pom.xml - Contains all the dependencies needed to build this project. We will use Spring Boot Starter AOP.
  • Student.java - Student JPA Entity.
  • StudentRepository.java - Student JPA Repository. This is created using Spring Data JpaRepository.
  • StudentResource.java - Spring Rest Controller exposing all services on the student resource.
  • CustomizedResponseEntityExceptionHandler.java - Component to implement global exception handling and customize the response based on the exception type.
  • ErrorDetails.java - Response Bean to use when exceptions are thrown from the API.
  • StudentNotFoundException.java - Exception thrown from resources when the student is not found.
  • data.sql - Initial data for the student table. Spring Boot would execute this script after the tables are created from the entities.
  • Maven 3.0+ is your build tool.
  • Your favorite IDE. We use Eclipse.
  • JDK 1.8+

Complete Maven Project With Code Examples

Our GitHub repository has all the code examples.

What Is Validation?

You expect a certain format for the requests to your RESTful Service. You expect the elements of your request to have certain data types and certain domain constraints.

What if you get a request that does not meet these constraints?

Can I just return a generic message Something went wrong.. Is that good enough?

One of the core design principles for RESTful services is:

Think about the consumer

So, what should you do when something in the request is not valid?

You should return a proper error response:

  • A clear message indicating what went wrong, which field has an error and what are the accepted values, and what the consumer can do to fix the error.
  • Proper response status for a bad request.
  • Do not include sensitive information in the response.

Response Statuses for Validation Errors

The recommended response status for a validation error is, 400 - BAD REQUEST  

Bootstrapping a Project With a REST Resouce

In the previous article in the series, we set up a simple RESTful service with a resource exposing CRUD methods.

We will use the same example to discuss Exception Handling.

Default Validation With Spring Boot

Spring Boot provides a good default implementation for validation of RESTful Services. Let’s quickly look at the default Exception Handling features provided by Spring Boot.

Wrong Content Type

If you use the Content-Type application/xml and this is not supported by your application, Spring Boot, by default, returns a response status of 415 - Unsupported Media Type.

Invalid JSON Content

If you send invalid JSON content to a method expecting a body, you would get, 400 - Bad Request.

Valid JSON With Missing Elements

However, if you send a valid JSON structure with missing/invalid attributes/elements, the application will execute the request with whatever data is available.

The following request executes with a status of 201 Created. 

POST http://localhost:8080/students

Empty Request Content

{

}

The following request executes with a status of 201 Created.

POST http://localhost:8080/students

Request Content

{
    "name1": null,
    "passportNumber": "A12345678"
}

You'll notice that the above request has an invalid attribute, name1.

This is the response when you fire a GET request to http://localhost:8080/students

[ { “id”: 1, “name”: null, “passportNumber”: null }, { “id”: 2, “name”: null, “passportNumber”: “A12345678” }, { “id”: 10001, “name”: “Ranga”, “passportNumber”: “E1234567” }, { “id”: 10002, “name”: “Ravi”, “passportNumber”: “A1234568” } ]

You can see that both the resources were created with ids 1 and 2 with nulls for values that were not available. Invalid elements/attributes are ignored.

Customizing Validations

To customize the validation, we will use Hibernate Validator, which is one of the implementations of the bean validation API.

We can get Hibernate Validator for free when we use Spring Boot Starter Web.

So, we can get started with implementing the validations.

Implementing Validations on the Bean

Let’s add a few validations to the Student bean. We are using @Size to specify the minimum length and also a message when a validation error occurs.

@Entity
public class Student {
  @Id
  @GeneratedValue
  private Long id;

  @NotNull
  @Size(min=2, message="Name should have atleast 2 characters")
  private String name;

  @NotNull
  @Size(min=7, message="Passport should have atleast 2 characters")
  private String passportNumber;
The Bean Validation API provides a number of such annotations. Most of these are self-explanatory:
  • DecimalMax
  • DecimalMin
  • Digits
  • Email
  • Future
  • FutureOrPresent
  • Max
  • Min
  • Negative
  • NegativeOrZero
  • NotBlank
  • NotEmpty
  • NotNull
  • Null
  • Past
  • PastOrPresent
  • Pattern
  • Positive
  • PositiveOrZero

Enabling Validation on the Resource

Simple. Add @Valid in addition to @RequestBody.

public ResponseEntity<Object> createStudent(@Valid @RequestBody Student student) {

That’s it.

When you execute a request with attributes not matching the constraint, you get a 404 Bad Request status back.

Request

{
    "name": "",
    "passportNumber": "A12345678"
  }

But the problem is that there are no details returned indicating what went wrong.

  • The consumer knows it's a bad request.
  • But, how do they know what went wrong? Which element did not pass the validation? What should the consumer do to fix it?

Customizing Validation Response

Let’s define a simple error response bean.

public class ErrorDetails {
  private Date timestamp;
  private String message;
  private String details;

  public ErrorDetails(Date timestamp, String message, String details) {
    super();
    this.timestamp = timestamp;
    this.message = message;
    this.details = details;
  }

Let’s now define a @ControllerAdvice to handle validation errors. We do that by overriding the following method in the ResponseEntityExceptionHandler

handleMethodArgumentNotValid(MethodArgumentNotValidException ex, HttpHeaders headers, HttpStatus status, WebRequest request)


@ControllerAdvice
@RestController
public class CustomizedResponseEntityExceptionHandler extends ResponseEntityExceptionHandler {

  @Override
  protected ResponseEntity<Object> handleMethodArgumentNotValid(MethodArgumentNotValidException ex,
      HttpHeaders headers, HttpStatus status, WebRequest request) {
    ErrorDetails errorDetails = new ErrorDetails(new Date(), "Validation Failed",
        ex.getBindingResult().toString());
    return new ResponseEntity(errorDetails, HttpStatus.BAD_REQUEST);
  } 

To use ErrorDetails to return the error response, let’s define ControllerAdvice  as shown below.

@ControllerAdvice
@RestController
public class CustomizedResponseEntityExceptionHandler extends ResponseEntityExceptionHandler {

  @ExceptionHandler(StudentNotFoundException)
  public final ResponseEntity<ErrorDetails> handleUserNotFoundException(StudentNotFoundException ex, WebRequest request) {
    ErrorDetails errorDetails = new ErrorDetails(new Date(), ex.getMessage(),
        request.getDescription(false));
    return new ResponseEntity<>(errorDetails, HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND);
  }

When you execute a request with attributes not matching the constraint, you get a 404 Bad Request status back.

Request

{
    "name": "",
    "passportNumber": "A12345678"
  }

You also get a Response Body indicating what is wrong!

{
  "timestamp": 1512717715118,
  "message": "Validation Failed",
  "details": "org.springframework.validation.BeanPropertyBindingResult: 1 errors\nField error in object 'student' on field 'name': rejected value []; codes [Size.student.name,Size.name,Size.java.lang.String,Size]; arguments [org.springframework.context.support.DefaultMessageSourceResolvable: codes [student.name,name]; arguments []; default message [name],2147483647,2]; default message [Name should have atleast 2 characters]"
}

Good Luck! You are all set now to customize the message based on your needs.

Complete Code Example

/pom.xml

<?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>com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-2-rest-service-validation</artifactId>
  <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
  <packaging>jar</packaging>

  <name>spring-boot-2-rest-service</name>
  <description>Spring Boot 2 and REST - Example Project</description>

  <parent>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
    <version>2.0.0.M6</version>
    <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
  </parent>

  <properties>
    <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
    <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
    <java.version>1.8</java.version>
  </properties>

  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-hateoas</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
      <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
      <artifactId>h2</artifactId>
      <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
      <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>

  <repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>spring-snapshots</id>
      <name>Spring Snapshots</name>
      <url>https://repo.spring.io/snapshot</url>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </repository>
    <repository>
      <id>spring-milestones</id>
      <name>Spring Milestones</name>
      <url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </repository>
  </repositories>

  <pluginRepositories>
    <pluginRepository>
      <id>spring-snapshots</id>
      <name>Spring Snapshots</name>
      <url>https://repo.spring.io/snapshot</url>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </pluginRepository>
    <pluginRepository>
      <id>spring-milestones</id>
      <name>Spring Milestones</name>
      <url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </pluginRepository>
  </pluginRepositories>


</project>

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/exception/CustomizedResponseEntityExceptionHandler.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.exception;
import java.util.Date;

import org.springframework.http.HttpHeaders;
import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
import org.springframework.web.bind.MethodArgumentNotValidException;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ControllerAdvice;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ExceptionHandler;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.context.request.WebRequest;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.ResponseEntityExceptionHandler;

import com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.student.StudentNotFoundException;

@ControllerAdvice
@RestController
public class CustomizedResponseEntityExceptionHandler extends ResponseEntityExceptionHandler {

  @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class)
  public final ResponseEntity<Object> handleAllExceptions(Exception ex, WebRequest request) {
    ErrorDetails errorDetails = new ErrorDetails(new Date(), ex.getMessage(),
        request.getDescription(false));
    return new ResponseEntity(errorDetails, HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
  }

  @ExceptionHandler(StudentNotFoundException.class)
  public final ResponseEntity<Object> handleUserNotFoundException(StudentNotFoundException ex, WebRequest request) {
    ErrorDetails errorDetails = new ErrorDetails(new Date(), ex.getMessage(),
        request.getDescription(false));
    return new ResponseEntity(errorDetails, HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND);
  }

  @Override
  protected ResponseEntity<Object> handleMethodArgumentNotValid(MethodArgumentNotValidException ex,
      HttpHeaders headers, HttpStatus status, WebRequest request) {
    ErrorDetails errorDetails = new ErrorDetails(new Date(), "Validation Failed",
        ex.getBindingResult().toString());
    return new ResponseEntity(errorDetails, HttpStatus.BAD_REQUEST);
  } 
}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/exception/ErrorDetails.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.exception;
import java.util.Date;

public class ErrorDetails {
  private Date timestamp;
  private String message;
  private String details;

  public ErrorDetails(Date timestamp, String message, String details) {
    super();
    this.timestamp = timestamp;
    this.message = message;
    this.details = details;
  }

  public Date getTimestamp() {
    return timestamp;
  }

  public String getMessage() {
    return message;
  }

  public String getDetails() {
    return details;
  }

}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/SpringBoot2RestServiceApplication.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class SpringBoot2RestServiceApplication {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    SpringApplication.run(SpringBoot2RestServiceApplication.class, args);
  }
}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/student/Student.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.student;

import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.GeneratedValue;
import javax.persistence.Id;
import javax.validation.constraints.Size;

@Entity
public class Student {
  @Id
  @GeneratedValue
  private Long id;

  @Size(min=2, message="Name should have atleast 2 characters")
  private String name;

  private String passportNumber;

  public Student() {
    super();
  }

  public Student(Long id, String name, String passportNumber) {
    super();
    this.id = id;
    this.name = name;
    this.passportNumber = passportNumber;
  }
  public Long getId() {
    return id;
  }
  public void setId(Long id) {
    this.id = id;
  }
  public String getName() {
    return name;
  }
  public void setName(String name) {
    this.name = name;
  }
  public String getPassportNumber() {
    return passportNumber;
  }
  public void setPassportNumber(String passportNumber) {
    this.passportNumber = passportNumber;
  }

}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/student/StudentNotFoundException.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.student;

import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ResponseStatus;

@ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND)
public class StudentNotFoundException extends RuntimeException {

  public StudentNotFoundException(String exception) {
    super(exception);
  }

}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/student/StudentRepository.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.student;

import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Repository;

@Repository
public interface StudentRepository extends JpaRepository<Student, Long>{

}

/src/main/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/student/StudentResource.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example.student;

import static org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.ControllerLinkBuilder.linkTo;
import static org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.ControllerLinkBuilder.methodOn;

import java.net.URI;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Optional;

import javax.validation.Valid;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.hateoas.Resource;
import org.springframework.hateoas.mvc.ControllerLinkBuilder;
import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.DeleteMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PostMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PutMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestBody;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.support.ServletUriComponentsBuilder;

@RestController
public class StudentResource {

  @Autowired
  private StudentRepository studentRepository;

  @GetMapping("/students")
  public List<Student> retrieveAllStudents() {
    return studentRepository.findAll();
  }

  @GetMapping("/students/{id}")
  public Resource<Student> retrieveStudent(@PathVariable long id) {
    Optional<Student> student = studentRepository.findById(id);

    if (!student.isPresent())
      throw new StudentNotFoundException("id-" + id);

    Resource<Student> resource = new Resource<Student>(student.get());

    ControllerLinkBuilder linkTo = linkTo(methodOn(this.getClass()).retrieveAllStudents());

    resource.add(linkTo.withRel("all-students"));

    return resource;
  }

  @DeleteMapping("/students/{id}")
  public void deleteStudent(@PathVariable long id) {
    studentRepository.deleteById(id);
  }

  @PostMapping("/students")
  public ResponseEntity<Object> createStudent(@Valid @RequestBody Student student) {
    Student savedStudent = studentRepository.save(student);

    URI location = ServletUriComponentsBuilder.fromCurrentRequest().path("/{id}")
        .buildAndExpand(savedStudent.getId()).toUri();

    return ResponseEntity.created(location).build();

  }

  @PutMapping("/students/{id}")
  public ResponseEntity<Object> updateStudent(@Valid @RequestBody Student student, @PathVariable long id) {

    Optional<Student> studentOptional = studentRepository.findById(id);

    if (!studentOptional.isPresent())
      return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();

    student.setId(id);

    studentRepository.save(student);

    return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
  }
}

/src/main/resources/data.sql

insert into student
values(10001,'Ranga', 'E1234567');

insert into student
values(10002,'Ravi', 'A1234568');

/src/test/java/com/in28minutes/springboot/rest/example/SpringBoot2RestServiceApplicationTests.java

package com.in28minutes.springboot.rest.example;

import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
import org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootTest;
import org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringRunner;

@RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
@SpringBootTest
public class SpringBoot2RestServiceApplicationTests {

  @Test
  public void contextLoads() {
  }

}

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