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Hibernate Validator 9.0.0.

Beta3 -
Jakarta Validation Reference
Implementation
Reference Guide
Hardy Ferentschik, Gunnar Morling, Guillaume Smet

2024-09-04
Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1. Project set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1. Unified EL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.2. CDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1.3. Updating Hibernate Validator in WildFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1.4. Running in the modulepath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2. Applying constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3. Validating constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4. Where to go next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Declaring and validating bean constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1. Declaring bean constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.1. Field-level constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.2. Property-level constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.3. Container element constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.3.1. With Iterable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.3.2. With List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.3.3. With Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1.3.4. With java.util.Optional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.3.5. With custom container types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.3.6. Nested container elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.4. Class-level constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.5. Constraint inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.6. Object graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2. Validating bean constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.1. Obtaining a Validator instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.2. Validator methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.2.1. Validator#validate() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.2.2. Validator#validateProperty() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.2.3. Validator#validateValue() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.3. ConstraintViolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.3.1. ConstraintViolation methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.3.2. Exploiting the property path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3. Built-in constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.1. Jakarta Validation constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.2. Additional constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.2.1. Country specific constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3. Declaring and validating method constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.1. Declaring method constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.1.1. Parameter constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.1.1.1. Cross-parameter constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.1.2. Return value constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.1.3. Cascaded validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.1.4. Method constraints in inheritance hierarchies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2. Validating method constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.1. Obtaining an ExecutableValidator instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.2. ExecutableValidator methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.2.1. ExecutableValidator#validateParameters() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.2.2. ExecutableValidator#validateReturnValue(). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.2.3. ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorParameters() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.2.4. ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorReturnValue(). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.3. ConstraintViolation methods for method validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3. Built-in method constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4. Interpolating constraint error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1. Default message interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1.1. Special characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.1.2. Interpolation with message expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.1.3. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.2. Custom message interpolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.2.1. ResourceBundleLocator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5. Grouping constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.1. Requesting groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.2. Group inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.3. Defining group sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.4. Redefining the default group sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4.1. @GroupSequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4.2. @GroupSequenceProvider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.5. Group conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6. Creating custom constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.1. Creating a simple constraint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.1.1. The constraint annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.1.2. The constraint validator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.1.2.1. The ConstraintValidatorContext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6.1.2.2. The HibernateConstraintValidator extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.1.2.3. Passing a payload to the constraint validator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.1.3. The error message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.1.4. Using the constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.2. Class-level constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.2.1. Custom property paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.3. Cross-parameter constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.4. Constraint composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7. Value extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.1. Built-in value extractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.2. Implementing a ValueExtractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.3. Non generic containers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.4. JavaFX value extractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.5. Registering a ValueExtractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
7.6. Resolution algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8. Configuring via XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.1. Configuring the validator factory in validation.xml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.2. Mapping constraints via constraint-mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
9. Bootstrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
9.1. Retrieving ValidatorFactory and Validator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
9.1.1. ValidationProviderResolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
9.2. Configuring a ValidatorFactory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
9.2.1. MessageInterpolator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9.2.2. TraversableResolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9.2.3. ConstraintValidatorFactory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
9.2.4. ParameterNameProvider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9.2.5. ClockProvider and temporal validation tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
9.2.6. Registering ValueExtractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
9.2.7. Adding mapping streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
9.2.8. Provider-specific settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
9.2.9. Configuring the ScriptEvaluatorFactory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.2.9.1. XML configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.2.9.2. Programmatic configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.2.9.3. Custom ScriptEvaluatorFactory implementation examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.2.10. Logging of values under validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
9.3. Configuring a Validator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
10. Using constraint metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
10.1. BeanDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
10.2. PropertyDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
10.3. MethodDescriptor and ConstructorDescriptor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
10.4. ElementDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
10.5. ContainerDescriptor and ContainerElementTypeDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
10.6. GroupConversionDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
10.7. ConstraintDescriptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
11. Integrating with other frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11.1. ORM integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11.1.1. Database schema-level validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11.1.2. Hibernate ORM event-based validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11.1.3. Jakarta Persistence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11.2. JSF & Seam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11.3. CDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
11.3.1. Dependency injection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
11.3.2. Method validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
11.3.2.1. Validated executable types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
11.4. Jakarta EE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
11.5. JavaFX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
11.6. OSGi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
12. Hibernate Validator Specifics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
12.1. Public API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
12.2. Fail fast mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
12.3. Relaxation of requirements for method validation in class hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
12.4. Programmatic constraint definition and declaration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
12.5. Applying programmatic constraint declarations to the default validator factory. . . . . . . . . . . . 134
12.6. Advanced constraint composition features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
12.6.1. Validation target specification for purely composed constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
12.6.2. Boolean composition of constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
12.7. Extensions of the Path API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
12.8. Dynamic payload as part of ConstraintViolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
12.9. Enabling Expression Language features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
12.10. ParameterMessageInterpolator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
12.11. ResourceBundleLocator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
12.12. Customizing the locale resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
12.13. Custom contexts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
12.13.1. HibernateConstraintValidatorContext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
12.13.2. HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
12.14. Paranamer based ParameterNameProvider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
12.15. Providing constraint definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
12.15.1. Constraint definitions via ServiceLoader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
12.15.2. Adding constraint definitions programmatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
12.16. Customizing class-loading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
12.17. Customizing the getter property selection strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
12.18. Customizing the property name resolution for constraint violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
12.19. Fail fast on property violation mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
13. Annotation Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
13.1. Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
13.2. Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
13.3. Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
13.4. Using the Annotation Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
13.4.1. Command line builds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
13.4.1.1. Maven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
13.4.1.2. Gradle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.4.1.3. Apache Ant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.4.1.4. javac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.4.2. IDE builds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.4.2.1. Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.4.2.2. IntelliJ IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
13.4.2.3. NetBeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
13.5. Known issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
14. Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Preface
Validating data is a common task that occurs throughout all application layers, from the presentation
to the persistence layer. Often the same validation logic is implemented in each layer which is time
consuming and error-prone. To avoid duplication of these validations, developers often bundle
validation logic directly into the domain model, cluttering domain classes with validation code which is
really metadata about the class itself.

Jakarta Validation 3.1.0 defines a metadata model and API for entity and method validation. The
default metadata source are annotations, with the ability to override and extend the meta-data
through the use of XML. The API is not tied to a specific application tier nor programming model. It is
specifically not tied to either web or persistence tier, and is available for both server-side application
programming, as well as rich client Swing application developers.

Hibernate Validator is the reference implementation of Jakarta Validation. The implementation itself
as well as the Jakarta Validation API and TCK are all provided and distributed under the Apache

1
Software License 2.0.

Hibernate Validator 9.0.0.Beta3 and Jakarta Validation 3.1.0 require Java 17 or later.

2
Chapter 1. Getting started
This chapter will show you how to get started with Hibernate Validator, the reference implementation
(RI) of Jakarta Validation. For the following quick-start you need:

• A JDK 17
• Apache Maven
• An Internet connection (Maven has to download all required libraries)

1.1. Project set up

In order to use Hibernate Validator within a Maven project, simply add the following dependency to
your pom.xml:

Example 1.1: Hibernate Validator Maven dependency

<dependency>
<groupId>org.hibernate.validator</groupId>
<artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
<version>9.0.0.Beta3</version>
</dependency>

This transitively pulls in the dependency to the Jakarta Validation API

(jakarta.validation:jakarta.validation-api:3.1.0).

1.1.1. Unified EL

Hibernate Validator requires an implementation of Jakarta Expression Language for evaluating

dynamic expressions in constraint violation messages (see Section 4.1, “Default message
interpolation”). When your application runs in a Jakarta EE container such as WildFly/JBoss EAP, an
EL implementation is already provided by the container. In a Java SE environment, however, you have
to add an implementation as dependency to your POM file. For instance you can add the following
dependency to use the Jakarta EL reference implementation:

Example 1.2: Maven dependencies for Unified EL reference implementation

<dependency>
<groupId>org.glassfish.expressly</groupId>
<artifactId>expressly</artifactId>
<version>6.0.0-M1</version>
</dependency>

For environments where one cannot provide a EL implementation Hibernate


Validator is offering a Section 12.10, “ParameterMessageInterpolator”.
However, the use of this interpolator is not Jakarta Validation specification
compliant.

3
1.1.2. CDI

Jakarta Validation defines integration points with CDI (Contexts and Dependency Injection for Jakarta
EE). If your application runs in an environment which does not provide this integration out of the box,
you may use the Hibernate Validator CDI portable extension by adding the following Maven
dependency to your POM:

Example 1.3: Hibernate Validator CDI portable extension Maven dependency

<dependency>
<groupId>org.hibernate.validator</groupId>
<artifactId>hibernate-validator-cdi</artifactId>
<version>9.0.0.Beta3</version>
</dependency>

Note that adding this dependency is usually not required for applications running on a Jakarta EE
application server. You can learn more about the integration of Jakarta Validation and CDI in Section
11.3, “CDI”.

1.1.3. Updating Hibernate Validator in WildFly

The WildFly application server contains Hibernate Validator out of the box. Starting with Hibernate
Validator 9.0, the patch to update WildFly Jakarta Validation and Hibernate Validator modules is no
loner supplied.

You can learn more about the WildFly patching infrastructure in general here.

1.1.4. Running in the modulepath

Starting with Hibernate Validator 9.0, JPMS module descriptors are provided for those who want to
use the Hibernate Validator with a modulepath.

The names of the corresponding modules are:

• Jakarta Validation API: jakarta.validation

• Hibernate Validator core: org.hibernate.validator
• Hibernate Validator CDI extension: org.hibernate.validator.cdi
• Hibernate Validator test utilities: org.hibernate.validator.testutils
• Hibernate Validator annotation processor:
org.hibernate.validator.annotationprocessor

1.2. Applying constraints

Let’s dive directly into an example to see how to apply constraints.

Example 1.4: Class Car annotated with constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter01;

4
import jakarta.validation.constraints.Min;
import jakarta.validation.constraints.NotNull;
import jakarta.validation.constraints.Size;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
private String licensePlate;

@Min(2)
private int seatCount;

public Car(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
this.seatCount = seatCount;
}

//getters and setters ...

}

The @NotNull, @Size and @Min annotations are used to declare the constraints which should be
applied to the fields of a Car instance:

• manufacturer must never be null

• licensePlate must never be null and must be between 2 and 14 characters long
• seatCount must be at least 2


You can find the complete source code of all examples used in this reference guide
in the Hibernate Validator source repository on GitHub.

1.3. Validating constraints

To perform a validation of these constraints, you use a Validator instance. Let’s have a look at a unit
test for Car:

Example 1.5: Class CarTest showing validation examples

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter01;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

import java.util.Set;

import jakarta.validation.ConstraintViolation;
import jakarta.validation.Validation;
import jakarta.validation.Validator;
import jakarta.validation.ValidatorFactory;

import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.Test;

public class CarTest {

5
private static Validator validator;

@BeforeClass
public static void setUpValidator() {
ValidatorFactory factory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();
validator = factory.getValidator();
}

@Test
public void manufacturerIsNull() {
Car car = new Car( null, "DD-AB-123", 4 );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations =
validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals( "must not be null", constraintViolations.iterator().next().
getMessage() );
}

@Test
public void licensePlateTooShort() {
Car car = new Car( "Morris", "D", 4 );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations =
validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"size must be between 2 and 14",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);
}

@Test
public void seatCountTooLow() {
Car car = new Car( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 1 );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations =
validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"must be greater than or equal to 2",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);
}

@Test
public void carIsValid() {
Car car = new Car( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 2 );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations =
validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );
}
}

In the setUp() method a Validator object is retrieved from the ValidatorFactory. A Validator
instance is thread-safe and may be reused multiple times. It thus can safely be stored in a static field
and be used in the test methods to validate the different Car instances.

The validate() method returns a set of ConstraintViolation instances, which you can iterate
over in order to see which validation errors occurred. The first three test methods show some

6
expected constraint violations:

• The @NotNull constraint on manufacturer is violated in manufacturerIsNull()

• The @Size constraint on licensePlate is violated in licensePlateTooShort()
• The @Min constraint on seatCount is violated in seatCountTooLow()

If the object validates successfully, validate() returns an empty set as you can see in
carIsValid().

Note that only classes from the package jakarta.validation are used. These are provided from
the Bean Validation API. No classes from Hibernate Validator are directly referenced, resulting in
portable code.

1.4. Where to go next?

That concludes the 5 minutes tour through the world of Hibernate Validator and Jakarta Validation.
Continue exploring the code examples or look at further examples referenced in Chapter 14, Further
reading.

To learn more about the validation of beans and properties, just continue reading Chapter 2, Declaring
and validating bean constraints. If you are interested in using Jakarta Validation for the validation of
method pre- and postcondition refer to Chapter 3, Declaring and validating method constraints. In case
your application has specific validation requirements have a look at Chapter 6, Creating custom
constraints.

7
Chapter 2. Declaring and validating bean
constraints
In this chapter you will learn how to declare (see Section 2.1, “Declaring bean constraints”) and
validate (see Section 2.2, “Validating bean constraints”) bean constraints. Section 2.3, “Built-in
constraints” provides an overview of all built-in constraints coming with Hibernate Validator.

If you are interested in applying constraints to method parameters and return values, refer to Chapter
3, Declaring and validating method constraints.

2.1. Declaring bean constraints

Constraints in Jakarta Validation are expressed via Java annotations. In this section you will learn how
to enhance an object model with these annotations. There are four types of bean constraints:

• field constraints
• property constraints
• container element constraints
• class constraints

Not all constraints can be placed on all of these levels. In fact, none of the default
constraints defined by Jakarta Validation can be placed at class level. The
 java.lang.annotation.Target annotation in the constraint annotation itself
determines on which elements a constraint can be placed. See Chapter 6, Creating
custom constraints for more information.

2.1.1. Field-level constraints

Constraints can be expressed by annotating a field of a class. Example 2.1, “Field-level constraints”
shows a field level configuration example:

Example 2.1: Field-level constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.fieldlevel;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@AssertTrue
private boolean isRegistered;

public Car(String manufacturer, boolean isRegistered) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.isRegistered = isRegistered;
}

//getters and setters...

}

8
When using field-level constraints field access strategy is used to access the value to be validated.
This means the validation engine directly accesses the instance variable and does not invoke the
property accessor method even if such an accessor exists.

Constraints can be applied to fields of any access type (public, private etc.). Constraints on static fields
are not supported, though.

When validating byte code enhanced objects, property level constraints should be
 used, because the byte code enhancing library won’t be able to determine a field
access via reflection.

2.1.2. Property-level constraints

If your model class adheres to the JavaBeans standard, it is also possible to annotate the properties of
a bean class instead of its fields. Example 2.2, “Property-level constraints” uses the same entity as in
Example 2.1, “Field-level constraints”, however, property level constraints are used.

Example 2.2: Property-level constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.propertylevel;

public class Car {

private String manufacturer;

private boolean isRegistered;

public Car(String manufacturer, boolean isRegistered) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.isRegistered = isRegistered;
}

@NotNull
public String getManufacturer() {
return manufacturer;
}

public void setManufacturer(String manufacturer) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
}

@AssertTrue
public boolean isRegistered() {
return isRegistered;
}

public void setRegistered(boolean isRegistered) {

this.isRegistered = isRegistered;
}
}


The property’s getter method has to be annotated, not its setter. That way also
read-only properties can be constrained which have no setter method.

When using property level constraints property access strategy is used to access the value to be
validated, i.e. the validation engine accesses the state via the property accessor method.

 It is recommended to stick either to field or property annotations within one class. It

9
is not recommended to annotate a field and the accompanying getter method as this
would cause the field to be validated twice.

2.1.3. Container element constraints

It is possible to specify constraints directly on the type argument of a parameterized type: these
constraints are called container element constraints.

This requires that ElementType.TYPE_USE is specified via @Target in the constraint definition. As of
Jakarta Bean Validation 2.0, built-in Jakarta Validation as well as Hibernate Validator specific
constraints specify ElementType.TYPE_USE and can be used directly in this context.

Hibernate Validator validates container element constraints specified on the following standard Java
containers:

• implementations of java.util.Iterable (e.g. Lists, Sets),

• implementations of java.util.Map, with support for keys and values,
• java.util.Optional, java.util.OptionalInt, java.util.OptionalDouble,
java.util.OptionalLong,

• the various implementations of JavaFX’s javafx.beans.observable.ObservableValue.

It also supports container element constraints on custom container types (see Chapter 7, Value
extraction).

In versions prior to 6, a subset of container element constraints were supported. A

 @Valid annotation was required at the container level to enable them. This is not
required anymore as of Hibernate Validator 6.

We present below a couple of examples illustrating container element constraints on various Java
types.

In these examples, @ValidPart is a custom constraint allowed to be used in the TYPE_USE context.

2.1.3.1. With Iterable

When applying constraints on an Iterable type argument, Hibernate Validator will validate each
element. Example 2.3, “Container element constraint on Set” shows an example of a Set with a
container element constraint.

Example 2.3: Container element constraint on Set

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.set;

public class Car {

private Set<@ValidPart String> parts = new HashSet<>();

public void addPart(String part) {

parts.add( part );
}

//...

10
}

Car car = new Car();

car.addPart( "Wheel" );
car.addPart( null );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

ConstraintViolation<Car> constraintViolation =
constraintViolations.iterator().next();
assertEquals(
"'null' is not a valid car part.",
constraintViolation.getMessage()
);
assertEquals( "parts[].<iterable element>",
constraintViolation.getPropertyPath().toString() );

Note how the property path clearly states that the violation comes from an element of the iterable.

2.1.3.2. With List

When applying constraints on a List type argument, Hibernate Validator will validate each element.
Example 2.4, “Container element constraint on List” shows an example of a List with a container
element constraint.

Example 2.4: Container element constraint on List

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.list;

public class Car {

private List<@ValidPart String> parts = new ArrayList<>();

public void addPart(String part) {

parts.add( part );
}

//...

Car car = new Car();

car.addPart( "Wheel" );
car.addPart( null );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

ConstraintViolation<Car> constraintViolation =
constraintViolations.iterator().next();
assertEquals(
"'null' is not a valid car part.",
constraintViolation.getMessage()
);
assertEquals( "parts[1].<list element>",
constraintViolation.getPropertyPath().toString() );

11
Here, the property path also contains the index of the invalid element.

2.1.3.3. With Map

Container element constraints are also validated on map keys and values. Example 2.5, “Container
element constraint on map keys and values” shows an example of a Map with a constraint on the key
and a constraint on the value.

Example 2.5: Container element constraint on map keys and values

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.map;

public class Car {

public enum FuelConsumption {

CITY,
HIGHWAY
}

private Map<@NotNull FuelConsumption, @MaxAllowedFuelConsumption Integer>

fuelConsumption = new HashMap<>();

public void setFuelConsumption(FuelConsumption consumption, int value) {

fuelConsumption.put( consumption, value );
}

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

ConstraintViolation<Car> constraintViolation = constraintViolations.iterator().next();

assertEquals(
"Not enough towing capacity.",
constraintViolation.getMessage()
);
assertEquals(
"towingCapacity",
constraintViolation.getPropertyPath().toString()
);

Here, the property path only contains the name of the property as we are considering Optional as a
"transparent" container.

13
2.1.3.5. With custom container types

Container element constraints can also be used with custom containers.

A ValueExtractor must be registered for the custom type allowing to retrieve the value(s) to
validate (see Chapter 7, Value extraction for more information about how to implement your own
ValueExtractor and how to register it).

Example 2.7, “Container element constraint on custom container type” shows an example of a custom
parameterized type with a type argument constraint.

Example 2.7: Container element constraint on custom container type

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.custom;

public class Car {

private GearBox<@MinTorque(100) Gear> gearBox;

public void setGearBox(GearBox<Gear> gearBox) {

this.gearBox = gearBox;
}

//...

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.custom;

public class GearBox<T extends Gear> {

private final T gear;

public GearBox(T gear) {

this.gear = gear;
}

public Gear getGear() {

return this.gear;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.custom;

public class Gear {

private final Integer torque;

public Gear(Integer torque) {

this.torque = torque;
}

public Integer getTorque() {

return torque;
}

public static class AcmeGear extends Gear {

public AcmeGear() {
super( 60 );
}
}
}

14
package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.custom;

public class GearBoxValueExtractor implements ValueExtractor<GearBox<@ExtractedValue ?>> {

@Override
public void extractValues(GearBox<@ExtractedValue ?> originalValue, ValueExtractor
.ValueReceiver receiver) {
receiver.value( null, originalValue.getGear() );
}
}

Car car = new Car();

car.setGearBox( new GearBox<>( new Gear.AcmeGear() ) );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

ConstraintViolation<Car> constraintViolation =
constraintViolations.iterator().next();
assertEquals(
"Gear is not providing enough torque.",
constraintViolation.getMessage()
);
assertEquals(
"gearBox",
constraintViolation.getPropertyPath().toString()
);

2.1.3.6. Nested container elements

Constraints are also supported on nested container elements.

When validating a Car object as presented in Example 2.8, “Constraints on nested container
elements”, both the @NotNull constraints on Part and Manufacturer will be enforced.

Example 2.8: Constraints on nested container elements

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.containerelement.nested;

public class Car {

private Map<@NotNull Part, List<@NotNull Manufacturer>> partManufacturers =

new HashMap<>();

//...
}

2.1.4. Class-level constraints

Last but not least, a constraint can also be placed on the class level. In this case not a single property
is subject of the validation but the complete object. Class-level constraints are useful if the validation
depends on a correlation between several properties of an object.

The Car class in Example 2.9, “Class-level constraint” has the two attributes seatCount and
passengers and it should be ensured that the list of passengers does not have more entries than
available seats. For that purpose the @ValidPassengerCount constraint is added on the class level.

15
The validator of that constraint has access to the complete Car object, allowing to compare the
numbers of seats and passengers.

Refer to Section 6.2, “Class-level constraints” to learn in detail how to implement this custom
constraint.

Example 2.9: Class-level constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.classlevel;

@ValidPassengerCount
public class Car {

private int seatCount;

private List<Person> passengers;

//...
}

2.1.5. Constraint inheritance

When a class implements an interface or extends another class, all constraint annotations declared on
the super-type apply in the same manner as the constraints specified on the class itself. To make
things clearer let’s have a look at the following example:

Example 2.10: Constraint inheritance

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.inheritance;

public class Car {

private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
public String getManufacturer() {
return manufacturer;
}

//...
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.inheritance;

public class RentalCar extends Car {

private String rentalStation;

@NotNull
public String getRentalStation() {
return rentalStation;
}

//...
}

Here the class RentalCar is a subclass of Car and adds the property rentalStation. If an instance

16
of RentalCar is validated, not only the @NotNull constraint on rentalStation is evaluated, but
also the constraint on manufacturer from the parent class.

The same would be true, if Car was not a superclass but an interface implemented by RentalCar.

Constraint annotations are aggregated if methods are overridden. So if RentalCar overrode the
getManufacturer() method from Car, any constraints annotated at the overriding method would
be evaluated in addition to the @NotNull constraint from the superclass.

2.1.6. Object graphs

The Jakarta Validation API does not only allow to validate single class instances but also complete
object graphs (cascaded validation). To do so, just annotate a field or property representing a
reference to another object with @Valid as demonstrated in Example 2.11, “Cascaded validation”.

Example 2.11: Cascaded validation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.objectgraph;

public class Car {

@NotNull
@Valid
private Person driver;

//...
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.objectgraph;

public class Person {

@NotNull
private String name;

//...
}

If an instance of Car is validated, the referenced Person object will be validated as well, as the
driver field is annotated with @Valid. Therefore the validation of a Car will fail if the name field of
the referenced Person instance is null.

The validation of object graphs is recursive, i.e. if a reference marked for cascaded validation points to
an object which itself has properties annotated with @Valid, these references will be followed up by
the validation engine as well. The validation engine will ensure that no infinite loops occur during
cascaded validation, for example if two objects hold references to each other.

Note that null values are getting ignored during cascaded validation.

As constraints, object graph validation also works for container elements. That means any type
argument of a container can be annotated with @Valid, which will cause each contained element to be
validated when the parent object is validated.

 Cascaded validation is also supported for nested container elements.

17
Example 2.12: Cascaded validation of containers

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter02.objectgraph.containerelement;

public class Car {

When validating an instance of the Car class shown in Example 2.12, “Cascaded validation of
containers”, a ConstraintViolation will be created:

• if any of the Person objects contained in the passengers list has a null name;
• if any of the Part objects contained in the map keys has a null name;
• if any of the Manufacturer objects contained in the list nested in the map values has a null
name.

In versions prior to 6, Hibernate Validator supported cascaded validation for a

subset of container elements and it was implemented at the container level (e.g. you
would use @Valid private List<Person> to enable cascaded validation for
 Person).

This is still supported but is not recommended. Please use container element level
@Valid annotations instead as it is more expressive.

2.2. Validating bean constraints

The Validator interface is the most important object in Jakarta Validation. The next section shows
how to obtain a Validator instance. Afterwards you’ll learn how to use the different methods of the

18
Validator interface.

2.2.1. Obtaining a Validator instance

The first step towards validating an entity instance is to get hold of a Validator instance. The road to
this instance leads via the Validation class and a ValidatorFactory. The easiest way is to use the
static method Validation#buildDefaultValidatorFactory():

Example 2.13: Validation#buildDefaultValidatorFactory()

ValidatorFactory factory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();

validator = factory.getValidator();

This bootstraps a validator in the default configuration. Refer to Chapter 9, Bootstrapping to learn
more about the different bootstrapping methods and how to obtain a specifically configured
Validator instance.

2.2.2. Validator methods

The Validator interface contains three methods that can be used to either validate entire entities or
just single properties of the entity.

All three methods return a Set<ConstraintViolation>. The set is empty, if the validation
succeeds. Otherwise a ConstraintViolation instance is added for each violated constraint.

All the validation methods have a var-args parameter which can be used to specify which validation
groups shall be considered when performing the validation. If the parameter is not specified, the
default validation group (jakarta.validation.groups.Default) is used. The topic of validation
groups is discussed in detail in Chapter 5, Grouping constraints.

2.2.2.1. Validator#validate()

Use the validate() method to perform validation of all constraints of a given bean. Example 2.14,
“Using Validator#validate()” shows the validation of an instance of the Car class from Example
2.2, “Property-level constraints” which fails to satisfy the @NotNull constraint on the manufacturer
property. The validation call therefore returns one ConstraintViolation object.

Example 2.14: Using Validator#validate()

Car car = new Car( null, true );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals( "must not be null", constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage() );

2.2.2.2. Validator#validateProperty()

With help of the validateProperty() you can validate a single named property of a given object.
The property name is the JavaBeans property name.

19
Example 2.15: Using Validator#validateProperty()

Car car = new Car( null, true );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validateProperty(

car,
"manufacturer"
);

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals( "must not be null", constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage() );

2.2.2.3. Validator#validateValue()

By using the validateValue() method you can check whether a single property of a given class can
be validated successfully, if the property had the specified value:

Example 2.16: Using Validator#validateValue()

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validateValue(

Car.class,
"manufacturer",
null
);

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals( "must not be null", constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage() );

 @Valid is not honored by validateProperty() or validateValue().

Validator#validateProperty() is for example used in the integration of Jakarta Validation into

JSF 2 (see Section 11.2, “JSF & Seam”) to perform a validation of the values entered into a form before
they are propagated to the model.

2.2.3. ConstraintViolation

2.2.3.1. ConstraintViolation methods

Now it is time to have a closer look at what a ConstraintViolation is. Using the different methods
of ConstraintViolation a lot of useful information about the cause of the validation failure can be
determined. The following gives an overview of these methods. The values under "Example" column
refer to Example 2.14, “Using Validator#validate()”.

getMessage()
The interpolated error message

Example
"must not be null"

getMessageTemplate()
The non-interpolated error message

20
Example
"{… NotNull.message}"

getRootBean()
The root bean being validated

Example
car

getRootBeanClass()
The class of the root bean being validated

Example
Car.class

getLeafBean()
If a bean constraint, the bean instance the constraint is applied on; if a property constraint, the
bean instance hosting the property the constraint is applied on

Example
car

getPropertyPath()
The property path to the validated value from root bean

Example
contains one node with kind PROPERTY and name "manufacturer"

getInvalidValue()
The value failing to pass the constraint

Example
null

getConstraintDescriptor()
Constraint metadata reported to fail

Example
descriptor for @NotNull

2.2.3.2. Exploiting the property path

To determine the element that triggered the violation, you need to exploit the result of the
getPropertyPath() method.

The returned Path is composed of Nodes describing the path to the element.

More information about the structure of the Path and the various types of Nodes can be found in the
ConstraintViolation section of the Jakarta Validation specification.

21
2.3. Built-in constraints
Hibernate Validator comprises a basic set of commonly used constraints. These are foremost the
constraints defined by the Jakarta Validation specification (see Section 2.3.1, “Jakarta Validation
constraints”). Additionally, Hibernate Validator provides useful custom constraints (see Section 2.3.2,
“Additional constraints”).

2.3.1. Jakarta Validation constraints

Below you can find a list of all constraints specified in the Jakarta Validation API. All these constraints
apply to the field/property level, there are no class-level constraints defined in the Jakarta Validation
specification. If you are using the Hibernate object-relational mapper, some of the constraints are
taken into account when creating the DDL for your model (see "Hibernate metadata impact").

Hibernate Validator allows some constraints to be applied to more data types than

@Future
Checks whether the annotated date is in the future

Supported data types

java.util.Date, java.util.Calendar, java.time.Instant, java.time.LocalDate,
java.time.LocalDateTime, java.time.LocalTime, java.time.MonthDay,
java.time.OffsetDateTime, java.time.OffsetTime, java.time.Year,
java.time.YearMonth, java.time.ZonedDateTime, java.time.chrono.HijrahDate,
java.time.chrono.JapaneseDate, java.time.chrono.MinguoDate,
java.time.chrono.ThaiBuddhistDate; additionally supported by HV, if the Joda Time

23
date/time API is on the classpath: any implementations of ReadablePartial and
ReadableInstant

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@FutureOrPresent
Checks whether the annotated date is in the present or in the future

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@NegativeOrZero
Checks if the element is negative or zero.

CharSequence, Collection, Map and arrays

Hibernate metadata impact

Column length will be set to max


On top of the parameters listed above each constraint has the parameters message,
groups and payload. This is a requirement of the Jakarta Validation specification.

2.3.2. Additional constraints

In addition to the constraints defined by the Jakarta Validation API, Hibernate Validator provides
several useful custom constraints which are listed below. With one exception also these constraints
apply to the field/property level, only @ScriptAssert is a class-level constraint.

@CreditCardNumber(ignoreNonDigitCharacters=)
Checks that the annotated character sequence passes the Luhn checksum test. Note, this
validation aims to check for user mistakes, not credit card validity! See also Anatomy of a credit
card number. ignoreNonDigitCharacters allows to ignore non digit characters. The default is

27
false.

Supported data types

CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@Currency(value=)
Checks that the currency unit of the annotated javax.money.MonetaryAmount is part of the
specified currency units.

Supported data types

any sub-type of javax.money.MonetaryAmount (if the JSR 354 API and an implementation is
on the class path)

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@DurationMax(days=, hours=, minutes=, seconds=, millis=, nanos=, inclusive=)

Checks that annotated java.time.Duration element is not greater than the one constructed
from annotation parameters. Equality is allowed if inclusive flag is set to true.

Supported data types

java.time.Duration

Hibernate metadata impact

None

Column length will be set to max

@CodePointLength(min=, max=, normalizationStrategy=)

Validates that code point length of the annotated character sequence is between min and max
included. Validates normalized value if normalizationStrategy is set.

Supported data types

CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@LuhnCheck(startIndex= , endIndex=, checkDigitIndex=,

ignoreNonDigitCharacters=)
Checks that the digits within the annotated character sequence pass the Luhn checksum algorithm
(see also Luhn algorithm). startIndex and endIndex allow to only run the algorithm on the
specified sub-string. checkDigitIndex allows to use an arbitrary digit within the character
sequence as the check digit. If not specified it is assumed that the check digit is part of the
specified range. Last but not least, ignoreNonDigitCharacters allows to ignore non digit
characters.

Supported data types

CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@Mod10Check(multiplier=, weight=, startIndex=, endIndex=, checkDigitIndex=,

ignoreNonDigitCharacters=)
Checks that the digits within the annotated character sequence pass the generic mod 10 checksum
algorithm. multiplier determines the multiplier for odd numbers (defaults to 3), weight the
weight for even numbers (defaults to 1). startIndex and endIndex allow to only run the

29
algorithm on the specified sub-string. checkDigitIndex allows to use an arbitrary digit within the
character sequence as the check digit. If not specified it is assumed that the check digit is part of
the specified range. Last but not least, ignoreNonDigitCharacters allows to ignore non digit
characters.

Supported data types

CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

None

@ScriptAssert(lang=, script=, alias=, reportOn=)

Checks whether the given script can successfully be evaluated against the annotated element. In
order to use this constraint, an implementation of the Java Scripting API as defined by JSR 223
("Scripting for the JavaTM Platform") must be a part of the class path. The expressions to be

30
evaluated can be written in any scripting or expression language, for which a JSR 223 compatible
engine can be found in the class path. Even though this is a class-level constraint, one can use the
reportOn attribute to report a constraint violation on a specific property rather than the whole
object.

Supported data types

Any type

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@UniqueElements
Checks that the annotated collection only contains unique elements. The equality is determined
using the equals() method. The default message does not include the list of duplicate elements
but you can include it by overriding the message and using the {duplicates} message
parameter. The list of duplicate elements is also included in the dynamic payload of the constraint
violation.

Supported data types

Collection

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@URL(protocol=, host=, port=, regexp=, flags=)

Checks if the annotated character sequence is a valid URL according to RFC2396. If any of the
optional parameters protocol, host or port are specified, the corresponding URL fragments
must match the specified values. The optional parameters regexp and flags allow to specify an
additional regular expression (including regular expression flags) which the URL must match. Per
default this constraint used the java.net.URL constructor to verify whether a given string
represents a valid URL. A regular expression based version is also available -
RegexpURLValidator - which can be configured via XML (see Section 8.2, “Mapping constraints
via constraint-mappings”) or the programmatic API (see Section 12.15.2, “Adding constraint
definitions programmatically”).

Supported data types

CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@UUID(allowEmpty=, allowNil=, version=, variant=, letterCase=)

Checks that the annotated character sequence is a valid universally unique identifier according to
RFC 4122. null is always valid. The option allowEmpty allows empty character sequences.
allowNil includes nil UUIDs (00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000). The version and
variant parameters control which UUID versions and variants are allowed. letterCase ensures
lower case or upper case, but can also be configured as case insensitive.

31
Supported data types
CharSequence

Hibernate metadata impact

None

@BitcoinAddress(value=)
Checks that the annotated character sequence is a valid Bitcoin address. null values are
considered valid. The option value allows to specify which types of Bitcoin addresses should be
considered as valid. By default, all address types are considered as valid. See
BitcoinAddress.BitcoinAddressType for a list of available address types.

Supported data types

34
Chapter 3. Declaring and validating method
constraints
As of Bean Validation 1.1, constraints can not only be applied to JavaBeans and their properties, but
also to the parameters and return values of the methods and constructors of any Java type. That way
Jakarta Validation constraints can be used to specify

• the preconditions that must be satisfied by the caller before a method or constructor may be
invoked (by applying constraints to the parameters of an executable)
• the postconditions that are guaranteed to the caller after a method or constructor invocation
returns (by applying constraints to the return value of an executable)

For the purpose of this reference guide, the term method constraint refers to both,
 method and constructor constraints, if not stated otherwise. Occasionally, the term
executable is used when referring to methods and constructors.

This approach has several advantages over traditional ways of checking the correctness of parameters
and return values:

• the checks don’t have to be performed manually (e.g. by throwing IllegalArgumentException

or similar), resulting in less code to write and maintain
• an executable’s pre- and postconditions don’t have to be expressed again in its documentation,
since the constraint annotations will automatically be included in the generated JavaDoc. This
avoids redundancies and reduces the chance of inconsistencies between implementation and
documentation

In order to make annotations show up in the JavaDoc of annotated elements, the


annotation types themselves must be annotated with the meta annotation
@Documented. This is the case for all built-in constraints and is considered a best
practice for any custom constraints.

In the remainder of this chapter you will learn how to declare parameter and return value constraints
and how to validate them using the ExecutableValidator API.

3.1. Declaring method constraints

3.1.1. Parameter constraints

You specify the preconditions of a method or constructor by adding constraint annotations to its
parameters as demonstrated in Example 3.1, “Declaring method and constructor parameter
constraints”.

Example 3.1: Declaring method and constructor parameter constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.parameter;

public class RentalStation {

35
public RentalStation(@NotNull String name) {
//...
}

public void rentCar(

@NotNull Customer customer,
@NotNull @Future Date startDate,
@Min(1) int durationInDays) {
//...
}
}

The following preconditions are declared here:

• The name passed to the RentalCar constructor must not be null

• When invoking the rentCar() method, the given customer must not be null, the rental’s start
date must not be null as well as be in the future and finally the rental duration must be at least
one day

Note that declaring method or constructor constraints itself does not automatically cause their
validation upon invocation of the executable. Instead, the ExecutableValidator API (see Section
3.2, “Validating method constraints”) must be used to perform the validation, which is often done
using a method interception facility such as AOP, proxy objects etc.

Constraints may only be applied to instance methods, i.e. declaring constraints on static methods is
not supported. Depending on the interception facility you use for triggering method validation,
additional restrictions may apply, e.g. with respect to the visibility of methods supported as target of
interception. Refer to the documentation of the interception technology to find out whether any such
limitations exist.

3.1.1.1. Cross-parameter constraints

Sometimes validation does not only depend on a single parameter but on several or even all
parameters of a method or constructor. This kind of requirement can be fulfilled with help of a cross-
parameter constraint.

Cross-parameter constraints can be considered as the method validation equivalent to class-level

constraints. Both can be used to implement validation requirements which are based on several
elements. While class-level constraints apply to several properties of a bean, cross-parameter
constraints apply to several parameters of an executable.

In contrast to single-parameter constraints, cross-parameter constraints are declared on the method

or constructor as you can see in Example 3.2, “Declaring a cross-parameter constraint”. Here the
cross- parameter constraint @LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount declared on the load()
method is used to ensure that no passenger has more than two pieces of luggage.

Example 3.2: Declaring a cross-parameter constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.crossparameter;

public class Car {

@LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount(piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger = 2)
public void load(List<Person> passengers, List<PieceOfLuggage> luggage) {

36
//...
}
}

As you will learn in the next section, return value constraints are also declared on the method level. In
order to distinguish cross-parameter constraints from return value constraints, the constraint target
is configured in the ConstraintValidator implementation using the
@SupportedValidationTarget annotation. You can find out about the details in Section 6.3,
“Cross-parameter constraints” which shows how to implement your own cross-parameter constraint.

In some cases a constraint can be applied to an executable’s parameters (i.e. it is a cross- parameter
constraint), but also to the return value. One example for this are custom constraints which allow to
specify validation rules using expression or script languages.

Such constraints must define a member validationAppliesTo() which can be used at declaration
time to specify the constraint target. As shown in Example 3.3, “Specifying a constraint’s target” you
apply the constraint to an executable’s parameters by specifying validationAppliesTo =
ConstraintTarget.PARAMETERS, while ConstraintTarget.RETURN_VALUE is used to apply the
constraint to the executable return value.

Example 3.3: Specifying a constraint’s target

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.crossparameter.constrainttarget;

public class Garage {

@ELAssert(expression = "...", validationAppliesTo = ConstraintTarget.PARAMETERS)

public Car buildCar(List<Part> parts) {
//...
return null;
}

@ELAssert(expression = "...", validationAppliesTo = ConstraintTarget.RETURN_VALUE)

public Car paintCar(int color) {
//...
return null;
}
}

Although such a constraint is applicable to the parameters and return value of an executable, the
target can often be inferred automatically. This is the case, if the constraint is declared on

• a void method with parameters (the constraint applies to the parameters)

• an executable with return value but no parameters (the constraint applies to the return value)
• neither a method nor a constructor, but a field, parameter etc. (the constraint applies to the
annotated element)

In these situations you don’t have to specify the constraint target. It is still recommended to do so if it
increases readability of the source code. If the constraint target is not specified in situations where it
can’t be determined automatically, a ConstraintDeclarationException is raised.

37
3.1.2. Return value constraints

The postconditions of a method or constructor are declared by adding constraint annotations to the
executable as shown in Example 3.4, “Declaring method and constructor return value constraints”.

Example 3.4: Declaring method and constructor return value constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.returnvalue;

public class RentalStation {

@ValidRentalStation
public RentalStation() {
//...
}

@NotNull
@Size(min = 1)
public List<@NotNull Customer> getCustomers() {
//...
return null;
}
}

The following constraints apply to the executables of RentalStation:

• Any newly created RentalStation object must satisfy the @ValidRentalStation constraint
• The customer list returned by getCustomers() must not be null and must contain at least on
element
• The customer list returned by getCustomers() must no contain null objects


As you can see in the above example, container element constraints are supported
on method return value. They are also supported on method parameters.

3.1.3. Cascaded validation

Similar to the cascaded validation of JavaBeans properties (see Section 2.1.6, “Object graphs”), the
@Valid annotation can be used to mark executable parameters and return values for cascaded
validation. When validating a parameter or return value annotated with @Valid, the constraints
declared on the parameter or return value object are validated as well.

In Example 3.5, “Marking executable parameters and return values for cascaded validation”, the car
parameter of the method Garage#checkCar() as well as the return value of the Garage constructor
are marked for cascaded validation.

Example 3.5: Marking executable parameters and return values for cascaded validation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.cascaded;

public class Garage {

@NotNull
private String name;

@Valid

38
public Garage(String name) {
this.name = name;
}

public boolean checkCar(@Valid @NotNull Car car) {

//...
return false;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.cascaded;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
private String licensePlate;

public Car(String manufacturer, String licencePlate) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
}

//getters and setters ...

}

When validating the arguments of the checkCar() method, the constraints on the properties of the
passed Car object are evaluated as well. Similarly, the @NotNull constraint on the name field of
Garage is checked when validating the return value of the Garage constructor.

Generally, the cascaded validation works for executables in exactly the same way as it does for
JavaBeans properties.

In particular, null values are ignored during cascaded validation (naturally this can’t happen during
constructor return value validation) and cascaded validation is performed recursively, i.e. if a
parameter or return value object which is marked for cascaded validation itself has properties marked
with @Valid, the constraints declared on the referenced elements will be validated as well.

Same as for fields and properties, cascaded validation can also be declared on container elements (e.g.
elements of collections, maps or custom containers) of return values and parameters.

In this case, each element contained by the container gets validated. So when validating the
arguments of the checkCars() method in Example 3.6, “Container elements of method parameter
marked for cascaded validation”, each element instance of the passed list will be validated and a
ConstraintViolation created when any of the contained Car instances is invalid.

Example 3.6: Container elements of method parameter marked for cascaded validation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.cascaded.containerelement;

public class Garage {

public boolean checkCars(@NotNull List<@Valid Car> cars) {

//...
return false;

39
}
}

3.1.4. Method constraints in inheritance hierarchies

When declaring method constraints in inheritance hierarchies, it is important to be aware of the

following rules:

• The preconditions to be satisfied by the caller of a method may not be strengthened in subtypes
• The postconditions guaranteed to the caller of a method may not be weakened in subtypes

These rules are motivated by the concept of behavioral subtyping which requires that wherever a type
T is used, also a subtype S of T may be used without altering the program’s behavior.

As an example, consider a class invoking a method on an object with the static type T. If the runtime
type of that object was S and S imposed additional preconditions, the client class might fail to satisfy
these preconditions as is not aware of them. The rules of behavioral subtyping are also known as the
Liskov substitution principle.

The Jakarta Validation specification implements the first rule by disallowing parameter constraints on
methods which override or implement a method declared in a supertype (superclass or interface).
Example 3.7, “Illegal method parameter constraint in subtype” shows a violation of this rule.

Example 3.7: Illegal method parameter constraint in subtype

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.parameter;

public interface Vehicle {

void drive(@Max(75) int speedInMph);

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.parameter;

public class Car implements Vehicle {

@Override
public void drive(@Max(55) int speedInMph) {
//...
}
}

The @Max constraint on Car#drive() is illegal since this method implements the interface method
Vehicle#drive(). Note that parameter constraints on overriding methods are also disallowed, if the
supertype method itself doesn’t declare any parameter constraints.

Furthermore, if a method overrides or implements a method declared in several parallel supertypes

(e.g. two interfaces not extending each other or a class and an interface not implemented by that
class), no parameter constraints may be specified for the method in any of the involved types. The
types in Example 3.8, “Illegal method parameter constraint in parallel types of a hierarchy”
demonstrate a violation of that rule. The method RacingCar#drive() overrides Vehicle#drive()
as well as Car#drive(). Therefore the constraint on Vehicle#drive() is illegal.

40
Example 3.8: Illegal method parameter constraint in parallel types of a hierarchy

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.parallel;

public interface Vehicle {

void drive(@Max(75) int speedInMph);

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.parallel;

public interface Car {

void drive(int speedInMph);

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.parallel;

public class RacingCar implements Car, Vehicle {

@Override
public void drive(int speedInMph) {
//...
}
}

The previously described restrictions only apply to parameter constraints. In contrast, return value
constraints may be added in methods overriding or implementing any supertype methods.

In this case, all the method’s return value constraints apply for the subtype method, i.e. the constraints
declared on the subtype method itself as well as any return value constraints on
overridden/implemented supertype methods. This is legal as putting additional return value
constraints in place may never represent a weakening of the postconditions guaranteed to the caller
of a method.

So when validating the return value of the method Car#getPassengers() shown in Example 3.9,
“Return value constraints on supertype and subtype method”, the @Size constraint on the method
itself as well as the @NotNull constraint on the implemented interface method
Vehicle#getPassengers() apply.

Example 3.9: Return value constraints on supertype and subtype method

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.returnvalue;

public interface Vehicle {

@NotNull
List<Person> getPassengers();
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.inheritance.returnvalue;

public class Car implements Vehicle {

@Override

41
@Size(min = 1)
public List<Person> getPassengers() {
//...
return null;
}
}

If the validation engine detects a violation of any of the aforementioned rules, a

ConstraintDeclarationException will be raised.

The rules described in this section only apply to methods but not constructors. By
definition, constructors never override supertype constructors. Therefore, when
 validating the parameters or the return value of a constructor invocation only the
constraints declared on the constructor itself apply, but never any constraints
declared on supertype constructors.

Enforcement of these rules may be relaxed by setting the configuration parameters

contained in the MethodValidationConfiguration property of the
 HibernateValidatorConfiguration before creating the Validator instance.
See also Section 12.3, “Relaxation of requirements for method validation in class
hierarchies”.

3.2. Validating method constraints

The validation of method constraints is done using the ExecutableValidator interface.

In Section 3.2.1, “Obtaining an ExecutableValidator instance” you will learn how to obtain an
ExecutableValidator instance while Section 3.2.2, “ExecutableValidator methods” shows how
to use the different methods offered by this interface.

Instead of calling the ExecutableValidator methods directly from within application code, they are
usually invoked via a method interception technology such as AOP, proxy objects, etc. This causes
executable constraints to be validated automatically and transparently upon method or constructor
invocation. Typically a ConstraintViolationException is raised by the integration layer in case
any of the constraints is violated.

3.2.1. Obtaining an ExecutableValidator instance

You can retrieve an ExecutableValidator instance via Validator#forExecutables() as shown

in Example 3.10, “Obtaining an ExecutableValidator instance”.

Example 3.10: Obtaining an ExecutableValidator instance

ValidatorFactory factory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();

executableValidator = factory.getValidator().forExecutables();

In the example the executable validator is retrieved from the default validator factory, but if required
you could also bootstrap a specifically configured factory as described in Chapter 9, Bootstrapping, for
instance in order to use a specific parameter name provider (see Section 9.2.4,
“ParameterNameProvider”).

42
3.2.2. ExecutableValidator methods

The ExecutableValidator interface offers altogether four methods:

• validateParameters() and validateReturnValue() for method validation

• validateConstructorParameters() and validateConstructorReturnValue() for
constructor validation

Just as the methods on Validator, all these methods return a Set<ConstraintViolation> which
contains a ConstraintViolation instance for each violated constraint and which is empty if the
validation succeeds. Also all the methods have a var-args groups parameter by which you can pass the
validation groups to be considered for validation.

The examples in the following sections are based on the methods on constructors of the Car class
shown in Example 3.11, “Class Car with constrained methods and constructors”.

Example 3.11: Class Car with constrained methods and constructors

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.validation;

public class Car {

public Car(@NotNull String manufacturer) {

//...
}

@ValidRacingCar
public Car(String manufacturer, String team) {
//...
}

public void drive(@Max(75) int speedInMph) {

//...
}

@Size(min = 1)
public List<Passenger> getPassengers() {
//...
return Collections.emptyList();
}
}

3.2.2.1. ExecutableValidator#validateParameters()

The method validateParameters() is used to validate the arguments of a method invocation.

Example 3.12, “Using ExecutableValidator#validateParameters()” shows an example. The
validation results in a violation of the @Max constraint on the parameter of the drive() method.

Example 3.12: Using ExecutableValidator#validateParameters()

Car object = new Car( "Morris" );

Method method = Car.class.getMethod( "drive", int.class );
Object[] parameterValues = { 80 };
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> violations = executableValidator.validateParameters(
object,
method,
parameterValues

43
);

assertEquals( 1, violations.size() );
Class<? extends Annotation> constraintType = violations.iterator()
.next()
.getConstraintDescriptor()
.getAnnotation()
.annotationType();
assertEquals( Max.class, constraintType );

Note that validateParameters() validates all the parameter constraints of a method, i.e.
constraints on individual parameters as well as cross-parameter constraints.

3.2.2.2. ExecutableValidator#validateReturnValue()

Using validateReturnValue() the return value of a method can be validated. The validation in
Example 3.13, “Using ExecutableValidator#validateReturnValue()” yields one constraint
violation since the getPassengers() method is expected to return at least one Passenger instance.

Example 3.13: Using ExecutableValidator#validateReturnValue()

Car object = new Car( "Morris" );

Method method = Car.class.getMethod( "getPassengers" );
Object returnValue = Collections.<Passenger>emptyList();
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> violations = executableValidator.validateReturnValue(
object,
method,
returnValue
);

3.2.2.3. ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorParameters()

The arguments of constructor invocations can be validated with

validateConstructorParameters() as shown in method Example 3.14, “Using
ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorParameters()”. Due to the @NotNull constraint
on the manufacturer parameter, the validation call returns one constraint violation.

Example 3.14: Using ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorParameters()

Constructor<Car> constructor = Car.class.getConstructor( String.class );

Object[] parameterValues = { null };
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> violations = executableValidator
.validateConstructorParameters(
constructor,
parameterValues
);

assertEquals( 1, violations.size() );
Class<? extends Annotation> constraintType = violations.iterator()

44
.next()
.getConstraintDescriptor()
.getAnnotation()
.annotationType();
assertEquals( NotNull.class, constraintType );

3.2.2.4. ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorReturnValue()

Finally, by using validateConstructorReturnValue() you can validate a constructor’s return

value. In Example 3.15, “Using ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorReturnValue()”,
validateConstructorReturnValue() returns one constraint violation, since the Car instance
returned by the constructor doesn’t satisfy the @ValidRacingCar constraint (not shown).

Example 3.15: Using ExecutableValidator#validateConstructorReturnValue()

//constructor for creating racing cars

Constructor<Car> constructor = Car.class.getConstructor( String.class, String.class );
Car createdObject = new Car( "Morris", null );
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> violations = executableValidator
.validateConstructorReturnValue(
constructor,
createdObject
);

3.2.3. ConstraintViolation methods for method validation

In addition to the methods introduced in Section 2.2.3, “ConstraintViolation”,

ConstraintViolation provides two more methods specific to the validation of executable
parameters and return values.

ConstraintViolation#getExecutableParameters() returns the validated parameter array in

case of method or constructor parameter validation, while
ConstraintViolation#getExecutableReturnValue() provides access to the validated object in
case of return value validation.

All the other ConstraintViolation methods generally work for method validation in the same way
as for validation of beans. Refer to the JavaDoc to learn more about the behavior of the individual
methods and their return values during bean and method validation.

Note that getPropertyPath() can be very useful in order to obtain detailed information about the
validated parameter or return value, e.g. for logging purposes. In particular, you can retrieve name and
argument types of the concerned method as well as the index of the concerned parameter from the
path nodes. How this can be done is shown in Example 3.16, “Retrieving method and parameter
information”.

45
Example 3.16: Retrieving method and parameter information

Car object = new Car( "Morris" );

assertEquals( 1, violations.size() );
Iterator<Node> propertyPath = violations.iterator()
.next()
.getPropertyPath()
.iterator();

MethodNode methodNode = propertyPath.next().as( MethodNode.class );

assertEquals( "drive", methodNode.getName() );
assertEquals( Arrays.<Class<?>>asList( int.class ), methodNode.getParameterTypes() );

ParameterNode parameterNode = propertyPath.next().as( ParameterNode.class );

assertEquals( "speedInMph", parameterNode.getName() );
assertEquals( 0, parameterNode.getParameterIndex() );

The parameter name is determined using the current ParameterNameProvider (see Section 9.2.4,
“ParameterNameProvider”).

3.3. Built-in method constraints

In addition to the built-in bean and property-level constraints discussed in Section 2.3, “Built-in
constraints”, Hibernate Validator currently provides one method-level constraint,
@ParameterScriptAssert. This is a generic cross-parameter constraint which allows to implement
validation routines using any JSR 223 compatible ("Scripting for the JavaTM Platform") scripting
language, provided an engine for this language is available on the classpath.

To refer to the executable’s parameters from within the expression, use their name as obtained from
the active parameter name provider (see Section 9.2.4, “ParameterNameProvider”). Example 3.17,
“Using @ParameterScriptAssert” shows how the validation logic of the
@LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount constraint from Example 3.2, “Declaring a cross-
parameter constraint” could be expressed with the help of @ParameterScriptAssert.

Example 3.17: Using @ParameterScriptAssert

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter03.parameterscriptassert;

public class Car {

@ParameterScriptAssert(lang = "groovy", script = "luggage.size() <= passengers.size() *

2")
public void load(List<Person> passengers, List<PieceOfLuggage> luggage) {
//...
}
}

46
Chapter 4. Interpolating constraint error
messages
Message interpolation is the process of creating error messages for violated Jakarta Validation
constraints. In this chapter you will learn how such messages are defined and resolved and how you
can plug in custom message interpolators in case the default algorithm is not sufficient for your
requirements.

4.1. Default message interpolation

Constraint violation messages are retrieved from so called message descriptors. Each constraint
defines its default message descriptor using the message attribute. At declaration time, the default
descriptor can be overridden with a specific value as shown in Example 4.1, “Specifying a message
descriptor using the message attribute”.

Example 4.1: Specifying a message descriptor using the message attribute

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter04;

public class Car {

@NotNull(message = "The manufacturer name must not be null")

private String manufacturer;

//constructor, getters and setters ...

}

If a constraint is violated, its descriptor will be interpolated by the validation engine using the
currently configured MessageInterpolator. The interpolated error message can then be retrieved
from the resulting constraint violation by calling ConstraintViolation#getMessage().

Message descriptors can contain message parameters as well as message expressions which will be
resolved during interpolation. Message parameters are string literals enclosed in {}, while message
expressions are string literals enclosed in ${}. The following algorithm is applied during method
interpolation:

1. Resolve any message parameters by using them as key for the resource bundle
ValidationMessages. If this bundle contains an entry for a given message parameter, that
parameter will be replaced in the message with the corresponding value from the bundle. This step
will be executed recursively in case the replaced value again contains message parameters. The
resource bundle is expected to be provided by the application developer, e.g. by adding a file
named ValidationMessages.properties to the classpath. You can also create localized error
messages by providing locale specific variations of this bundle, such as
ValidationMessages_en_US.properties. By default, the JVM’s default locale
(Locale#getDefault()) will be used when looking up messages in the bundle.
2. Resolve any message parameters by using them as key for a resource bundle containing the
standard error messages for the built-in constraints as defined in Appendix B of the Jakarta
Validation specification. In the case of Hibernate Validator, this bundle is named

47
org.hibernate.validator.ValidationMessages. If this step triggers a replacement, step 1
is executed again, otherwise step 3 is applied.
3. Resolve any message parameters by replacing them with the value of the constraint annotation
member of the same name. This allows to refer to attribute values of the constraint (e.g.
Size#min()) in the error message (e.g. "must be at least ${min}").

4. Resolve any message expressions by evaluating them as expressions of the Unified Expression
Language. See Section 4.1.2, “Interpolation with message expressions” to learn more about the
usage of Unified EL in error messages.


You can find the formal definition of the interpolation algorithm in section 6.3.1.1 of
the Jakarta Validation specification.

4.1.1. Special characters

Since the characters {, } and $ have a special meaning in message descriptors, they need to be
escaped if you want to use them literally. The following rules apply:

• \{ is considered as the literal {

• \} is considered as the literal }
• \$ is considered as the literal $
• \\ is considered as the literal \

4.1.2. Interpolation with message expressions

As of Hibernate Validator 5 (Bean Validation 1.1) it is possible to use the Jakarta Expression Language
in constraint violation messages. This allows to define error messages based on conditional logic and
also enables advanced formatting options. The validation engine makes the following objects available
in the EL context:

• the attribute values of the constraint mapped to the attribute names

• the currently validated value (property, bean, method parameter etc.) under the name
validatedValue
• a bean mapped to the name formatter exposing the var-arg method format(String format,
Object… args) which behaves like java.util.Formatter.format(String format,
Object… args).

Expression Language is very flexible and Hibernate Validator offers several feature levels that you can
use to enable Expression Language features through the ExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel
enum:

• NONE: Expression Language interpolation is fully disabled.

• VARIABLES: Allow interpolation of the variables injected via addExpressionVariable(),
resources bundles and usage of the formatter object.
• BEAN_PROPERTIES: Allow everything VARIABLES allows plus the interpolation of bean properties.
• BEAN_METHODS: Also allow execution of bean methods. Can be considered safe for hardcoded
constraint messages but not for custom violations where extra care is required.

48
The default feature level for constraint messages is BEAN_PROPERTIES.

You can define the Expression Language feature level when bootstrapping the ValidatorFactory.

The following section provides several examples for using EL expressions in error messages.

4.1.3. Examples

Example 4.2, “Specifying message descriptors” shows how to make use of the different options for
specifying message descriptors.

Example 4.2: Specifying message descriptors

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter04.complete;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@Size(
min = 2,
max = 14,
message = "The license plate '${validatedValue}' must be between {min} and
{max} characters long"
)
private String licensePlate;

@Min(
value = 2,
message = "There must be at least {value} seat${value > 1 ? 's' : ''}"
)
private int seatCount;

@DecimalMax(
value = "350",
message = "The top speed ${formatter.format('%1$.2f', validatedValue)} is
higher " +
"than {value}"
)
private double topSpeed;

@DecimalMax(value = "100000", message = "Price must not be higher than ${value}")

private BigDecimal price;

public Car(
String manufacturer,
String licensePlate,
int seatCount,
double topSpeed,
BigDecimal price) {
this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licensePlate;
this.seatCount = seatCount;
this.topSpeed = topSpeed;
this.price = price;
}

//getters and setters ...

}

Validating an invalid Car instance yields constraint violations with the messages shown by the

49
assertions in Example 4.3, “Expected error messages”:

• the @NotNull constraint on the manufacturer field causes the error message "must not be null",
as this is the default message defined by the Jakarta Validation specification and no specific
descriptor is given in the message attribute
• the @Size constraint on the licensePlate field shows the interpolation of message parameters
({min}, {max}) and how to add the validated value to the error message using the EL expression
${validatedValue}

• the @Min constraint on seatCount demonstrates how to use an EL expression with a ternary
expression to dynamically choose singular or plural form, depending on an attribute of the
constraint ("There must be at least 1 seat" vs. "There must be at least 2 seats")
• the message for the @DecimalMax constraint on topSpeed shows how to format the validated
value using the formatter instance
• finally, the @DecimalMax constraint on price shows that parameter interpolation has precedence
over expression evaluation, causing the $ sign to show up in front of the maximum price

Only actual constraint attributes can be interpolated using message parameters in

the form {attributeName}. When referring to the validated value or custom
 expression variables added to the interpolation context (see Section 12.13.1,
“HibernateConstraintValidatorContext”), an EL expression in the form
${attributeName} must be used.

Example 4.3: Expected error messages

Car car = new Car( null, "A", 1, 400.123456, BigDecimal.valueOf( 200000 ) );

String message = validator.validateProperty( car, "manufacturer" )

.iterator()
.next()
.getMessage();
assertEquals( "must not be null", message );

message = validator.validateProperty( car, "licensePlate" )

.iterator()
.next()
.getMessage();
assertEquals(
"The license plate 'A' must be between 2 and 14 characters long",
message
);

message = validator.validateProperty( car, "seatCount" ).iterator().next().getMessage();

assertEquals( "There must be at least 2 seats", message );

message = validator.validateProperty( car, "topSpeed" ).iterator().next().getMessage();

assertEquals( "The top speed 400.12 is higher than 350", message );

message = validator.validateProperty( car, "price" ).iterator().next().getMessage();

assertEquals( "Price must not be higher than $100000", message );

4.2. Custom message interpolation

If the default message interpolation algorithm does not fit your requirements, it is also possible to plug

50
in a custom MessageInterpolator implementation.

Custom interpolators must implement the interface

jakarta.validation.MessageInterpolator. Note that implementations must be thread-safe. It
is recommended that custom message interpolators delegate final implementation to the default
interpolator, which can be obtained via Configuration#getDefaultMessageInterpolator().

In order to use a custom message interpolator it must be registered either by configuring it in the
Jakarta Validation XML descriptor META-INF/validation.xml (see Section 8.1, “Configuring the validator
factory in validation.xml”) or by passing it when bootstrapping a ValidatorFactory or Validator
(see Section 9.2.1, “MessageInterpolator” and Section 9.3, “Configuring a Validator”, respectively).

4.2.1. ResourceBundleLocator

In some use cases, you want to use the message interpolation algorithm as defined by the Bean
Validation specification, but retrieve error messages from other resource bundles than
ValidationMessages. In this situation Hibernate Validator’s ResourceBundleLocator SPI can help.

The default message interpolator in Hibernate Validator, ResourceBundleMessageInterpolator,

delegates retrieval of resource bundles to that SPI. Using an alternative bundle only requires passing
an instance of PlatformResourceBundleLocator with the bundle name when bootstrapping the
ValidatorFactory as shown in Example 4.4, “Using a specific resource bundle”.

Example 4.4: Using a specific resource bundle

Validator validator = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.messageInterpolator(
new ResourceBundleMessageInterpolator(
new PlatformResourceBundleLocator( "MyMessages" )
)
)
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Of course you also could implement a completely different ResourceBundleLocator, which for
instance returns bundles backed by records in a database. In this case, you can obtain the default
locator via HibernateValidatorConfiguration#getDefaultResourceBundleLocator(),
which you e.g. could use as fall-back for your custom locator.

Besides PlatformResourceBundleLocator, Hibernate Validator provides another resource bundle

locator implementation out of the box, namely AggregateResourceBundleLocator, which allows to
retrieve error messages from more than one resource bundle. You could for instance use this
implementation in a multi-module application where you want to have one message bundle per
module. Example 4.5, “Using AggregateResourceBundleLocator” shows how to use
AggregateResourceBundleLocator.

Example 4.5: Using AggregateResourceBundleLocator

Validator validator = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.messageInterpolator(

51
new ResourceBundleMessageInterpolator(
new AggregateResourceBundleLocator(
Arrays.asList(
"MyMessages",
"MyOtherMessages"
)
)
)
)
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Note that the bundles are processed in the order as passed to the constructor. That means if several
bundles contain an entry for a given message key, the value will be taken from the first bundle in the
list containing the key.

52
Chapter 5. Grouping constraints
All validation methods on Validator and ExecutableValidator discussed in earlier chapters also
take a var-arg argument groups. So far we have been ignoring this parameter, but it is time to have a
closer look.

5.1. Requesting groups

Groups allow you to restrict the set of constraints applied during validation. One use case for
validation groups are UI wizards where in each step only a specified subset of constraints should get
validated. The groups targeted are passed as var-arg parameters to the appropriate validate method.

Let’s have a look at an example. The class Person in Example 5.1, “Example class Person” has a
@NotNull constraint on name. Since no group is specified for this annotation the default group
jakarta.validation.groups.Default is assumed.

When more than one group is requested, the order in which the groups are evaluated
 is not deterministic. If no group is specified the default group
jakarta.validation.groups.Default is assumed.

Example 5.1: Example class Person

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public class Person {

@NotNull
private String name;

public Person(String name) {

this.name = name;
}

// getters and setters ...

}

The class Driver in Example 5.2, “Driver” extends Person and adds the properties age and
hasDrivingLicense. Drivers must be at least 18 years old (@Min(18)) and have a driving license
(@AssertTrue). Both constraints defined on these properties belong to the group DriverChecks
which is just a simple tagging interface.

Using interfaces makes the usage of groups type-safe and allows for easy
 refactoring. It also means that groups can inherit from each other via class
inheritance. See Section 5.2, “Group inheritance”.

Example 5.2: Driver

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public class Driver extends Person {

@Min(
value = 18,

53
message = "You have to be 18 to drive a car",
groups = DriverChecks.class
)
public int age;

@AssertTrue(
message = "You first have to pass the driving test",
groups = DriverChecks.class
)
public boolean hasDrivingLicense;

public Driver(String name) {

super( name );
}

public void passedDrivingTest(boolean b) {

hasDrivingLicense = b;
}

public int getAge() {

return age;
}

public void setAge(int age) {

this.age = age;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public interface DriverChecks {

}

Finally the class Car (Example 5.3, “Car”) has some constraints which are part of the default group as
well as @AssertTrue in the group CarChecks on the property passedVehicleInspection which
indicates whether a car passed the road worthy tests.

Example 5.3: Car

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
private String licensePlate;

@Min(2)
private int seatCount;

@AssertTrue(
message = "The car has to pass the vehicle inspection first",
groups = CarChecks.class
)
private boolean passedVehicleInspection;

@Valid
private Driver driver;

public Car(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;

54
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
this.seatCount = seatCount;
}

public boolean isPassedVehicleInspection() {

return passedVehicleInspection;
}

public void setPassedVehicleInspection(boolean passedVehicleInspection) {

this.passedVehicleInspection = passedVehicleInspection;
}

public Driver getDriver() {

return driver;
}

public void setDriver(Driver driver) {

this.driver = driver;
}

// getters and setters ...

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public interface CarChecks {

}

Overall three different groups are used in the example:

• The constraints on Person.name, Car.manufacturer, Car.licensePlate and

Car.seatCount all belong to the Default group

• The constraints on Driver.age and Driver.hasDrivingLicense belong to DriverChecks

• The constraint on Car.passedVehicleInspection belongs to the group CarChecks

Example 5.4, “Using validation groups” shows how passing different group combinations to the
Validator#validate() method results in different validation results.

Example 5.4: Using validation groups

// create a car and check that everything is ok with it.

Car car = new Car( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 2 );
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );
assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );

// but has it passed the vehicle inspection?

constraintViolations = validator.validate( car, CarChecks.class );
assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"The car has to pass the vehicle inspection first",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);

// let's go to the vehicle inspection

car.setPassedVehicleInspection( true );
assertEquals( 0, validator.validate( car, CarChecks.class ).size() );

// now let's add a driver. He is 18, but has not passed the driving test yet
Driver john = new Driver( "John Doe" );
john.setAge( 18 );

55
car.setDriver( john );
constraintViolations = validator.validate( car, DriverChecks.class );
assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"You first have to pass the driving test",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);

// ok, John passes the test

john.passedDrivingTest( true );
assertEquals( 0, validator.validate( car, DriverChecks.class ).size() );

// just checking that everything is in order now

assertEquals(
0, validator.validate(
car,
Default.class,
CarChecks.class,
DriverChecks.class
).size()
);

The first validate() call in Example 5.4, “Using validation groups” is done using no explicit group.
There are no validation errors, even though the property passedVehicleInspection is per default
false as the constraint defined on this property does not belong to the default group.

The next validation using the CarChecks group fails until the car passes the vehicle inspection.
Adding a driver to the car and validating against DriverChecks again yields one constraint violation
due to the fact that the driver has not yet passed the driving test. Only after setting
passedDrivingTest to true the validation against DriverChecks passes.

The last validate() call finally shows that all constraints are passing by validating against all defined
groups.

5.2. Group inheritance

In Example 5.4, “Using validation groups”, we need to call validate() for each validation group, or
specify all of them one by one.

In some situations, you may want to define a group of constraints which includes another group. You
can do that using group inheritance.

In Example 5.5, “SuperCar”, we define a SuperCar and a group RaceCarChecks that extends the
Default group. A SuperCar must have safety belts to be allowed to run in races.

Example 5.5: SuperCar

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupinheritance;

public class SuperCar extends Car {

@AssertTrue(
message = "Race car must have a safety belt",
groups = RaceCarChecks.class
)
private boolean safetyBelt;

56
// getters and setters ...

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupinheritance;

import jakarta.validation.groups.Default;

public interface RaceCarChecks extends Default {

}

In the example below, we will check if a SuperCar with one seat and no security belts is a valid car and
if it is a valid race-car.

Example 5.6: Using group inheritance

// create a supercar and check that it's valid as a generic Car

SuperCar superCar = new SuperCar( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 1 );
assertEquals( "must be greater than or equal to 2", validator.validate( superCar ).
iterator().next().getMessage() );

// check that this supercar is valid as generic car and also as race car
Set<ConstraintViolation<SuperCar>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( superCar,
RaceCarChecks.class );

assertThat( constraintViolations ).extracting( "message" ).containsOnly(

"Race car must have a safety belt",
"must be greater than or equal to 2"
);

On the first call to validate(), we do not specify a group. There is one validation error because a car
must have at least one seat. It is the constraint from the Default group.

On the second call, we specify only the group RaceCarChecks. There are two validation errors: one
about the missing seat from the Default group, another one about the fact that there is no safety
belts coming from the RaceCarChecks group.

5.3. Defining group sequences

By default, constraints are evaluated in no particular order, regardless of which groups they belong to.
In some situations, however, it is useful to control the order in which constraints are evaluated.

In the example from Example 5.4, “Using validation groups” it could for instance be required that first
all default car constraints are passing before checking the road worthiness of the car. Finally, before
driving away, the actual driver constraints should be checked.

In order to implement such a validation order you just need to define an interface and annotate it with
@GroupSequence, defining the order in which the groups have to be validated (see Example 5.7,
“Defining a group sequence”). If at least one constraint fails in a sequenced group, none of the
constraints of the following groups in the sequence get validated.

57
Example 5.7: Defining a group sequence

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

import jakarta.validation.GroupSequence;
import jakarta.validation.groups.Default;

@GroupSequence({ Default.class, CarChecks.class, DriverChecks.class })

public interface OrderedChecks {
}

Groups defining a sequence and groups composing a sequence must not be involved


in a cyclic dependency either directly or indirectly, either through cascaded
sequence definition or group inheritance. If a group containing such a circularity is
evaluated, a GroupDefinitionException is raised.

You then can use the new sequence as shown in in Example 5.8, “Using a group sequence”.

Example 5.8: Using a group sequence

Car car = new Car( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 2 );

car.setPassedVehicleInspection( true );

Driver john = new Driver( "John Doe" );

john.setAge( 18 );
john.passedDrivingTest( true );
car.setDriver( john );

assertEquals( 0, validator.validate( car, OrderedChecks.class ).size() );

5.4. Redefining the default group sequence

5.4.1. @GroupSequence

Besides defining group sequences, the @GroupSequence annotation also allows to redefine the
default group for a given class. To do so, just add the @GroupSequence annotation to the class and
specify the sequence of groups which substitute Default for this class within the annotation.

Example 5.9, “Class RentalCar with redefined default group” introduces a new class RentalCar with
a redefined default group.

Example 5.9: Class RentalCar with redefined default group

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

@GroupSequence({ RentalChecks.class, CarChecks.class, RentalCar.class })

public class RentalCar extends Car {
@AssertFalse(message = "The car is currently rented out", groups = RentalChecks.class)
private boolean rented;

public RentalCar(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

super( manufacturer, licencePlate, seatCount );
}

public boolean isRented() {

58
return rented;
}

public void setRented(boolean rented) {

this.rented = rented;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05;

public interface RentalChecks {

}

With this definition you can evaluate the constraints belonging to RentalChecks, CarChecks and
RentalCar by just requesting the Default group as seen in Example 5.10, “Validating an object with
redefined default group”.

Example 5.10: Validating an object with redefined default group

RentalCar rentalCar = new RentalCar( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 2 );

rentalCar.setPassedVehicleInspection( true );
rentalCar.setRented( true );

Set<ConstraintViolation<RentalCar>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( rentalCar );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"Wrong message",
"The car is currently rented out",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);

rentalCar.setRented( false );
constraintViolations = validator.validate( rentalCar );

assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );

Since there must be no cyclic dependency in the group and group sequence
 definitions, one cannot just add Default to the sequence redefining Default for a
class. Instead the class itself has to be added.

The Default group sequence overriding is local to the class it is defined on and is not propagated to
associated objects. For the example, this means that adding DriverChecks to the default group
sequence of RentalCar would not have any effects. Only the group Default will be propagated to
the driver association.

Note that you can control the propagated group(s) by declaring a group conversion rule (see Section
5.5, “Group conversion”).

5.4.2. @GroupSequenceProvider

In addition to statically redefining default group sequences via @GroupSequence, Hibernate Validator
also provides an SPI for the dynamic redefinition of default group sequences depending on the object
state.

59
For that purpose, you need to implement the interface DefaultGroupSequenceProvider and
register this implementation with the target class via the @GroupSequenceProvider annotation. In
the rental car scenario, you could for instance dynamically add the CarChecks as seen in Example
5.11, “Implementing and using a default group sequence provider”.

Example 5.11: Implementing and using a default group sequence provider

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupsequenceprovider;

public class RentalCarGroupSequenceProvider

implements DefaultGroupSequenceProvider<RentalCar> {

@Override
public List<Class<?>> getValidationGroups(RentalCar car) {
List<Class<?>> defaultGroupSequence = new ArrayList<Class<?>>();
defaultGroupSequence.add( RentalCar.class );

if ( car != null && !car.isRented() ) {

defaultGroupSequence.add( CarChecks.class );
}

return defaultGroupSequence;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupsequenceprovider;

@GroupSequenceProvider(RentalCarGroupSequenceProvider.class)
public class RentalCar extends Car {

@AssertFalse(message = "The car is currently rented out", groups = RentalChecks.class)

private boolean rented;

public RentalCar(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

super( manufacturer, licencePlate, seatCount );
}

public boolean isRented() {

return rented;
}

public void setRented(boolean rented) {

this.rented = rented;
}
}

5.5. Group conversion

What if you wanted to validate the car related checks together with the driver checks? Of course you
could pass the required groups to the validate call explicitly, but what if you wanted to make these
validations occur as part of the Default group validation? Here @ConvertGroup comes into play
which allows you to use a different group than the originally requested one during cascaded validation.

Let’s have a look at Example 5.12, “@ConvertGroup usage”. Here @GroupSequence({

CarChecks.class, Car.class }) is used to combine the car related constraints under the
Default group (see Section 5.4, “Redefining the default group sequence”). There is also a
@ConvertGroup(from = Default.class, to = DriverChecks.class) which ensures the

60
Default group gets converted to the DriverChecks group during cascaded validation of the driver
association.

Example 5.12: @ConvertGroup usage

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupconversion;

public class Driver {

@NotNull
private String name;

@Min(
value = 18,
message = "You have to be 18 to drive a car",
groups = DriverChecks.class
)
public int age;

@AssertTrue(
message = "You first have to pass the driving test",
groups = DriverChecks.class
)
public boolean hasDrivingLicense;

public Driver(String name) {

this.name = name;
}

public void passedDrivingTest(boolean b) {

hasDrivingLicense = b;
}

public int getAge() {

return age;
}

public void setAge(int age) {

this.age = age;
}

// getters and setters ...

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05.groupconversion;

@GroupSequence({ CarChecks.class, Car.class })

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
private String licensePlate;

@Min(2)
private int seatCount;

@AssertTrue(
message = "The car has to pass the vehicle inspection first",
groups = CarChecks.class
)
private boolean passedVehicleInspection;

61
@Valid
@ConvertGroup(from = Default.class, to = DriverChecks.class)
private Driver driver;

public Car(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
this.seatCount = seatCount;
}

public boolean isPassedVehicleInspection() {

return passedVehicleInspection;
}

public void setPassedVehicleInspection(boolean passedVehicleInspection) {

this.passedVehicleInspection = passedVehicleInspection;
}

public Driver getDriver() {

return driver;
}

public void setDriver(Driver driver) {

this.driver = driver;
}

// getters and setters ...

}

As a result the validation in Example 5.13, “Test case for @ConvertGroup” succeeds, even though the
constraint on hasDrivingLicense belongs to the DriverChecks group and only the Default
group is requested in the validate() call.

Example 5.13: Test case for @ConvertGroup

// create a car and validate. The Driver is still null and does not get validated
Car car = new Car( "VW", "USD-123", 4 );
car.setPassedVehicleInspection( true );
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );
assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );

// create a driver who has not passed the driving test

Driver john = new Driver( "John Doe" );
john.setAge( 18 );

// now let's add a driver to the car

car.setDriver( john );
constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );
assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"The driver constraint should also be validated as part of the default group",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage(),
"You first have to pass the driving test"
);

You can define group conversions wherever @Valid can be used, namely associations as well as
method and constructor parameters and return values. Multiple conversions can be specified using
@ConvertGroup.List.

However, the following restrictions apply:

62
• @ConvertGroup must only be used in combination with @Valid. If used without, a
ConstraintDeclarationException is thrown.

• It is not legal to have multiple conversion rules on the same element with the same from value. In
this case, a ConstraintDeclarationException is raised.
• The from attribute must not refer to a group sequence. A ConstraintDeclarationException
is raised in this situation.

Rules are not executed recursively. The first matching conversion rule is used and
 subsequent rules are ignored. For example if a set of @ConvertGroup declarations
chains group A to B and B to C, the group A will be converted to B and not to C.

63
Chapter 6. Creating custom constraints
The Jakarta Validation API defines a whole set of standard constraint annotations such as @NotNull,
@Size etc. In cases where these built-in constraints are not sufficient, you can easily create custom
constraints tailored to your specific validation requirements.

6.1. Creating a simple constraint

To create a custom constraint, the following three steps are required:

• Create a constraint annotation

• Implement a validator
• Define a default error message

6.1.1. The constraint annotation

This section shows how to write a constraint annotation which can be used to ensure that a given
string is either completely upper case or lower case. Later on, this constraint will be applied to the
licensePlate field of the Car class from Chapter 1, Getting started to ensure that the field is always
an upper-case string.

The first thing needed is a way to express the two case modes. While you could use String constants,
a better approach is using an enum for that purpose:

Example 6.1: Enum CaseMode to express upper vs. lower case

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06;

public enum CaseMode {

UPPER,
LOWER;
}

The next step is to define the actual constraint annotation. If you’ve never designed an annotation
before, this may look a bit scary, but actually it’s not that hard:

Example 6.2: Defining the @CheckCase constraint annotation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.PARAMETER;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.TYPE_USE;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@Target({ FIELD, METHOD, PARAMETER, ANNOTATION_TYPE, TYPE_USE })

@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Constraint(validatedBy = CheckCaseValidator.class)
@Documented
@Repeatable(List.class)

64
public @interface CheckCase {

String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.CheckCase."

+
"message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

CaseMode value();

@Target({ FIELD, METHOD, PARAMETER, ANNOTATION_TYPE })

@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Documented
@interface List {
CheckCase[] value();
}
}

An annotation type is defined using the @interface keyword. All attributes of an annotation type are
declared in a method-like manner. The specification of the Jakarta Validation API demands, that any
constraint annotation defines:

• an attribute message that returns the default key for creating error messages in case the
constraint is violated
• an attribute groups that allows the specification of validation groups, to which this constraint
belongs (see Chapter 5, Grouping constraints). This must default to an empty array of type
Class<?>.
• an attribute payload that can be used by clients of the Jakarta Validation API to assign custom
payload objects to a constraint. This attribute is not used by the API itself. An example for a
custom payload could be the definition of a severity:

public class Severity {

public interface Info extends Payload {
}

public interface Error extends Payload {

}
}

public class ContactDetails {

@NotNull(message = "Name is mandatory", payload = Severity.Error.class)
private String name;

@NotNull(message = "Phone number not specified, but not mandatory",

payload = Severity.Info.class)
private String phoneNumber;

// ...
}

Now a client can after the validation of a ContactDetails instance access the severity of a
constraint using ConstraintViolation.getConstraintDescriptor().getPayload() and
adjust its behavior depending on the severity.

65
Besides these three mandatory attributes there is another one, value, allowing for the required case
mode to be specified. The name value is a special one, which can be omitted when using the
annotation, if it is the only attribute specified, as e.g. in @CheckCase(CaseMode.UPPER).

In addition, the constraint annotation is decorated with a couple of meta annotations:

• @Target({ FIELD, METHOD, PARAMETER, ANNOTATION_TYPE, TYPE_USE}): Defines the

supported target element types for the constraint. @CheckCase may be used on fields (element
type FIELD), JavaBeans properties as well as method return values (METHOD),
method/constructor parameters (PARAMETER) and type argument of parameterized types
(TYPE_USE). The element type ANNOTATION_TYPE allows for the creation of composed
constraints (see Section 6.4, “Constraint composition”) based on @CheckCase.

When creating a class-level constraint (see Section 2.1.4, “Class-level constraints”), the element
type TYPE would have to be used. Constraints targeting the return value of a constructor need to
support the element type CONSTRUCTOR. Cross-parameter constraints (see Section 6.3, “Cross-
parameter constraints”) which are used to validate all the parameters of a method or constructor
together, must support METHOD or CONSTRUCTOR, respectively.

• @Retention(RUNTIME): Specifies, that annotations of this type will be available at runtime by the
means of reflection
• @Constraint(validatedBy = CheckCaseValidator.class): Marks the annotation type as
constraint annotation and specifies the validator to be used to validate elements annotated with
@CheckCase. If a constraint may be used on several data types, several validators may be
specified, one for each data type.
• @Documented: Says, that the use of @CheckCase will be contained in the JavaDoc of elements
annotated with it
• @Repeatable(List.class): Indicates that the annotation can be repeated several times at the
same place, usually with a different configuration. List is the containing annotation type.

This containing annotation type named List is also shown in the example. It allows to specify several
@CheckCase annotations on the same element, e.g. with different validation groups and messages.
While another name could be used, the Jakarta Validation specification recommends to use the name
List and make the annotation an inner annotation of the corresponding constraint type.

6.1.2. The constraint validator

Having defined the annotation, you need to create a constraint validator, which is able to validate
elements with a @CheckCase annotation. To do so, implement the Jakarta Validation interface
ConstraintValidator as shown below:

Example 6.3: Implementing a constraint validator for the constraint @CheckCase

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06;

public class CheckCaseValidator implements ConstraintValidator<CheckCase, String> {

private CaseMode caseMode;

@Override
public void initialize(CheckCase constraintAnnotation) {

66
this.caseMode = constraintAnnotation.value();
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(String object, ConstraintValidatorContext constraintContext) {
if ( object == null ) {
return true;
}

if ( caseMode == CaseMode.UPPER ) {
return object.equals( object.toUpperCase() );
}
else {
return object.equals( object.toLowerCase() );
}
}
}

The ConstraintValidator interface defines two type parameters which are set in the
implementation. The first one specifies the annotation type to be validated (CheckCase), the second
one the type of elements, which the validator can handle (String). In case a constraint supports
several data types, a ConstraintValidator for each allowed type has to be implemented and
registered at the constraint annotation as shown above.

The implementation of the validator is straightforward. The initialize() method gives you access
to the attribute values of the validated constraint and allows you to store them in a field of the
validator as shown in the example.

The isValid() method contains the actual validation logic. For @CheckCase this is the check
whether a given string is either completely lower case or upper case, depending on the case mode
retrieved in initialize(). Note that the Jakarta Validation specification recommends to consider
null values as being valid. If null is not a valid value for an element, it should be annotated with
@NotNull explicitly.

6.1.2.1. The ConstraintValidatorContext

Example 6.3, “Implementing a constraint validator for the constraint @CheckCase” relies on the
default error message generation by just returning true or false from the isValid() method.
Using the passed ConstraintValidatorContext object, it is possible to either add additional error
messages or completely disable the default error message generation and solely define custom error
messages. The ConstraintValidatorContext API is modeled as fluent interface and is best
demonstrated with an example:

Example 6.4: Using ConstraintValidatorContext to define custom error messages

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.constraintvalidatorcontext;

public class CheckCaseValidator implements ConstraintValidator<CheckCase, String> {

private CaseMode caseMode;

@Override
public void initialize(CheckCase constraintAnnotation) {
this.caseMode = constraintAnnotation.value();
}

@Override

67
public boolean isValid(String object, ConstraintValidatorContext constraintContext) {
if ( object == null ) {
return true;
}

boolean isValid;
if ( caseMode == CaseMode.UPPER ) {
isValid = object.equals( object.toUpperCase() );
}
else {
isValid = object.equals( object.toLowerCase() );
}

if ( !isValid ) {
constraintContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();
constraintContext.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate(
"{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06."
+ "constraintvalidatorcontext.CheckCase.message}"
).addConstraintViolation();
}

return isValid;
}
}

Example 6.4, “Using ConstraintValidatorContext to define custom error messages” shows how
you can disable the default error message generation and add a custom error message using a
specified message template. In this example the use of the ConstraintValidatorContext results
in the same error message as the default error message generation.

It is important to add each configured constraint violation by calling

 addConstraintViolation(). Only after that the new constraint violation will be
created.

By default, Expression Language is not enabled for custom violations created in the
ConstraintValidatorContext.

However, for some advanced requirements, using Expression Language might be necessary.

In this case, you need to unwrap the HibernateConstraintValidatorContext and enable

Expression Language explicitly. See Section 12.13.1, “HibernateConstraintValidatorContext”
for more information.

Refer to Section 6.2.1, “Custom property paths” to learn how to use the
ConstraintValidatorContext API to control the property path of constraint violations for class-
level constraints.

6.1.2.2. The HibernateConstraintValidator extension

Hibernate Validator provides an extension to the ConstraintValidator contract:

HibernateConstraintValidator.

The purpose of this extension is to provide more contextual information to the initialize()
method as, in the current ConstraintValidator contract, only the annotation is passed as
parameter.

68
The initialize() method of HibernateConstraintValidator takes two parameters:

• The ConstraintDescriptor of the constraint at hand. You can get access to the annotation
using ConstraintDescriptor#getAnnotation().
• The HibernateConstraintValidatorInitializationContext which provides useful
helpers and contextual information, such as the clock provider or the temporal validation
tolerance.

This extension is marked as incubating so it might be subject to change. The plan is to standardize it
and to include it in Jakarta Validation in the future.

The example below shows how to base your validators on HibernateConstraintValidator:

Example 6.5: Using the HibernateConstraintValidator contract

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06;

public class MyFutureValidator implements HibernateConstraintValidator<MyFuture, Instant> {

private Clock clock;

private boolean orPresent;

@Override
public void initialize(ConstraintDescriptor<MyFuture> constraintDescriptor,
HibernateConstraintValidatorInitializationContext initializationContext) {
this.orPresent = constraintDescriptor.getAnnotation().orPresent();
this.clock = initializationContext.getClockProvider().getClock();
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Instant instant, ConstraintValidatorContext constraintContext) {
//...

return false;
}
}


You should only implement one of the initialize() methods. Be aware that both
are called when initializing the validator.

6.1.2.3. Passing a payload to the constraint validator

From time to time, you might want to condition the constraint validator behavior on some external
parameters.

For instance, your zip code validator could vary depending on the locale of your application instance if
you have one instance per country. Another requirement could be to have different behaviors on
specific environments: the staging environment may not have access to some external production
resources necessary for the correct functioning of a validator.

The notion of constraint validator payload was introduced for all these use cases. It is an object passed
from the Validator instance to each constraint validator via the
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.

The example below shows how to set a constraint validator payload during the ValidatorFactory

69
initialization. Unless you override this default value, all the Validators created by this
ValidatorFactory will have this constraint validator payload value set.

Example 6.6: Defining a constraint validator payload during the ValidatorFactory initialization

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.constraintValidatorPayload( "US" )
.buildValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Another option is to set the constraint validator payload per Validator using a context:

Example 6.7: Defining a constraint validator payload using a Validator context

HibernateValidatorFactory hibernateValidatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.buildValidatorFactory()
.unwrap( HibernateValidatorFactory.class );

Validator validator = hibernateValidatorFactory.usingContext()

.constraintValidatorPayload( "US" )
.getValidator();

// [...] US specific validation checks

validator = hibernateValidatorFactory.usingContext()
.constraintValidatorPayload( "FR" )
.getValidator();

// [...] France specific validation checks

Once you have set the constraint validator payload, it can be used in your constraint validators as
shown in the example below:

Example 6.8: Using the constraint validator payload in a constraint validator

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.constraintvalidatorpayload;

import jakarta.validation.ConstraintValidator;
public class ZipCodeValidator implements ConstraintValidator<ZipCode, String> {

public String countryCode;

@Override
public boolean isValid(String object, ConstraintValidatorContext constraintContext) {
if ( object == null ) {
return true;
}

boolean isValid = false;

String countryCode = constraintContext

.unwrap( HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class )
.getConstraintValidatorPayload( String.class );

if ( "US".equals( countryCode ) ) {
// checks specific to the United States
}

70
else if ( "FR".equals( countryCode ) ) {
// checks specific to France
}
else {
// ...
}

return isValid;
}
}

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext#getConstraintValidatorPayload() has a type

parameter and returns the payload only if the payload is of the given type.

It is important to note that the constraint validator payload is different from the
dynamic payload you can include in the constraint violation raised.

The whole purpose of this constraint validator payload is to be used to condition the
 behavior of your constraint validators. It is not included in the constraint violations,
unless a specific ConstraintValidator implementation passes on the payload to
emitted constraint violations by using the constraint violation dynamic payload
mechanism.

6.1.3. The error message

The last missing building block is an error message which should be used in case a @CheckCase
constraint is violated. To define this, create a file ValidationMessages.properties with the following
contents (see also Section 4.1, “Default message interpolation”):

Example 6.9: Defining a custom error message for the CheckCase constraint

org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.CheckCase.message=Case mode must be

{value}.

If a validation error occurs, the validation runtime will use the default value, that you specified for the
message attribute of the @CheckCase annotation to look up the error message in this resource
bundle.

6.1.4. Using the constraint

You can now use the constraint in the Car class from the Chapter 1, Getting started chapter to specify
that the licensePlate field should only contain upper-case strings:

Example 6.10: Applying the @CheckCase constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)

71
@CheckCase(CaseMode.UPPER)
private String licensePlate;

@Min(2)
private int seatCount;

public Car(String manufacturer, String licencePlate, int seatCount) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
this.seatCount = seatCount;
}

//getters and setters ...

}

Finally, Example 6.11, “Validating objects with the @CheckCase constraint” demonstrates how
validating a Car instance with an invalid license plate causes the @CheckCase constraint to be
violated.

Example 6.11: Validating objects with the @CheckCase constraint

//invalid license plate

Car car = new Car( "Morris", "dd-ab-123", 4 );
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations =
validator.validate( car );
assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );
assertEquals(
"Case mode must be UPPER.",
constraintViolations.iterator().next().getMessage()
);

//valid license plate

car = new Car( "Morris", "DD-AB-123", 4 );

constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );

6.2. Class-level constraints

As discussed earlier, constraints can also be applied on the class level to validate the state of an entire
object. Class-level constraints are defined in the same way as are property constraints. Example 6.12,
“Implementing a class-level constraint” shows constraint annotation and validator of the
@ValidPassengerCount constraint you already saw in use in Example 2.9, “Class-level constraint”.

Example 6.12: Implementing a class-level constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.classlevel;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.TYPE;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@Target({ TYPE, ANNOTATION_TYPE })

@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Constraint(validatedBy = { ValidPassengerCountValidator.class })
@Documented
public @interface ValidPassengerCount {

72
String message() default "
{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.classlevel." +
"ValidPassengerCount.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.classlevel;

public class ValidPassengerCountValidator

implements ConstraintValidator<ValidPassengerCount, Car> {

@Override
public void initialize(ValidPassengerCount constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Car car, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( car == null ) {
return true;
}

return car.getPassengers().size() <= car.getSeatCount();

}
}

As the example demonstrates, you need to use the element type TYPE in the @Target annotation.
This allows the constraint to be put on type definitions. The validator of the constraint in the example
receives a Car in the isValid() method and can access the complete object state to decide whether
the given instance is valid or not.

6.2.1. Custom property paths

By default the constraint violation for a class-level constraint is reported on the level of the annotated
type, e.g. Car.

In some cases it is preferable though that the violation’s property path refers to one of the involved
properties. For instance you might want to report the @ValidPassengerCount constraint against the
passengers property instead of the Car bean.

Example 6.13, “Adding a new ConstraintViolation with custom property path” shows how this can
be done by using the constraint validator context passed to isValid() to build a custom constraint
violation with a property node for the property passengers. Note that you also could add several
property nodes, pointing to a sub-entity of the validated bean.

Example 6.13: Adding a new ConstraintViolation with custom property path

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.custompath;

public class ValidPassengerCountValidator

implements ConstraintValidator<ValidPassengerCount, Car> {

@Override
public void initialize(ValidPassengerCount constraintAnnotation) {
}

73
@Override
public boolean isValid(Car car, ConstraintValidatorContext constraintValidatorContext)
{
if ( car == null ) {
return true;
}

boolean isValid = car.getPassengers().size() <= car.getSeatCount();

if ( !isValid ) {
constraintValidatorContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();
constraintValidatorContext
.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate( "{my.custom.template}" )
.addPropertyNode( "passengers" ).addConstraintViolation();
}

return isValid;
}
}

6.3. Cross-parameter constraints

Jakarta Validation distinguishes between two different kinds of constraints.

Generic constraints (which have been discussed so far) apply to the annotated element, e.g. a type,
field, container element, method parameter or return value etc. Cross-parameter constraints, in
contrast, apply to the array of parameters of a method or constructor and can be used to express
validation logic which depends on several parameter values.

In order to define a cross-parameter constraint, its validator class must be annotated with
@SupportedValidationTarget(ValidationTarget.PARAMETERS). The type parameter T from
the ConstraintValidator interface must resolve to either Object or Object[] in order to receive
the array of method/constructor arguments in the isValid() method.

The following example shows the definition of a cross-parameter constraint which can be used to
check that two Date parameters of a method are in the correct order:

Example 6.14: Cross-parameter constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.crossparameter;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.CONSTRUCTOR;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@Constraint(validatedBy = ConsistentDateParametersValidator.class)
@Target({ METHOD, CONSTRUCTOR, ANNOTATION_TYPE })
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Documented
public @interface ConsistentDateParameters {

String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter04." +

"crossparameter.ConsistentDateParameters.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

74
}

The definition of a cross-parameter constraint isn’t any different from defining a generic constraint,
i.e. it must specify the members message(), groups() and payload() and be annotated with
@Constraint. This meta annotation also specifies the corresponding validator, which is shown in
Example 6.15, “Generic and cross-parameter constraint”. Note that besides the element types METHOD
and CONSTRUCTOR also ANNOTATION_TYPE is specified as target of the annotation, in order to enable
the creation of composed constraints based on @ConsistentDateParameters (see Section 6.4,
“Constraint composition”).

Cross-parameter constraints are specified directly on the declaration of a method or


constructor, which is also the case for return value constraints. In order to improve
code readability, it is therefore recommended to choose constraint names - such as
@ConsistentDateParameters - which make the constraint target apparent.

Example 6.15: Generic and cross-parameter constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.crossparameter;

@SupportedValidationTarget(ValidationTarget.PARAMETERS)
public class ConsistentDateParametersValidator
implements
ConstraintValidator<ConsistentDateParameters, Object[]> {

@Override
public void initialize(ConsistentDateParameters constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Object[] value, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( value.length != 2 ) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Illegal method signature" );
}

//leave null-checking to @NotNull on individual parameters

if ( value[0] == null || value[1] == null ) {
return true;
}

if ( !( value[0] instanceof Date ) || !( value[1] instanceof Date ) ) {

throw new IllegalArgumentException(
"Illegal method signature, expected two " +
"parameters of type Date."
);
}

return ( (Date) value[0] ).before( (Date) value[1] );

}
}

As discussed above, the validation target PARAMETERS must be configured for a cross-parameter
validator by using the @SupportedValidationTarget annotation. Since a cross-parameter
constraint could be applied to any method or constructor, it is considered a best practice to check for
the expected number and types of parameters in the validator implementation.

As with generic constraints, null parameters should be considered valid and @NotNull on the
individual parameters should be used to make sure that parameters are not null.

75
Similar to class-level constraints, you can create custom constraint violations on
single parameters instead of all parameters when validating a cross-parameter


constraint. Just obtain a node builder from the ConstraintValidatorContext
passed to isValid() and add a parameter node by calling addParameterNode().
In the example you could use this to create a constraint violation on the end date
parameter of the validated method.

In rare situations a constraint is both, generic and cross-parameter. This is the case if a constraint has
a validator class which is annotated with
@SupportedValidationTarget({ValidationTarget.PARAMETERS,
ValidationTarget.ANNOTATED_ELEMENT}) or if it has a generic and a cross-parameter validator
class.

When declaring such a constraint on a method which has parameters and also a return value, the
intended constraint target can’t be determined. Constraints which are generic and cross-parameter at
the same time must therefore define a member validationAppliesTo() which allows the
constraint user to specify the constraint’s target as shown in Example 6.16, “Generic and cross-
parameter constraint”.

Example 6.16: Generic and cross-parameter constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.crossparameter;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.*;

import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@Constraint(validatedBy = {
ScriptAssertObjectValidator.class,
ScriptAssertParametersValidator.class
})
@Target({ TYPE, FIELD, PARAMETER, METHOD, CONSTRUCTOR, ANNOTATION_TYPE })
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Documented
public @interface ScriptAssert {

String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter04." +

"crossparameter.ScriptAssert.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

String script();

ConstraintTarget validationAppliesTo() default ConstraintTarget.IMPLICIT;

}

The @ScriptAssert constraint has two validators (not shown), a generic and a cross-parameter one
and thus defines the member validationAppliesTo(). The default value IMPLICIT allows to
derive the target automatically in situations where this is possible (e.g. if the constraint is declared on
a field or on a method which has parameters but no return value).

If the target can not be determined implicitly, it must be set by the user to either PARAMETERS or
RETURN_VALUE as shown in Example 6.17, “Specifying the target for a generic and cross-parameter
constraint”.

76
Example 6.17: Specifying the target for a generic and cross-parameter constraint

@ScriptAssert(script = "arg1.size() <= arg0", validationAppliesTo = ConstraintTarget

.PARAMETERS)
public Car buildCar(int seatCount, List<Passenger> passengers) {
//...
return null;
}

6.4. Constraint composition

Looking at the licensePlate field of the Car class in Example 6.10, “Applying the @CheckCase
constraint”, you see three constraint annotations already. In more complex scenarios, where even
more constraints could be applied to one element, this might easily become a bit confusing.
Furthermore, if there was a licensePlate field in another class, you would have to copy all
constraint declarations to the other class as well, violating the DRY principle.

You can address this kind of problem by creating higher level constraints, composed from several
basic constraints. Example 6.18, “Creating a composing constraint @ValidLicensePlate” shows a
composed constraint annotation which comprises the constraints @NotNull, @Size and @CheckCase:

Example 6.18: Creating a composing constraint @ValidLicensePlate

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.constraintcomposition;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.TYPE_USE;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
@CheckCase(CaseMode.UPPER)
@Target({ METHOD, FIELD, ANNOTATION_TYPE, TYPE_USE })
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Constraint(validatedBy = { })
@Documented
public @interface ValidLicensePlate {

String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06." +

"constraintcomposition.ValidLicensePlate.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

}

To create a composed constraint, simply annotate the constraint declaration with its comprising
constraints. If the composed constraint itself requires a validator, this validator is to be specified
within the @Constraint annotation. For composed constraints which don’t need an additional
validator such as @ValidLicensePlate, just set validatedBy() to an empty array.

Using the new composed constraint at the licensePlate field is fully equivalent to the previous
version, where the three constraints were declared directly at the field itself:

77
Example 6.19: Application of composing constraint ValidLicensePlate

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.constraintcomposition;

public class Car {

@ValidLicensePlate
private String licensePlate;

//...
}

The set of ConstraintViolations retrieved when validating a Car instance will contain an entry for
each violated composing constraint of the @ValidLicensePlate constraint. If you rather prefer a
single ConstraintViolation in case any of the composing constraints is violated, the
@ReportAsSingleViolation meta constraint can be used as follows:

Example 6.20: Using @ReportAsSingleViolation

package
org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06.constraintcomposition.reportassingle;

//...
@ReportAsSingleViolation
public @interface ValidLicensePlate {

String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter06." +

"constraintcomposition.reportassingle.ValidLicensePlate.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

}

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Chapter 7. Value extraction
Value extraction is the process of extracting values from a container so that they can be validated.

It is used when dealing with container element constraints and cascaded validation inside containers.

7.1. Built-in value extractors

Hibernate Validator comes with built-in value extractors for the usual Java container types so, except
if you are using your own custom container types (or the ones of external libraries such as Guava's
Multimap), you should not have to add your own value extractors.

Built-in value extractors are present for all the following container types:

• java.util.Iterable;
• java.util.List;
• java.util.Map: for keys and values;
• java.util.Optional, java.util.OptionalInt, java.util.OptionalLong and
java.util.OptionalDouble;

• JavaFX's ObservableValue (see Section 7.4, “JavaFX value extractors” for more details).

The complete list of built-in value extractors with all the details on how they behave can be found in
the Jakarta Validation specification.

7.2. Implementing a ValueExtractor

To extract values from a custom container, one needs to implement a ValueExtractor.


Implementing a ValueExtractor is not enough, you also need to register it. See
Section 7.5, “Registering a ValueExtractor” for more details.

ValueExtractor is a very simple API as the only purpose of a value extractor is to provide the
extracted values to a ValueReceiver.

For instance, let’s consider the case of Guava’s Optional. It is an easy example as we can shape its
value extractor after the java.util.Optional one:

Example 7.1: A ValueExtractor for Guava’s Optional

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter07.valueextractor;

public class OptionalValueExtractor

implements ValueExtractor<Optional<@ExtractedValue ?>> {

@Override
public void extractValues(Optional<?> originalValue, ValueReceiver receiver) {
receiver.value( null, originalValue.orNull() );
}
}

79
Some explanations are in order:

• The @ExtractedValue annotation marks the type argument under consideration: it is going to be
used to resolve the type of the validated value;
• We use the value() method of the receiver as Optional is a pure wrapper type;
• We don’t want to add a node to the property path of the constraint violation as we want the
violation to be reported as if it were directly on the property so we pass a null node name to
value().

A more interesting example is the case of Guava’s Multimap: we would like to be able to validate both
the keys and the values of this container type.

Let’s first consider the case of the values. A value extractor extracting them is required:

Example 7.2: A ValueExtractor for Multimap values

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter07.valueextractor;

public class MultimapValueValueExtractor

implements ValueExtractor<Multimap<?, @ExtractedValue ?>> {

@Override
public void extractValues(Multimap<?, ?> originalValue, ValueReceiver receiver) {
for ( Entry<?, ?> entry : originalValue.entries() ) {
receiver.keyedValue( "<multimap value>", entry.getKey(), entry.getValue() );
}
}
}

It allows to validate constraints for the values of the Multimap:

Example 7.3: Constraints on the values of a Multimap

private Multimap<String, @NotBlank String> map1;

Another value extractor is required to be able to put constraints on the keys of a Multimap:

Example 7.4: A ValueExtractor for Multimap keys

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter07.valueextractor;

public class MultimapKeyValueExtractor

implements ValueExtractor<Multimap<@ExtractedValue ?, ?>> {

@Override
public void extractValues(Multimap<?, ?> originalValue, ValueReceiver receiver) {
for ( Object key : originalValue.keySet() ) {
receiver.keyedValue( "<multimap key>", key, key );
}
}
}

Once these two value extractors are registered, you can declare constraints on the keys and values of

80
a Multimap:

Example 7.5: Constraints on the keys and values of a Multimap

private Multimap<@NotBlank String, @NotBlank String> map2;

The differences between the two value extractors may be a bit subtle at a first glance so let’s shed
some light on them:

• The @ExtractedValue annotation marks the targeted type argument (either K or V in this case).
• We use different node names (<multimap key> vs. <multimap value>).
• In one case, we pass the values to the receiver (third argument of the keyedValue() call), in the
other, we pass the keys.

Depending on your container type, you should choose the ValueReceiver method fitting the best:

value()
for a simple wrapping container - it is used for Optionals

iterableValue()
for an iterable container - it is used for Sets

indexedValue()
for a container containing indexed values - it is used for Lists

keyedValue()
for a container containing keyed values - it is used for Maps. It is used for both the keys and the
values. In the case of keys, the key is also passed as the validated value.

For all these methods, you need to pass a node name: it is the name included in the node added to the
property path of the constraint violation. As mentioned earlier, if the node name is null, no node is
added to the property path: it is be useful for pure wrapper types similar to Optional.

The choice of the method used is important as it adds contextual information to the property path of
the constraint violation e.g. the index or the key of the validated value.

7.3. Non generic containers

You might have noticed that, until now, we only implemented value extractors for generic containers.

Hibernate Validator also supports value extraction for non generic containers.

Let’s take the case of java.util.OptionalInt which wraps a primitive int into an Optional-like
container.

A first attempt at a value extractor for OptionalInt would look like:

81
Example 7.6: A ValueExtractor for OptionalInt

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter07.nongeneric;

public class OptionalIntValueExtractor

implements ValueExtractor<@ExtractedValue(type = Integer.class) OptionalInt> {

@Override
public void extractValues(OptionalInt originalValue, ValueReceiver receiver) {
receiver.value( null, originalValue.isPresent() ? originalValue.getAsInt() : null
);
}
}

There is an obvious thing missing for a non generic container: we don’t have a type parameter. It has
two consequences:

• we cannot determine the type of the validated value using the type argument;
• we cannot add constraints on the type argument (e.g. Container<@NotNull String>).

First things first, we need a way to tell Hibernate Validator that the value extracted from an
OptionalInt is of type Integer. As you can see in the above example, the type attribute of the
@ExtractedValue annotation allows to provide this information to the validation engine.

Then you have to tell the validation engine that the Min constraint you want to add to the
OptionalInt property relates to the wrapped value and not the wrapper.

Jakarta Validation provides the Unwrapping.Unwrap payload for this situation:

Example 7.7: Using Unwrapping.Unwrap payload

@Min(value = 5, payload = Unwrapping.Unwrap.class)

private OptionalInt optionalInt1;

If we take a step back, most - if not all - the constraints we would like to add to an OptionalInt
property would be applied to the wrapped value so having a way to make it the default would be nice.

This is exactly what the @UnwrapByDefault annotation is for:

Example 7.8: A ValueExtractor for OptionalInt marked with @UnwrapByDefault

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter07.nongeneric;

@UnwrapByDefault
public class UnwrapByDefaultOptionalIntValueExtractor
implements ValueExtractor<@ExtractedValue(type = Integer.class) OptionalInt> {

@Override
public void extractValues(OptionalInt originalValue, ValueReceiver receiver) {
receiver.value( null, originalValue.isPresent() ? originalValue.getAsInt() : null
);
}
}

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When declaring this value extractor for OptionalInt, constraint annotations will by default be
applied to the wrapped value:

Example 7.9: Implicit unwrapping thanks to @UnwrapByDefault

@Min(5)
private OptionalInt optionalInt2;

Note that you can still declare an annotation for the wrapper itself by using the Unwrapping.Skip
payload:

Example 7.10: Avoid implicit unwrapping with Unwrapping.Skip

@NotNull(payload = Unwrapping.Skip.class)
@Min(5)
private OptionalInt optionalInt3;


The @UnwrapByDefault value extractor for OptionalInt is part of the built-in
value extractors: there is no need to add one.

7.4. JavaFX value extractors

Bean properties in JavaFX are typically not of simple data types like String or int, but are wrapped
in Property types which allows to make them observable, use them for data binding etc.

Thus, value extraction is required to be able to apply constraints on the wrapped values.

The JavaFX ObservableValue value extractor is marked with @UnwrapByDefault. As such, the
constraints hosted on the container target the wrapped value by default.

Thus, you can constrain a StringProperty as below:

Example 7.11: Constraining a StringProperty

@NotBlank
private StringProperty stringProperty;

Or a LongProperty:

Example 7.12: Constraining a LongProperty

@Min(5)
private LongProperty longProperty;

The iterable property types, namely ReadOnlyListProperty, ListProperty and their Set and Map
counterparts are generic and, as such, container element constraints can be used. Thus, they have
specific value extractors that are not marked with @UnwrapByDefault.

A ReadOnlyListProperty would naturally be constrained as a List:

83
Example 7.13: Constraining a ReadOnlyListProperty

@Size(min = 1)
private ReadOnlyListProperty<@NotBlank String> listProperty;

7.5. Registering a ValueExtractor

Hibernate Validator does not detect automatically the value extractors in the classpath so they have
to be registered.

There are several ways to register value extractors (in increasing order of priority):

Provided by the validation engine itself

See Section 7.1, “Built-in value extractors”.

Via the Java service loader mechanism

The file META-INF/services/jakarta.validation.valueextraction.ValueExtractor
must be provided, with the fully-qualified names of one or more value extractor implementations as
its contents, each on a separate line.

In the META-INF/validation.xml file

See Section 8.1, “Configuring the validator factory in validation.xml” for more information about
how to register value extractors in the XML configuration.

By calling Configuration#addValueExtractor(ValueExtractor<?>)
See Section 9.2.6, “Registering ValueExtractors” for more information.

By invoking ValidatorContext#addValueExtractor(ValueExtractor<?>)
It only declares the value extractor for this Validator instance.

A value extractor for a given type and type parameter specified at a higher priority overrides any other
extractors for the same type and type parameter given at lower priorities.

7.6. Resolution algorithms

In most cases, you should not have to worry about this but, if you are overriding existing value
extractors, you can find a detailed description of the value extractors resolution algorithms in the
Jakarta Validation specification:

• for container element constraints,

• for cascaded validation,
• and for implicit unwrapping.

One important thing to have in mind is that:

• for container element constraints, the declared type is used to resolve the value extractors;
• for cascaded validation, it is the runtime type.

84
Chapter 8. Configuring via XML
So far we have used the default configuration source for Jakarta Validation, namely annotations.
However, there also exist two kinds of XML descriptors allowing configuration via XML. The first
descriptor describes general Jakarta Validation behaviour and is provided as META-INF/validation.xml.
The second one describes constraint declarations and closely matches the constraint declaration
approach via annotations. Let’s have a look at these two document types.

 The XSD files are available on the https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/ page.

8.1. Configuring the validator factory in validation.xml

The key to enable XML configuration for Hibernate Validator is the file META-INF/validation.xml. If this
file exists on the classpath its configuration will be applied when the ValidatorFactory gets
created. Figure 1, “Validation configuration schema” shows a model view of the XML schema to which
validation.xml has to adhere.

85
Figure 1. Validation configuration schema

86
Example 8.1, “validation.xml” shows the several configuration options of validation.xml. All
settings are optional and the same configuration options are also available programmatically through
jakarta.validation.Configuration. In fact, the XML configuration will be overridden by values
explicitly specified via the programmatic API. It is even possible to ignore the XML configuration
completely via Configuration#ignoreXmlConfiguration(). See also Section 9.2, “Configuring a
ValidatorFactory”.

Example 8.1: validation.xml

<validation-config
xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration
https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/validation-configuration-3.0.xsd"
version="3.0">

<default-provider>com.acme.ValidationProvider</default-provider>

<message-interpolator>com.acme.MessageInterpolator</message-interpolator>
<traversable-resolver>com.acme.TraversableResolver</traversable-resolver>
<constraint-validator-factory>
com.acme.ConstraintValidatorFactory
</constraint-validator-factory>
<parameter-name-provider>com.acme.ParameterNameProvider</parameter-name-provider>
<clock-provider>com.acme.ClockProvider</clock-provider>

<value-extractor>com.acme.ContainerValueExtractor</value-extractor>

<executable-validation enabled="true">
<default-validated-executable-types>
<executable-type>CONSTRUCTORS</executable-type>
<executable-type>NON_GETTER_METHODS</executable-type>
<executable-type>GETTER_METHODS</executable-type>
</default-validated-executable-types>
</executable-validation>

<constraint-mapping>META-INF/validation/constraints-car.xml</constraint-mapping>

<property name="hibernate.validator.fail_fast">false</property>
</validation-config>


There must only be one file named META-INF/validation.xml on the classpath. If
more than one is found an exception is thrown.

The node default-provider allows to choose the Jakarta Validation provider. This is useful if there
is more than one provider on the classpath. message-interpolator, traversable-resolver,
constraint-validator-factory, parameter-name-provider and clock-provider allow to
customize the used implementations for the interfaces MessageInterpolator,
TraversableResolver, ConstraintValidatorFactory, ParameterNameProvider and
ClockProvider defined in the jakarta.validation package. See the sub-sections of Section 9.2,
“Configuring a ValidatorFactory” for more information about these interfaces.

value-extractor allows to declare additional value extractors either to extract values from custom
container types or to override the built-in value extractors. See Chapter 7, Value extraction for more
information about how to implement jakarta.validation.valueextraction.ValueExtractor.

executable-validation and its subnodes define defaults for method validation. The Jakarta
Validation specification defines constructor and non getter methods as defaults. The enabled attribute

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acts as global switch to turn method validation on and off (see also Chapter 3, Declaring and validating
method constraints).

Via the constraint-mapping element you can list an arbitrary number of additional XML files
containing the actual constraint configuration. Mapping file names must be specified using their fully-
qualified name on the classpath. Details on writing mapping files can be found in the next section.

Last but not least, you can specify provider specific properties via the property nodes. In the
example, we are using the Hibernate Validator specific hibernate.validator.fail_fast property
(see Section 12.2, “Fail fast mode”).

8.2. Mapping constraints via constraint-mappings

Expressing constraints in XML is possible via files adhering to the schema seen in Figure 2, “Validation
mapping schema”. Note that these mapping files are only processed if listed via constraint-mapping in
validation.xml.

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Figure 2. Validation mapping schema

89
Example 8.2, “Bean constraints configured via XML” shows how the classes Car and RentalCar from
Example 5.3, “Car” resp. Example 5.9, “Class RentalCar with redefined default group” could be
mapped in XML.

Example 8.2: Bean constraints configured via XML

<constraint-mappings
xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/mapping"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/mapping
https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/validation-mapping-3.0.xsd"
version="3.0">

<default-package>org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter05</default-package>
<bean class="Car" ignore-annotations="true">
<field name="manufacturer">
<constraint annotation="jakarta.validation.constraints.NotNull"/>
</field>
<field name="licensePlate">
<constraint annotation="jakarta.validation.constraints.NotNull"/>
</field>
<field name="seatCount">
<constraint annotation="jakarta.validation.constraints.Min">
<element name="value">2</element>
</constraint>
</field>
<field name="driver">
<valid/>
</field>
<field name="partManufacturers">
<container-element-type type-argument-index="0">
<valid/>
</container-element-type>
<container-element-type type-argument-index="1">
<container-element-type>
<valid/>
<constraint annotation="jakarta.validation.constraints.NotNull"/>
</container-element-type>
</container-element-type>
</field>
<getter name="passedVehicleInspection" ignore-annotations="true">
<constraint annotation="jakarta.validation.constraints.AssertTrue">
<message>The car has to pass the vehicle inspection first</message>
<groups>
<value>CarChecks</value>
</groups>
<element name="max">10</element>
</constraint>
</getter>
</bean>
<bean class="RentalCar" ignore-annotations="true">
<class ignore-annotations="true">
<group-sequence>
<value>RentalCar</value>
<value>CarChecks</value>
</group-sequence>
</class>
</bean>
<constraint-definition annotation="org.mycompany.CheckCase">
<validated-by include-existing-validators="false">
<value>org.mycompany.CheckCaseValidator</value>
</validated-by>
</constraint-definition>
</constraint-mappings>

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Example 8.3, “Method constraints configured via XML” shows how the constraints from Example 3.1,
“Declaring method and constructor parameter constraints”, Example 3.4, “Declaring method and
constructor return value constraints” and Example 3.3, “Specifying a constraint’s target” can be
expressed in XML.

Example 8.3: Method constraints configured via XML

<default-package>org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter08</default-package>

<bean class="RentalStation" ignore-annotations="true">

<bean class="Garage" ignore-annotations="true">

91
<parameter type="java.util.List"/>
<cross-parameter>
<constraint annotation="ELAssert">
<element name="expression">...</element>
<element name="validationAppliesTo">PARAMETERS</element>
</constraint>
</cross-parameter>
</method>
<method name="paintCar">
<parameter type="int"/>
<return-value>
<constraint annotation="ELAssert">
<element name="expression">...</element>
<element name="validationAppliesTo">RETURN_VALUE</element>
</constraint>
</return-value>
</method>
</bean>

</constraint-mappings>

The XML configuration is closely mirroring the programmatic API. For this reason it should suffice to
just add some comments. default-package is used for all fields where a class name is expected. If
the specified class is not fully qualified the configured default package will be used. Every mapping file
can then have several bean nodes, each describing the constraints on the entity with the specified
class name.

A given class can only be configured once across all configuration files. The same
 applies for constraint definitions for a given constraint annotation. It can only occur
in one mapping file. If these rules are violated a ValidationException is thrown.

Setting ignore-annotations to true means that constraint annotations placed on the configured
bean are ignored. The default for this value is true. ignore-annotations is also available for the
nodes class, fields, getter, constructor, method, parameter, cross-parameter and
return-value. If not explicitly specified on these levels the configured bean value applies.

The nodes class, field, getter, container-element-type, constructor and method (and its
sub node parameter) determine on which level the constraint gets placed. The valid node is used to
enable cascaded validation and the constraint node to add a constraint on the corresponding level.
Each constraint definition must define the class via the annotation attribute. The constraint
attributes required by the Jakarta Validation specification (message, groups and payload) have
dedicated nodes. All other constraint specific attributes are configured using the element node.

container-element-type allows to define the cascaded validation behavior and

the constraints for container elements. In the above examples, you can see an


example of nested container element constraints on a List nested in the values of a
Map. type-argument-index is used to precise which type argument of the Map is
concerned by the configuration. It can be ommitted if the type only has one type
argument (e.g. the Lists in our examples).

The class node also allows to reconfigure the default group sequence (see Section 5.4, “Redefining
the default group sequence”) via the group-sequence node. Not shown in the example is the use of
convert-group to specify group conversions (see Section 5.5, “Group conversion”). This node is
available on field, getter, container-element-type, parameter and return-value and
specifies a from and a to attributes to specify the groups.

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Last but not least, the list of ConstraintValidator instances associated to a given constraint can
be altered via the constraint-definition node. The annotation attribute represents the
constraint annotation being altered. The validated-by element represent the (ordered) list of
ConstraintValidator implementations associated to the constraint. If include-existing-
validator is set to false, validators defined on the constraint annotation are ignored. If set to true,
the list of constraint validators described in XML is concatenated to the list of validators specified on
the annotation.

One use case for constraint-definition is to change the default constraint definition
for @URL. Historically, Hibernate Validator’s default constraint validator for this
constraint uses the java.net.URL constructor to verify that an URL is valid.
However, there is also a purely regular expression based version available which can
be configured using XML:

 Using XML to register a regular expression based constraint definition for @URL

<constraint-definition annotation="org.hibernate.validator.constraints.URL">
<validated-by include-existing-validators="false">
<value>
org.hibernate.validator.constraintvalidators.RegexpURLValidator</value>
</validated-by>
</constraint-definition>

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Chapter 9. Bootstrapping
In Section 2.2.1, “Obtaining a Validator instance”, you already saw one way of creating a Validator
instance - via Validation#buildDefaultValidatorFactory(). In this chapter, you will learn how
to use the other methods in jakarta.validation.Validation in order to bootstrap specifically
configured validators.

9.1. Retrieving ValidatorFactory and Validator

You obtain a Validator by retrieving a ValidatorFactory via one of the static methods on
jakarta.validation.Validation and calling getValidator() on the factory instance.

Example 9.1, “Bootstrapping default ValidatorFactory and Validator” shows how to obtain a
validator from the default validator factory:

Example 9.1: Bootstrapping default ValidatorFactory and Validator

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

The generated ValidatorFactory and Validator instances are thread-safe and


can be cached. As Hibernate Validator uses the factory as context for caching
constraint metadata it is recommended to work with one factory instance within an
application.

Jakarta Validation supports working with several providers such as Hibernate Validator within one
application. If more than one provider is present on the classpath, it is not guaranteed which one is
chosen when creating a factory via buildDefaultValidatorFactory().

In this case, you can explicitly specify the provider to use via Validation#byProvider(), passing
the provider’s ValidationProvider class as shown in Example 9.2, “Bootstrapping
ValidatorFactory and Validator using a specific provider”.

Example 9.2: Bootstrapping ValidatorFactory and Validator using a specific provider

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Note that the configuration object returned by configure() allows to specifically customize the
factory before calling buildValidatorFactory(). The available options are discussed later in this
chapter.

Similarly you can retrieve the default validator factory for configuration which is demonstrated in
Example 9.3, “Retrieving the default ValidatorFactory for configuration”.

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Example 9.3: Retrieving the default ValidatorFactory for configuration

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

If a ValidatorFactory instance is no longer in use, it should be disposed by calling

 ValidatorFactory#close(). This will free any resources possibly allocated by
the factory.

9.1.1. ValidationProviderResolver

By default, available Jakarta Validation providers are discovered using the Java Service Provider
mechanism.

For that purpose, each provider includes the file META-

INF/services/jakarta.validation.spi.ValidationProvider, containing the fully qualified classname of its
ValidationProvider implementation. In the case of Hibernate Validator, this is
org.hibernate.validator.HibernateValidator.

Depending on your environment and its classloading specifics, provider discovery via the Java’s
service loader mechanism might not work. In this case, you can plug in a custom
ValidationProviderResolver implementation which performs the provider retrieval.

To use a custom provider resolver, pass it via providerResolver() as shown in Example 9.4, “Using
a custom ValidationProviderResolver”.

Example 9.4: Using a custom ValidationProviderResolver

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class CustomValidationProviderResolver implements ValidationProviderResolver {

@Override
public List<ValidationProvider<?>> getValidationProviders() {
//...
return providers;
}
}

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.providerResolver( new CustomValidationProviderResolver() )
.configure()
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

9.2. Configuring a ValidatorFactory

By default, validator factories retrieved from Validation and any validators they create are
configured as per the XML descriptor META-INF/validation.xml (see Chapter 8, Configuring via XML), if

95
present.

If you want to disable the XML based configuration, you can do so by invoking
Configuration#ignoreXmlConfiguration().

The different values of the XML configuration can be accessed via

Configuration#getBootstrapConfiguration(). This can for instance be helpful if you want to
integrate Jakarta Validation into a managed environment and want to create managed instances of
the objects configured via XML.

Using the fluent configuration API, you can override one or more of the settings when bootstrapping
the factory. The following sections show how to make use of the different options. Note that the
Configuration class exposes the default implementations of the different extension points which
can be useful if you want to use these as delegates for your custom implementations.

9.2.1. MessageInterpolator

Message interpolators are used by the validation engine to create user readable error messages from
constraint message descriptors.

In case the default message interpolation algorithm described in Chapter 4, Interpolating constraint
error messages is not sufficient for your needs, you can pass in your own implementation of the
MessageInterpolator interface via Configuration#messageInterpolator() as shown in
Example 9.5, “Using a custom MessageInterpolator”.

Example 9.5: Using a custom MessageInterpolator

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class MyMessageInterpolator implements MessageInterpolator {

@Override
public String interpolate(String messageTemplate, Context context) {
//...
return null;
}

@Override
public String interpolate(String messageTemplate, Context context, Locale locale) {
//...
return null;
}
}

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.messageInterpolator( new MyMessageInterpolator() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

9.2.2. TraversableResolver

In some cases the validation engine should not access the state of a bean property. The most obvious
example for that is a lazily loaded property or association of a Jakarta Persistence entity. Validating

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this lazy property or association would mean that its state would have to be accessed, triggering a
load from the database.

Which properties can be accessed and which ones not is controlled by querying the
TraversableResolver interface. Example 9.6, “Using a custom TraversableResolver” shows
how to use a custom traversable resolver implementation.

Example 9.6: Using a custom TraversableResolver

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class MyTraversableResolver implements TraversableResolver {

@Override
public boolean isReachable(
Object traversableObject,
Node traversableProperty,
Class<?> rootBeanType,
Path pathToTraversableObject,
ElementType elementType) {
//...
return false;
}

@Override
public boolean isCascadable(
Object traversableObject,
Node traversableProperty,
Class<?> rootBeanType,
Path pathToTraversableObject,
ElementType elementType) {
//...
return false;
}
}

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.traversableResolver( new MyTraversableResolver() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

If no specific traversable resolver has been configured, the default behavior is to consider all
properties as reachable and cascadable. When using Hibernate Validator together with a Jakarta
Persistence 3.2 provider such as Hibernate ORM, only those properties will be considered reachable
which already have been loaded by the persistence provider and all properties will be considered
cascadable.

By default, the traversable resolver calls are cached per validation call. This is especially important in a
Jakarta Persistence environment where calling isReachable() has a significant cost.

This caching adds some overhead. In the case your custom traversable resolver is very fast, it might be
better to consider turning off the cache.

You can disable the cache either via the XML configuration:

97
Example 9.7: Disabling the TraversableResolver result cache via the XML configuration

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<validation-config xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration
https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/validation-configuration-3.0.xsd"
version="3.0">
<default-provider>org.hibernate.validator.HibernateValidator</default-provider>

<property name="hibernate.validator.enable_traversable_resolver_result_cache">
false</property>
</validation-config>

or via the programmatic API:

Example 9.8: Disabling the TraversableResolver result cache via the programmatic API

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.traversableResolver( new MyFastTraversableResolver() )
.enableTraversableResolverResultCache( false )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

9.2.3. ConstraintValidatorFactory

ConstraintValidatorFactory is the extension point for customizing how constraint validators are
instantiated and released.

The default ConstraintValidatorFactory provided by Hibernate Validator requires a public no-

arg constructor to instantiate ConstraintValidator instances (see Section 6.1.2, “The constraint
validator”). Using a custom ConstraintValidatorFactory offers for example the possibility to use
dependency injection in constraint validator implementations.

To configure a custom constraint validator factory call

Configuration#constraintValidatorFactory() (see Example 9.9, “Using a custom
ConstraintValidatorFactory”.

Example 9.9: Using a custom ConstraintValidatorFactory

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class MyConstraintValidatorFactory implements ConstraintValidatorFactory {

@Override
public <T extends ConstraintValidator<?, ?>> T getInstance(Class<T> key) {
//...
return null;
}

@Override
public void releaseInstance(ConstraintValidator<?, ?> instance) {
//...
}
}

98
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()
.configure()
.constraintValidatorFactory( new MyConstraintValidatorFactory() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Any constraint implementations relying on ConstraintValidatorFactory

 behaviors specific to an implementation (dependency injection, no no-arg
constructor and so on) are not considered portable.

ConstraintValidatorFactory implementations should not cache validator

 instances as the state of each instance can be altered in the initialize()
method.

9.2.4. ParameterNameProvider

In case a method or constructor parameter constraint is violated, the ParameterNameProvider

interface is used to retrieve the parameter name and make it available to the user via the property
path of the constraint violation.

The default implementation returns parameter names as obtained through the Java reflection API. If
you compile your sources using the -parameters compiler flag, the actual parameter names as in the
source code will be returned. Otherwise synthetic names in the form of arg0, arg1 etc. will be used.

To use a custom parameter name provider either pass an instance of the provider during
bootstrapping as shown in Example 9.10, “Using a custom ParameterNameProvider”, or specify the
fully qualified class name of the provider as value for the <parameter-name-provider> element in
the META-INF/validation.xml file (see Section 8.1, “Configuring the validator factory in validation.xml”).
This is demonstrated in Example 9.10, “Using a custom ParameterNameProvider”.

Example 9.10: Using a custom ParameterNameProvider

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class MyParameterNameProvider implements ParameterNameProvider {

@Override
public List<String> getParameterNames(Constructor<?> constructor) {
//...
return null;
}

@Override
public List<String> getParameterNames(Method method) {
//...
return null;
}
}

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.parameterNameProvider( new MyParameterNameProvider() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

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Hibernate Validator comes with a custom ParameterNameProvider


implementation based on the ParaNamer library which provides several ways for
obtaining parameter names at runtime. Refer to Section 12.14, “Paranamer based
ParameterNameProvider” to learn more about this specific implementation.

9.2.5. ClockProvider and temporal validation tolerance

For time related validation (@Past and @Future constraints for instance), it might be useful to define
what is considered now.

This is especially important when you want to test your constraints in a reliable manner.

The reference time is defined by the ClockProvider contract. The responsibility of the
ClockProvider is to provide a java.time.Clock defining now for time related validators.

Example 9.11: Using a custom ClockProvider

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class FixedClockProvider implements ClockProvider {

private Clock clock;

public FixedClockProvider(ZonedDateTime dateTime) {

clock = Clock.fixed( dateTime.toInstant(), dateTime.getZone() );
}

@Override
public Clock getClock() {
return clock;
}

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.clockProvider( new FixedClockProvider( ZonedDateTime.of( 2016, 6, 15, 0, 0, 0, 0,
ZoneId.of( "Europe/Paris" ) ) ) )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Alternatively, you can specify the fully-qualified classname of a ClockProvider implementation

using the <clock-provider> element when configuring the default validator factory via META-
INF/validation.xml (see Chapter 8, Configuring via XML).

When validating @Future and @Past constraints, you might want to obtain the
current time.


You can obtain the ClockProvider in your validators by calling the
ConstraintValidatorContext#getClockProvider() method.

For instance, this might be useful if you want to replace the default message of the
@Future constraint with a more explicit one.

When dealing with distributed architectures, you might need some tolerance when applying temporal

100
constraints such as @Past or @Future.

You can set a temporal validation tolerance by bootstrapping your ValidatorFactory as below:

Example 9.12: Using temporal validation tolerance

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.temporalValidationTolerance( Duration.ofMillis( 10 ) )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Alternatively, you can define it in the XML configuration by setting the

hibernate.validator.temporal_validation_tolerance property in your META-
INF/validation.xml.

The value of this property must be a long defining the tolerance in milliseconds.

When implementing your own temporal constraints, you might need to have access
to the temporal validation tolerance.

It can be obtained by calling the

HibernateConstraintValidatorInitializationContext#getTemporalVal

 idationTolerance() method.

Note that to get access to this context at initialization, your constraint validator has
to implement the HibernateConstraintValidator contract (see Section 6.1.2.2,
“The HibernateConstraintValidator extension”). This contract is currently
marked as incubating: it might be subject to change in the future.

9.2.6. Registering ValueExtractors

As mentioned in Chapter 7, Value extraction, additional value extractors can be registered during
bootstrapping (see Section 7.5, “Registering a ValueExtractor” for the other ways to register a
value extractor).

Example 9.13, “Registering additional value extractors” shows how we would register the value
extractors we previously created to extract the keys and the values of Guava’s Multimap.

Example 9.13: Registering additional value extractors

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()

.configure()
.addValueExtractor( new MultimapKeyValueExtractor() )
.addValueExtractor( new MultimapValueValueExtractor() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

9.2.7. Adding mapping streams

As discussed earlier, you can configure the constraints applied to your Java beans using XML based

101
constraint mappings.

Besides the mapping files specified in META-INF/validation.xml, you can add further mappings via
Configuration#addMapping() (see Example 9.14, “Adding constraint mapping streams”). Note
that the passed input stream(s) must adhere to the XML schema for constraint mappings presented in
Section 8.2, “Mapping constraints via constraint-mappings”.

Example 9.14: Adding constraint mapping streams

InputStream constraintMapping1 = null;

InputStream constraintMapping2 = null;
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byDefaultProvider()
.configure()
.addMapping( constraintMapping1 )
.addMapping( constraintMapping2 )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

You should close any passed input stream after the validator factory has been created.

9.2.8. Provider-specific settings

Via the configuration object returned by Validation#byProvider(), provider specific options can
be configured.

In the case of Hibernate Validator, this e.g. allows you to enable the fail fast mode and pass one or
more programmatic constraint mappings as demonstrated in Example 9.15, “Setting Hibernate
Validator specific options”.

Example 9.15: Setting Hibernate Validator specific options

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.failFast( true )
.addMapping( (ConstraintMapping) null )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Alternatively, provider-specific options can be passed via Configuration#addProperty().

Hibernate Validator supports enabling the fail fast mode that way, too:

Example 9.16: Enabling a Hibernate Validator specific option via addProperty()

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.addProperty( "hibernate.validator.fail_fast", "true" )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Refer to Section 12.2, “Fail fast mode” and Section 12.4, “Programmatic constraint definition and
declaration” to learn more about the fail fast mode and the constraint declaration API.

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9.2.9. Configuring the ScriptEvaluatorFactory

For constraints like @ScriptAssert and @ParameterScriptAssert, it might be useful to configure

how the script engines are initialized and how the script evaluators are built. This can be done by
setting a custom implementation of ScriptEvaluatorFactory.

In particular, this is important for modular environments, where user might face issues with modular
class loading and JSR 223. It also allows to use any custom script engine, not necessarily based on the
JSR 223 (e.g. Spring Expression Language).

9.2.9.1. XML configuration

To specify the ScriptEvaluatorFactory via XML, you need to define the

hibernate.validator.script_evaluator_factory property.

Example 9.17: Defining the ScriptEvaluatorFactory via XML

<property name="hibernate.validator.script_evaluator_factory">
org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09.CustomScriptEvaluatorFactory
</property>

</validation-config>

In this case, the specified ScriptEvaluatorFactory must have a no-arg constructor.

9.2.9.2. Programmatic configuration

To configure it programmatically, you need to pass an instance of ScriptEvaluatorFactory to the

ValidatorFactory. This gives more flexibility in the configuration of the
ScriptEvaluatorFactory. Example 9.18, “Defining the ScriptEvaluatorFactory
programmatically” shows how this can be done.

Example 9.18: Defining the ScriptEvaluatorFactory programmatically

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.scriptEvaluatorFactory( new CustomScriptEvaluatorFactory() )
.buildValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

9.2.9.3. Custom ScriptEvaluatorFactory implementation examples

This section shows a couple of custom ScriptEvaluatorFactory implementations that can be used
in modular environments as well as one using the Spring Expression Language for writing constraint
scripts.

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Problems with modular environments and JSR 223 come from the class loading. The class loader
where the script engine is available might be different from the one of Hibernate Validator. Thus the
script engine wouldn’t be found using the default strategy.

To solve this issue, the MultiClassLoaderScriptEvaluatorFactory class below can be

introduced:

/*
* Hibernate Validator, declare and validate application constraints
*
* License: Apache License, Version 2.0
* See the license.txt file in the root directory or
<http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>.
*/
package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

import javax.script.ScriptEngine;
import javax.script.ScriptEngineManager;

import org.hibernate.validator.spi.scripting.AbstractCachingScriptEvaluatorFactory;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.scripting.ScriptEngineScriptEvaluator;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.scripting.ScriptEvaluationException;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.scripting.ScriptEvaluator;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.scripting.ScriptEvaluatorFactory;

/**
* {@link ScriptEvaluatorFactory} that allows you to pass multiple {@link ClassLoader}s
that will be used
* to search for {@link ScriptEngine}s. Useful in environments similar to OSGi, where
script engines can be
* found only in {@link ClassLoader}s different from default one.
*
* @author Marko Bekhta
*/
public class MultiClassLoaderScriptEvaluatorFactory extends
AbstractCachingScriptEvaluatorFactory {

private final ClassLoader[] classLoaders;

public MultiClassLoaderScriptEvaluatorFactory(ClassLoader... classLoaders) {

if ( classLoaders.length == 0 ) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException( "No class loaders were passed" );
}
this.classLoaders = classLoaders;
}

@Override
protected ScriptEvaluator createNewScriptEvaluator(String languageName) {
for ( ClassLoader classLoader : classLoaders ) {
ScriptEngine engine = new ScriptEngineManager( classLoader ).getEngineByName(
languageName );
if ( engine != null ) {
return new ScriptEngineScriptEvaluator( engine );
}
}
throw new ScriptEvaluationException( "No JSR 223 script engine found for language "
+ languageName );
}
}

and then declared with:

104
Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )
.configure()
.scriptEvaluatorFactory(
new MultiClassLoaderScriptEvaluatorFactory( GroovyScriptEngineFactory.
class.getClassLoader() )
)
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

This way, it is possible to pass multiple ClassLoader instances: typically the class loaders of the
wanted ScriptEngines.

As already mentioned, you can also use script engines that are not based on JSR 223.

For instance, to use the Spring Expression Language, you can define a
SpringELScriptEvaluatorFactory as:

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter09;

public class SpringELScriptEvaluatorFactory extends AbstractCachingScriptEvaluatorFactory {

@Override
public ScriptEvaluator createNewScriptEvaluator(String languageName) {
if ( !"spring".equalsIgnoreCase( languageName ) ) {
throw new IllegalStateException( "Only Spring EL is supported" );
}

return new SpringELScriptEvaluator();

}

private static class SpringELScriptEvaluator implements ScriptEvaluator {

private final ExpressionParser expressionParser = new SpelExpressionParser();

@Override
public Object evaluate(String script, Map<String, Object> bindings) throws
ScriptEvaluationException {
try {
Expression expression = expressionParser.parseExpression( script );
EvaluationContext context = new StandardEvaluationContext( bindings.values
().iterator().next() );
for ( Entry<String, Object> binding : bindings.entrySet() ) {
context.setVariable( binding.getKey(), binding.getValue() );
}
return expression.getValue( context );
}
catch (ParseException | EvaluationException e) {
throw new ScriptEvaluationException( "Unable to evaluate SpEL script", e );
}
}
}
}

This factory allows to use Spring Expression Language in ScriptAssert and

ParameterScriptAssert constraints:

@ScriptAssert(script = "value > 0", lang = "spring")

public class Foo {

105
private final int value;

private Foo(int value) {

this.value = value;
}

public int getValue() {

return value;
}
}

9.2.10. Logging of values under validation

In some cases it might be useful to inspect logs produced by Hibernate Validator. When the log level is
set to TRACE validator will produce, among others, log entries containing the descriptor of constraints
that are evaluated. By default, values under validation are not going to be visible in these messages to
prevent sensitive data from getting exposed. If required, Hibernate Validator can be configured to
print these values as well. As usual, there are a few ways to do it:

Example 9.23: Programmatic configuration

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.showValidatedValuesInTraceLogs( true )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Example 9.24: Programmatic configuration via property

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.addProperty( "hibernate.validator.show_validated_value_in_trace_logs", "true" )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Example 9.25: XML configuration via property

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<validation-config xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/configuration
https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/validation/validation-configuration-3.0.xsd"
version="3.0">
<default-provider>org.hibernate.validator.HibernateValidator</default-provider>


Hibernate Validator versions, prior to 8.0, logged both value and constraint
descriptor if logging level was set to TRACE.

106
9.3. Configuring a Validator
When working with a configured validator factory it can occasionally be required to apply a different
configuration to a single Validator instance. Example 9.26, “Configuring a Validator instance via
usingContext()” shows how this can be achieved by calling
ValidatorFactory#usingContext().

Example 9.26: Configuring a Validator instance via usingContext()

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = validatorFactory.usingContext()

.messageInterpolator( new MyMessageInterpolator() )
.traversableResolver( new MyTraversableResolver() )
.getValidator();

107
Chapter 10. Using constraint metadata
The Jakarta Validation specification provides not only a validation engine, but also an API for
retrieving constraint metadata in a uniform way, no matter whether the constraints are declared using
annotations or via XML mappings. Read this chapter to learn more about this API and its possibilities.
You can find all the metadata API types in the package jakarta.validation.metadata.

The examples presented in this chapter are based on the classes and constraint declarations shown in
Example 10.1, “Example classes”.

Example 10.1: Example classes

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter10;

public class Person {

public interface Basic {

}

@NotNull
private String name;

//getters and setters ...

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter10;

public interface Vehicle {

interface Basic {
}

@NotNull(groups = Vehicle.Basic.class)
String getManufacturer();
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter10;

@ValidCar
public class Car implements Vehicle {

public interface SeverityInfo extends Payload {

}

private String manufacturer;

@NotNull
@Size(min = 2, max = 14)
private String licensePlate;

private Person driver;

private String modelName;

public Car() {
}

public Car(
@NotNull String manufacturer,
String licencePlate,

108
Person driver,
String modelName) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.licensePlate = licencePlate;
this.driver = driver;
this.modelName = modelName;
}

public void driveAway(@Max(75) int speed) {

//...
}

@LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount(
piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger = 2,
validationAppliesTo = ConstraintTarget.PARAMETERS,
payload = SeverityInfo.class,
message = "There must not be more than {piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger} pieces " +
"of luggage per passenger."
)
public void load(List<Person> passengers, List<PieceOfLuggage> luggage) {
//...
}

@Override
@Size(min = 3)
public String getManufacturer() {
return manufacturer;
}

public void setManufacturer(String manufacturer) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
}

@Valid
@ConvertGroup(from = Default.class, to = Person.Basic.class)
public Person getDriver() {
return driver;
}

//further getters and setters...

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter10;

public class Library {

@NotNull
private String name;

private List<@NotNull @Valid Book> books;

//getters and setters ...

}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter10;

public class Book {

@NotEmpty
private String title;

@NotEmpty
private String author;

109
//getters and setters ...
}

10.1. BeanDescriptor
The entry point into the metadata API is the method Validator#getConstraintsForClass(),
which returns an instance of the BeanDescriptor interface. Using this descriptor, you can obtain
metadata for constraints declared directly on the bean itself (class- or property-level), but also
retrieve metadata descriptors representing single properties, methods and constructors.

Example 10.2, “Using BeanDescriptor” demonstrates how to retrieve a BeanDescriptor for the
Car class and how to use this descriptor in form of assertions.


If a constraint declaration hosted by the requested class is invalid, a
ValidationException is thrown.

Example 10.2: Using BeanDescriptor

BeanDescriptor carDescriptor = validator.getConstraintsForClass( Car.class );

assertTrue( carDescriptor.isBeanConstrained() );

//one class-level constraint

assertEquals( 1, carDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().size() );

//manufacturer, licensePlate, driver

assertEquals( 3, carDescriptor.getConstrainedProperties().size() );

//property has constraint

assertNotNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "licensePlate" ) );

//property is marked with @Valid

assertNotNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "driver" ) );

//constraints from getter method in interface and implementation class are returned
assertEquals(
2,
carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "manufacturer" )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

//property is not constrained

assertNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "modelName" ) );

//driveAway(int), load(List<Person>, List<PieceOfLuggage>)

assertEquals( 2, carDescriptor.getConstrainedMethods( MethodType.NON_GETTER ).size() );

//driveAway(int), getManufacturer(), getDriver(), load(List<Person>, List<PieceOfLuggage>)

assertEquals(
4,
carDescriptor.getConstrainedMethods( MethodType.NON_GETTER, MethodType.GETTER )
.size()
);

//driveAway(int)
assertNotNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod( "driveAway", int.class ) );

//getManufacturer()
assertNotNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod( "getManufacturer" ) );

110
//setManufacturer() is not constrained
assertNull( carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod( "setManufacturer", String.class ) );

//Car(String, String, Person, String)

assertEquals( 1, carDescriptor.getConstrainedConstructors().size() );

//Car(String, String, Person, String)

assertNotNull(
carDescriptor.getConstraintsForConstructor(
String.class,
String.class,
Person.class,
String.class
)
);

You can determine whether the specified class hosts any class- or property-level constraints via
isBeanConstrained(). Method or constructor constraints are not considered by
isBeanConstrained().

The method getConstraintDescriptors() is common to all descriptors derived from

ElementDescriptor (see Section 10.4, “ElementDescriptor”) and returns a set of descriptors
representing the constraints directly declared on the given element. In case of BeanDescriptor, the
bean’s class- level constraints are returned. More details on ConstraintDescriptor can be found in
Section 10.7, “ConstraintDescriptor”.

Via getConstraintsForProperty(), getConstraintsForMethod() and

getConstraintsForConstructor() you can obtain a descriptor representing one given property
or executable element, identified by its name and, in case of methods and constructors, parameter
types. The different descriptor types returned by these methods are described in the following
sections.

Note that these methods consider constraints declared at super-types according to the rules for
constraint inheritance as described in Section 2.1.5, “Constraint inheritance”. An example is the
descriptor for the manufacturer property, which provides access to all constraints defined on
Vehicle#getManufacturer() and the implementing method Car#getManufacturer(). null is
returned in case the specified element does not exist or is not constrained.

The methods getConstrainedProperties(), getConstrainedMethods() and

getConstrainedConstructors() return (potentially empty) sets with all constrained properties,
methods and constructors, respectively. An element is considered constrained if it has at least one
constraint or is marked for cascaded validation. When invoking getConstrainedMethods(), you can
specify the type of the methods to be returned (getters, non-getters or both).

10.2. PropertyDescriptor
The interface PropertyDescriptor represents one given property of a class. It is transparent
whether constraints are declared on a field or a property getter, provided the JavaBeans naming
conventions are respected. Example 10.3, “Using PropertyDescriptor” shows how to use the
PropertyDescriptor interface.

111
Example 10.3: Using PropertyDescriptor

PropertyDescriptor licensePlateDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty(

"licensePlate"
);

//"licensePlate" has two constraints, is not marked with @Valid and defines no group
conversions
assertEquals( "licensePlate", licensePlateDescriptor.getPropertyName() );
assertEquals( 2, licensePlateDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().size() );
assertTrue( licensePlateDescriptor.hasConstraints() );
assertFalse( licensePlateDescriptor.isCascaded() );
assertTrue( licensePlateDescriptor.getGroupConversions().isEmpty() );

PropertyDescriptor driverDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "driver" );

//"driver" has no constraints, is marked with @Valid and defines one group conversion
assertEquals( "driver", driverDescriptor.getPropertyName() );
assertTrue( driverDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().isEmpty() );
assertFalse( driverDescriptor.hasConstraints() );
assertTrue( driverDescriptor.isCascaded() );
assertEquals( 1, driverDescriptor.getGroupConversions().size() );

Using getConstraintDescriptors(), you can retrieve a set of ConstraintDescriptors

providing more information on the individual constraints of a given property. The method
isCascaded() returns true if the property is marked for cascaded validation (either using the
@Valid annotation or via XML), false otherwise. Any configured group conversions are returned by
getGroupConversions(). See Section 10.6, “GroupConversionDescriptor” for more details on
GroupConversionDescriptor.

10.3. MethodDescriptor and ConstructorDescriptor

Constrained methods and constructors are represented by the interfaces MethodDescriptor
ConstructorDescriptor, respectively. Example 10.4, “Using MethodDescriptor and
ConstructorDescriptor” demonstrates how to work with these descriptors.

Example 10.4: Using MethodDescriptor and ConstructorDescriptor

//driveAway(int) has a constrained parameter and an unconstrained return value

MethodDescriptor driveAwayDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod(
"driveAway",
int.class
);
assertEquals( "driveAway", driveAwayDescriptor.getName() );
assertTrue( driveAwayDescriptor.hasConstrainedParameters() );
assertFalse( driveAwayDescriptor.hasConstrainedReturnValue() );

//always returns an empty set; constraints are retrievable by navigating to

//one of the sub-descriptors, e.g. for the return value
assertTrue( driveAwayDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().isEmpty() );

ParameterDescriptor speedDescriptor = driveAwayDescriptor.getParameterDescriptors()

.get( 0 );

//The "speed" parameter is located at index 0, has one constraint and is not cascaded
//nor does it define group conversions
assertEquals( "speed", speedDescriptor.getName() );
assertEquals( 0, speedDescriptor.getIndex() );
assertEquals( 1, speedDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().size() );

112
assertFalse( speedDescriptor.isCascaded() );
assert speedDescriptor.getGroupConversions().isEmpty();

//getDriver() has no constrained parameters but its return value is marked for cascaded
//validation and declares one group conversion
MethodDescriptor getDriverDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod(
"getDriver"
);
assertFalse( getDriverDescriptor.hasConstrainedParameters() );
assertTrue( getDriverDescriptor.hasConstrainedReturnValue() );

ReturnValueDescriptor returnValueDescriptor = getDriverDescriptor.getReturnValueDescriptor

();
assertTrue( returnValueDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors().isEmpty() );
assertTrue( returnValueDescriptor.isCascaded() );
assertEquals( 1, returnValueDescriptor.getGroupConversions().size() );

//load(List<Person>, List<PieceOfLuggage>) has one cross-parameter constraint

MethodDescriptor loadDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod(
"load",
List.class,
List.class
);
assertTrue( loadDescriptor.hasConstrainedParameters() );
assertFalse( loadDescriptor.hasConstrainedReturnValue() );
assertEquals(
1,
loadDescriptor.getCrossParameterDescriptor().getConstraintDescriptors().size()
);

//Car(String, String, Person, String) has one constrained parameter

ConstructorDescriptor constructorDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForConstructor(
String.class,
String.class,
Person.class,
String.class
);

assertEquals( "Car", constructorDescriptor.getName() );

assertFalse( constructorDescriptor.hasConstrainedReturnValue() );
assertTrue( constructorDescriptor.hasConstrainedParameters() );
assertEquals(
1,
constructorDescriptor.getParameterDescriptors()
.get( 0 )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

getName() returns the name of the given method or constructor. The methods
hasConstrainedParameters() and hasConstrainedReturnValue() can be used to perform a
quick check whether an executable element has any parameter constraints (either constraints on
single parameters or cross-parameter constraints) or return value constraints.

Note that constraints are not directly exposed on MethodDescriptor and

ConstructorDescriptor, but rather on dedicated descriptors representing an executable’s
parameters, its return value and its cross-parameter constraints. To get hold of one of these
descriptors, invoke getParameterDescriptors(), getReturnValueDescriptor() or
getCrossParameterDescriptor(), respectively.

These descriptors provide access to the element’s constraints (getConstraintDescriptors())

and, in the case of parameters and return value, to its configuration for cascaded validation

113
(isValid() and getGroupConversions()). For parameters, you also can retrieve the index and the
name, as returned by the currently used parameter name provider (see Section 9.2.4,
“ParameterNameProvider”) via getName() and getIndex().

Getter methods following the JavaBeans naming conventions are considered as

bean properties but also as constrained methods.

That means you can retrieve the related metadata either by obtaining a
 PropertyDescriptor (e.g.
BeanDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty("foo")) or by examining the
return value descriptor of the getter’s MethodDescriptor (e.g.
BeanDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod("getFoo").getReturnValueD
escriptor()).

10.4. ElementDescriptor
The ElementDescriptor interface is the common base class for the individual descriptor types such
as BeanDescriptor, PropertyDescriptor etc. Besides getConstraintDescriptors() it
provides some more methods common to all descriptors.

hasConstraints() allows for a quick check whether an element has any direct constraints (e.g.
class- level constraints in case of BeanDescriptor).

getElementClass() returns the Java type of the element represented by a given descriptor. More
specifically, the method returns

• the object type when invoked on BeanDescriptor,

• the type of a property or parameter when invoked on PropertyDescriptor or
ParameterDescriptor respectively,

• Object[].class when invoked on CrossParameterDescriptor,

• the return type when invoked on ConstructorDescriptor, MethodDescriptor or
ReturnValueDescriptor. void.class will be returned for methods which don’t have a return
value.

Example 10.5, “Using ElementDescriptor methods” shows how these methods are used.

Example 10.5: Using ElementDescriptor methods

PropertyDescriptor manufacturerDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty(

"manufacturer"
);

assertTrue( manufacturerDescriptor.hasConstraints() );
assertEquals( String.class, manufacturerDescriptor.getElementClass() );

CrossParameterDescriptor loadCrossParameterDescriptor = carDescriptor

.getConstraintsForMethod(
"load",
List.class,
List.class
).getCrossParameterDescriptor();

assertTrue( loadCrossParameterDescriptor.hasConstraints() );

114
assertEquals( Object[].class, loadCrossParameterDescriptor.getElementClass() );

Finally, ElementDescriptor offers access to the ConstraintFinder API which allows you to query
for constraint metadata in a fine grained way. Example 10.6, “Usage of ConstraintFinder” shows
how to retrieve a ConstraintFinder instance via findConstraints() and use the API to query for
constraint metadata.

Example 10.6: Usage of ConstraintFinder

PropertyDescriptor manufacturerDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty(

"manufacturer"
);

//"manufacturer" constraints are declared on the getter, not the field

assertTrue(
manufacturerDescriptor.findConstraints()
.declaredOn( ElementType.FIELD )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.isEmpty()
);

//@NotNull on Vehicle#getManufacturer() is part of another group

assertEquals(
1,
manufacturerDescriptor.findConstraints()
.unorderedAndMatchingGroups( Default.class )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

//@Size on Car#getManufacturer()
assertEquals(
1,
manufacturerDescriptor.findConstraints()
.lookingAt( Scope.LOCAL_ELEMENT )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

//@Size on Car#getManufacturer() and @NotNull on Vehicle#getManufacturer()

assertEquals(
2,
manufacturerDescriptor.findConstraints()
.lookingAt( Scope.HIERARCHY )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

//Combining several filter options

assertEquals(
1,
manufacturerDescriptor.findConstraints()
.declaredOn( ElementType.METHOD )
.lookingAt( Scope.HIERARCHY )
.unorderedAndMatchingGroups( Vehicle.Basic.class )
.getConstraintDescriptors()
.size()
);

Via declaredOn() you can search for ConstraintDescriptors declared on certain element types.
This is useful to find property constraints declared on either fields or getter methods.

115
unorderedAndMatchingGroups() restricts the resulting constraints to those matching the given
validation group(s).

lookingAt() allows to distinguish between constraints directly specified on the element

(Scope.LOCAL_ELEMENT) or constraints belonging to the element but hosted anywhere in the class
hierarchy (Scope.HIERARCHY).

You can also combine the different options as shown in the last example.


Order is not respected by unorderedAndMatchingGroups(), but group
inheritance and inheritance via sequence are.

10.5. ContainerDescriptor and ContainerElementTypeDescriptor

The ContainerDescriptor interface is the common interface for all the elements that support
container element constraints and cascading validation (PropertyDescriptor,
ParameterDescriptor, ReturnValueDescriptor).

It has a single method getConstrainedContainerElementTypes() that returns a set of

ContainerElementTypeDescriptor.

ContainerElementTypeDescriptor extends ContainerDescriptor to support nested container

element constraints.

ContainerElementTypeDescriptor contains the information about the container, the constraints

and the cascading validation.

Example 10.7, “Using ContainerElementTypeDescriptor” shows how to use

getConstrainedContainerElementTypes() to retrieve the set of
ContainerElementTypeDescriptor.

Example 10.7: Using ContainerElementTypeDescriptor

PropertyDescriptor booksDescriptor = libraryDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty(

"books"
);

Set<ContainerElementTypeDescriptor> booksContainerElementTypeDescriptors =
booksDescriptor.getConstrainedContainerElementTypes();
ContainerElementTypeDescriptor booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor =
booksContainerElementTypeDescriptors.iterator().next();

assertTrue( booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor.hasConstraints() );
assertTrue( booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor.isCascaded() );
assertEquals(
0,
booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor.getTypeArgumentIndex().intValue()
);
assertEquals(
List.class,
booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor.getContainerClass()
);

Set<ConstraintDescriptor<?>> constraintDescriptors =
booksContainerElementTypeDescriptor.getConstraintDescriptors();
ConstraintDescriptor<?> constraintDescriptor =

116
constraintDescriptors.iterator().next();

assertEquals(
NotNull.class,
constraintDescriptor.getAnnotation().annotationType()
);

10.6. GroupConversionDescriptor
All those descriptor types that represent elements which can be subject of cascaded validation (i.e.,
PropertyDescriptor, ParameterDescriptor and ReturnValueDescriptor) provide access to
the element’s group conversions via getGroupConversions(). The returned set contains a
GroupConversionDescriptor for each configured conversion, allowing to retrieve source and
target groups of the conversion. Example 10.8, “Using GroupConversionDescriptor” shows an
example.

Example 10.8: Using GroupConversionDescriptor

PropertyDescriptor driverDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForProperty( "driver" );

Set<GroupConversionDescriptor> groupConversions = driverDescriptor.getGroupConversions();

assertEquals( 1, groupConversions.size() );

GroupConversionDescriptor groupConversionDescriptor = groupConversions.iterator()

.next();
assertEquals( Default.class, groupConversionDescriptor.getFrom() );
assertEquals( Person.Basic.class, groupConversionDescriptor.getTo() );

10.7. ConstraintDescriptor
Last but not least, the ConstraintDescriptor interface describes a single constraint together with
its composing constraints. Via an instance of this interface you get access to the constraint annotation
and its parameters.

Example 10.9, “Using ConstraintDescriptor” shows how to retrieve default constraint attributes
(such as message template, groups etc.) as well as custom constraint attributes
(piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger) and other metadata such as the constraint’s annotation type and
its validators from a ConstraintDescriptor.

Example 10.9: Using ConstraintDescriptor

//descriptor for the @LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount constraint on the

//load(List<Person>, List<PieceOfLuggage>) method
ConstraintDescriptor<?> constraintDescriptor = carDescriptor.getConstraintsForMethod(
"load",
List.class,
List.class
).getCrossParameterDescriptor().getConstraintDescriptors().iterator().next();

//constraint type
assertEquals(
LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount.class,
constraintDescriptor.getAnnotation().annotationType()
);

117
//standard constraint attributes
assertEquals( SeverityInfo.class, constraintDescriptor.getPayload().iterator().next() );
assertEquals(
ConstraintTarget.PARAMETERS,
constraintDescriptor.getValidationAppliesTo()
);
assertEquals( Default.class, constraintDescriptor.getGroups().iterator().next() );
assertEquals( "There must not be more than {piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger} pieces of luggage
per passenger.", constraintDescriptor.getMessageTemplate() );

//custom constraint attribute

assertEquals(
2,
constraintDescriptor.getAttributes().get( "piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger" )
);

//no composing constraints

assertTrue( constraintDescriptor.getComposingConstraints().isEmpty() );

//validator class
assertEquals(
Arrays.<Class<?>>asList( LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount.Validator.class ),
constraintDescriptor.getConstraintValidatorClasses()
);

118
Chapter 11. Integrating with other frameworks
Hibernate Validator is intended to be used to implement multi-layered data validation, where
constraints are expressed in a single place (the annotated domain model) and checked in various
different layers of the application. For this reason there are multiple integration points with other
technologies.

11.1. ORM integration

Hibernate Validator integrates with both Hibernate ORM and all pure Java Persistence providers.

When lazy loaded associations are supposed to be validated it is recommended to

place the constraint on the getter of the association. Hibernate ORM replaces lazy
 loaded associations with proxy instances which get initialized/loaded when
requested via the getter. If, in such a case, the constraint is placed on field level, the
actual proxy instance is used which will lead to validation errors.

11.1.1. Database schema-level validation

Out of the box, Hibernate ORM will translate the constraints you have defined for your entities into
mapping metadata. For example, if a property of your entity is annotated @NotNull, its columns will
be declared as not null in the DDL schema generated by Hibernate ORM.

If, for some reason, the feature needs to be disabled, set hibernate.validator.apply_to_ddl to
false. See also Section 2.3.1, “Jakarta Validation constraints” and Section 2.3.2, “Additional
constraints”.

You can also limit the DDL constraint generation to a subset of the defined constraints by setting the
property org.hibernate.validator.group.ddl. The property specifies the comma-separated,
fully specified class names of the groups a constraint has to be part of in order to be considered for
DDL schema generation.

11.1.2. Hibernate ORM event-based validation

Hibernate Validator has a built-in Hibernate event listener -

org.hibernate.cfg.beanvalidation.BeanValidationEventListener - which is part of
Hibernate ORM. Whenever a PreInsertEvent, PreUpdateEvent or PreDeleteEvent occurs, the
listener will verify all constraints of the entity instance and throw an exception if any constraint is
violated. Per default, objects will be checked before any inserts or updates are made by Hibernate
ORM. Pre deletion events will per default not trigger a validation. You can configure the groups to be
validated per event type using the properties jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-
persist, jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-update and
jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-remove. The values of these properties are the
comma-separated fully specified class names of the groups to validate. Example 11.1, “Manual
configuration of BeanValidationEvenListener” shows the default values for these properties. In
this case they could also be omitted.

On constraint violation, the event will raise a runtime ConstraintViolationException which

119
contains a set of ConstraintViolation instances describing each failure.

If Hibernate Validator is present in the classpath, Hibernate ORM will use it transparently. To avoid
validation even though Hibernate Validator is in the classpath, set
jakarta.persistence.validation.mode to none.


If the beans are not annotated with validation annotations, there is no runtime
performance cost.

In case you need to manually set the event listeners for Hibernate ORM, use the following
configuration in hibernate.cfg.xml:

Example 11.1: Manual configuration of BeanValidationEvenListener

<hibernate-configuration>
<session-factory>
...
<property name="jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-persist">
jakarta.validation.groups.Default
</property>
<property name="jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-update">
jakarta.validation.groups.Default
</property>
<property name="jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-remove"></property>
...
<event type="pre-update">
<listener class="org.hibernate.cfg.beanvalidation.BeanValidationEventListener
"/>
</event>
<event type="pre-insert">
<listener class="org.hibernate.cfg.beanvalidation.BeanValidationEventListener
"/>
</event>
<event type="pre-delete">
<listener class="org.hibernate.cfg.beanvalidation.BeanValidationEventListener
"/>
</event>
</session-factory>
</hibernate-configuration>

11.1.3. Jakarta Persistence

If you are using Jakarta Persistence 3.2 and Hibernate Validator is in the classpath, the Jakarta
Persistence 3.2 specification requires that Jakarta Validation gets enabled. The properties
jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-persist,
jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-update and
jakarta.persistence.validation.group.pre-remove as described in Section 11.1.2,
“Hibernate ORM event-based validation” can in this case be configured in persistence.xml.
persistence.xml also defines a node validation-mode which can be set to AUTO, CALLBACK or NONE. The
default is AUTO.

11.2. JSF & Seam

When working with JSF2 or JBoss Seam and Hibernate Validator (Jakarta Validation) is present in the
runtime environment, validation is triggered for every field in the application. Example 11.2, “Usage of

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Jakarta Validation within JSF2” shows an example of the f:validateBean tag in a JSF page. The
validationGroups attribute is optional and can be used to specify a comma separated list of
validation groups. The default is jakarta.validation.groups.Default. For more information
refer to the Seam documentation or the JSF 2 specification.

Example 11.2: Usage of Jakarta Validation within JSF2

<h:form>

<f:validateBean validationGroups="jakarta.validation.groups.Default">

<h:inputText value=#{model.property}/>
<h:selectOneRadio value=#{model.radioProperty}> ... </h:selectOneRadio>

</f:validateBean>

</h:form>

The integration between JSF 2 and Jakarta Validation is described in the "Jakarta
Validation Integration" chapter of JSR-314. It is interesting to know that JSF 2
implements a custom MessageInterpolator to ensure proper localization. To
encourage the use of the Jakarta Validation message facility, JSF 2 will per default
only display the generated Bean Validation message. This can, however, be
configured via the application resource bundle by providing the following
configuration ({0} is replaced with the Jakarta Validation message and {1} is
 replaced with the JSF component label):

jakarta.faces.validator.BeanValidator.MESSAGE={1}: {0}

The default is:

jakarta.faces.validator.BeanValidator.MESSAGE={0}

11.3. CDI
As of version 1.1, Bean Validation (and therefore Jakarta Validation) is integrated with CDI (Contexts
and Dependency Injection for Jakarta EE).

This integration provides CDI managed beans for Validator and ValidatorFactory and enables
dependency injection in constraint validators as well as custom message interpolators, traversable
resolvers, constraint validator factories, parameter name providers, clock providers and value
extractors.

Furthermore, parameter and return value constraints on the methods and constructors of CDI
managed beans will automatically be validated upon invocation.

When your application runs on a Jakarta EE container, this integration is enabled by default. When
working with CDI in a Servlet container or in a pure Java SE environment, you can use the CDI portable
extension provided by Hibernate Validator. To do so, add the portable extension to your class path as
described in Section 1.1.2, “CDI”.

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11.3.1. Dependency injection

CDI’s dependency injection mechanism makes it very easy to retrieve ValidatorFactory and
Validator instances and use them in your managed beans. Just annotate instance fields of your
bean with @jakarta.inject.Inject as shown in Example 11.3, “Retrieving validator factory and
validator via @Inject”.

Example 11.3: Retrieving validator factory and validator via @Inject

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.validator;

@ApplicationScoped
public class RentalStation {

@Inject
private ValidatorFactory validatorFactory;

@Inject
private Validator validator;

//...
}

The injected beans are the default validator factory and validator instances. In order to configure them
- e.g. to use a custom message interpolator - you can use the Jakarta Validation XML descriptors as
discussed in Chapter 8, Configuring via XML.

If you are working with several Jakarta Validation providers, you can make sure that factory and
validator from Hibernate Validator are injected by annotating the injection points with the
@HibernateValidator qualifier which is demonstrated in Example 11.4, “Using the
@HibernateValidator qualifier annotation”.

Example 11.4: Using the @HibernateValidator qualifier annotation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.validator.qualifier;

@ApplicationScoped
public class RentalStation {

@Inject
@HibernateValidator
private ValidatorFactory validatorFactory;

@Inject
@HibernateValidator
private Validator validator;

//...
}

The fully-qualified name of the qualifier annotation is

org.hibernate.validator.cdi.HibernateValidator. Be sure to not import


org.hibernate.validator.HibernateValidator instead which is the
ValidationProvider implementation used for selecting Hibernate Validator when
working with the bootstrapping API (see Section 9.1, “Retrieving
ValidatorFactory and Validator”).

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Via @Inject you also can inject dependencies into constraint validators and other Jakarta Validation
objects such as MessageInterpolator implementations etc.

Example 11.5, “Constraint validator with injected bean” demonstrates how an injected CDI bean is used
in a ConstraintValidator implementation to determine whether the given constraint is valid or
not. As the example shows, you also can work with the @PostConstruct and @PreDestroy callbacks
to implement any required construction and destruction logic.

Example 11.5: Constraint validator with injected bean

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.injection;

public class ValidLicensePlateValidator

implements ConstraintValidator<ValidLicensePlate, String> {

@Inject
private VehicleRegistry vehicleRegistry;

@PostConstruct
public void postConstruct() {
//do initialization logic...
}

@PreDestroy
public void preDestroy() {
//do destruction logic...
}

@Override
public void initialize(ValidLicensePlate constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(String licensePlate, ConstraintValidatorContext
constraintContext) {
return vehicleRegistry.isValidLicensePlate( licensePlate );
}
}

11.3.2. Method validation

The method interception facilities of CDI allow for a very tight integration with Jakarta Validation’s
method validation functionality. Just put constraint annotations to the parameters and return values
of the executables of your CDI beans and they will be validated automatically before (parameter
constraints) and after (return value constraints) a method or constructor is invoked.

Note that no explicit interceptor binding is required, instead the required method validation
interceptor will automatically be registered for all managed beans with constrained methods and
constructors.

The interceptor
org.hibernate.validator.cdi.interceptor.spi.ValidationIntercepto

 r is registered by org.hibernate.validator.cdi.ValidationExtension.
This happens implicitly within a Jakarta EE runtime environment or explicitly by
adding the hibernate-validator-cdi artifact - see Section 1.1.2, “CDI”

You can see an example in Example 11.6, “CDI managed beans with method-level constraints”.

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Example 11.6: CDI managed beans with method-level constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.methodvalidation;

@ApplicationScoped
public class RentalStation {

@Valid
public RentalStation() {
//...
}

@NotNull
@Valid
public Car rentCar(
@NotNull Customer customer,
@NotNull @Future Date startDate,
@Min(1) int durationInDays) {
//...
return null;
}

@NotNull
List<Car> getAvailableCars() {
//...
return null;
}
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.methodvalidation;

@RequestScoped
public class RentCarRequest {

@Inject
private RentalStation rentalStation;

public void rentCar(String customerId, Date startDate, int duration) {

//causes ConstraintViolationException
rentalStation.rentCar( null, null, -1 );
}
}

Here the RentalStation bean hosts several method constraints. When invoking one of the
RentalStation methods from another bean such as RentCarRequest, the constraints of the
invoked method are automatically validated. If any illegal parameter values are passed as in the
example, a ConstraintViolationException will be thrown by the method interceptor, providing
detailed information on the violated constraints. The same is the case if the method’s return value
violates any return value constraints.

Similarly, constructor constraints are validated automatically upon invocation. In the example the
RentalStation object returned by the constructor will be validated since the constructor return
value is marked with @Valid.

11.3.2.1. Validated executable types

Jakarta Validation allows for a fine-grained control of the executable types which are automatically
validated. By default, constraints on constructors and non-getter methods are validated. Therefore,

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the @NotNull constraint on the method RentalStation#getAvailableCars() in Example 11.6,
“CDI managed beans with method-level constraints” does not get validated when the method is
invoked.

You have the following options to configure which types of executables are validated upon invocation:

• Configure the executable types globally via the XML descriptor META-INF/validation.xml; see
Section 8.1, “Configuring the validator factory in validation.xml” for an example
• Use the @ValidateOnExecution annotation on the executable or type level

If several sources of configuration are specified for a given executable, @ValidateOnExecution on

the executable level takes precedence over @ValidateOnExecution on the type level and
@ValidateOnExecution generally takes precedence over the globally configured types in META-
INF/validation.xml.

Example 11.7, “Using @ValidateOnExecution” shows how to use the @ValidateOnExecution

annotation:

Example 11.7: Using @ValidateOnExecution

package
org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.methodvalidation.configuration;

@ApplicationScoped
@ValidateOnExecution(type = ExecutableType.ALL)
public class RentalStation {

@Valid
public RentalStation() {
//...
}

@NotNull
@Valid
@ValidateOnExecution(type = ExecutableType.NONE)
public Car rentCar(
@NotNull Customer customer,
@NotNull @Future Date startDate,
@Min(1) int durationInDays) {
//...
return null;
}

@NotNull
public List<Car> getAvailableCars() {
//...
return null;
}
}

Here the method rentCar() won’t be validated upon invocation because it is annotated with
@ValidateOnExecution(type = ExecutableType.NONE). In contrast, the constructor and the
method getAvailableCars() will be validated due to @ValidateOnExecution(type =
ExecutableType.ALL) being given on the type level. ExecutableType.ALL is a more compact
form for explicitly specifying all the types CONSTRUCTORS, GETTER_METHODS and
NON_GETTER_METHODS.

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Executable validation can be turned off globally by specifying <executable-
 validation enabled="false"/> in META-INF/validation.xml. In this case, all the
@ValidateOnExecution annotations are ignored.

Note that when a method overrides or implements a super-type method, the configuration will be
taken from that overridden or implemented method (as given via @ValidateOnExecution on the
method itself or on the super-type). This protects a client of the super-type method from an
unexpected alteration of the configuration, e.g. disabling validation of an overridden executable in a
sub-type.

In case a CDI managed bean overrides or implements a super-type method and this super-type
method hosts any constraints, it can happen that the validation interceptor is not properly registered
with the bean, resulting in the bean’s methods not being validated upon invocation. In this case you
can specify the executable type IMPLICIT on the sub-class as shown in Example 11.8, “Using
ExecutableType.IMPLICIT”, which makes sure that all required metadata is discovered and the
validation interceptor kicks in when the methods on ExpressRentalStation are invoked.

Example 11.8: Using ExecutableType.IMPLICIT

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.methodvalidation.implicit;

@ValidateOnExecution(type = ExecutableType.ALL)
public interface RentalStation {

@NotNull
@Valid
Car rentCar(
@NotNull Customer customer,
@NotNull @Future Date startDate,
@Min(1) int durationInDays);

@NotNull
List<Car> getAvailableCars();
}

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.cdi.methodvalidation.implicit;

@ApplicationScoped
@ValidateOnExecution(type = ExecutableType.IMPLICIT)
public class ExpressRentalStation implements RentalStation {

@Override
public Car rentCar(Customer customer, Date startDate, @Min(1) int durationInDays) {
//...
return null;
}

@Override
public List<Car> getAvailableCars() {
//...
return null;
}
}

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11.4. Jakarta EE
When your application runs on a Jakarta EE application server such as WildFly, you also can obtain
Validator and ValidatorFactory instances via @Resource injection in managed objects such as
EJBs etc., as shown in Example 11.9, “Retrieving Validator and ValidatorFactory via @Resource
injection”.

Example 11.9: Retrieving Validator and ValidatorFactory via @Resource injection

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.javaee;

public class RentalStationBean {

@Resource
private ValidatorFactory validatorFactory;

@Resource
private Validator validator;

//...
}

Alternatively you can obtain a validator and a validator factory from JNDI under the names
"java:comp/Validator" and "java:comp/ValidatorFactory", respectively.

Similar to CDI-based injection via @Inject, these objects represent default validator and validator
factory and thus can be configured using the XML descriptor META-INF/validation.xml (see Chapter 8,
Configuring via XML).

When your application is CDI-enabled, the injected objects are CDI-aware as well and e.g. support
dependency injection in constraint validators.

11.5. JavaFX
Hibernate Validator also provides support for the unwrapping of JavaFX properties. If JavaFX is
present on the classpath, ValueExtractors for JavaFX properties are automatically registered. See
Section 7.4, “JavaFX value extractors” for examples and further discussion.

11.6. OSGi
Starting with Hibernate Validator 9.0, the Hibernate team no longer tests nor maintains the OSGi
integration. For users who would want to experiment with Hibernate Validator in an OSGi environment,
we will keep the existing manifest entries in place as they were.

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Chapter 12. Hibernate Validator Specifics
In this chapter you will learn how to make use of several features provided by Hibernate Validator in
addition to the functionality defined by the Jakarta Validation specification. This includes the fail fast
mode, the API for programmatic constraint configuration and the boolean composition of constraints.

New APIs or SPIs are tagged with the org.hibernate.validator.Incubating annotation as long
as they are under development. This means that such elements (e.g. packages, types, methods,
constants etc.) may be incompatibly altered - or removed - in subsequent releases. Usage of
incubating API/SPI members is encouraged (so the development team can get feedback on these new
features) but you should be prepared for updating code which is using them as needed when
upgrading to a new version of Hibernate Validator.


Using the features described in the following sections may result in application code
which is not portable between Jakarta Validation providers.

12.1. Public API

Let’s start, however, with a look at the public API of Hibernate Validator. Below you can find a list of all
packages belonging to this API and their purpose. Note that when a package is part of the public API
this is not necessarily true for its sub-packages.

org.hibernate.validator
Classes used by the Jakarta Validation bootstrap mechanism (eg. validation provider, configuration
class); for more details see Chapter 9, Bootstrapping.

org.hibernate.validator.cfg, org.hibernate.validator.cfg.context,
org.hibernate.validator.cfg.defs, org.hibernate.validator.spi.cfg
Hibernate Validator’s fluent API for constraint declaration; in org.hibernate.validator.cfg
you will find the ConstraintMapping interface, in org.hibernate.validator.cfg.defs all
constraint definitions and in org.hibernate.validator.spi.cfg a callback for using the API
for configuring the default validator factory. Refer to Section 12.4, “Programmatic constraint
definition and declaration” for the details.

org.hibernate.validator.constraints, org.hibernate.validator.constraints.br,
org.hibernate.validator.constraints.pl
Some useful custom constraints provided by Hibernate Validator in addition to the built-in
constraints defined by the Jakarta Validation specification; the constraints are described in detail
in Section 2.3.2, “Additional constraints”.

org.hibernate.validator.constraintvalidation
Extended constraint validator context which allows to set custom attributes for message
interpolation. Section 12.13.1, “HibernateConstraintValidatorContext” describes how to
make use of that feature.

org.hibernate.validator.group, org.hibernate.validator.spi.group
The group sequence provider feature which allows you to define dynamic default group sequences
in function of the validated object state; the specifics can be found in Section 5.4, “Redefining the

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default group sequence”.

org.hibernate.validator.messageinterpolation,
org.hibernate.validator.resourceloading,
org.hibernate.validator.spi.resourceloading
Classes related to constraint message interpolation; the first package contains Hibernate
Validator’s default message interpolator, ResourceBundleMessageInterpolator. The latter
two packages provide the ResourceBundleLocator SPI for the loading of resource bundles (see
Section 4.2.1, “ResourceBundleLocator”) and its default implementation.

org.hibernate.validator.parameternameprovider
A ParameterNameProvider based on the Paranamer library, see Section 12.14, “Paranamer based
ParameterNameProvider”.

org.hibernate.validator.propertypath
Extensions to the jakarta.validation.Path API, see Section 12.7, “Extensions of the Path
API”.

org.hibernate.validator.spi.constraintdefinition
An SPI for registering additional constraint validators programmatically, see Section 12.15,
“Providing constraint definitions”.

org.hibernate.validator.spi.messageinterpolation
An SPI that can be used to tweak the resolution of the locale when interpolating the constraint
violation messages. See Section 12.12, “Customizing the locale resolution”.

org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider
An SPI that can be used to alter how the names of properties will be resolved when the property
path is constructed. See Section 12.18, “Customizing the property name resolution for constraint
violations”.

The public packages of Hibernate Validator fall into two categories: while the actual
API parts are intended to be invoked or used by clients (e.g. the API for
 programmatic constraint declaration or the custom constraints), the SPI (service
provider interface) packages contain interfaces which are intended to be
implemented by clients (e.g. ResourceBundleLocator).

Any packages not listed in that table are internal packages of Hibernate Validator and are not
intended to be accessed by clients. The contents of these internal packages can change from release
to release without notice, thus possibly breaking any client code relying on it.

12.2. Fail fast mode

Using the fail fast mode, Hibernate Validator allows to return from the current validation as soon as
the first constraint violation occurs. This can be useful for the validation of large object graphs where
you are only interested in a quick check whether there is any constraint violation at all.

Example 12.1, “Using the fail fast validation mode” shows how to bootstrap and use a fail fast enabled
validator.

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Example 12.1: Using the fail fast validation mode

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.failfast;

public class Car {

@NotNull
private String manufacturer;

@AssertTrue
private boolean isRegistered;

public Car(String manufacturer, boolean isRegistered) {

this.manufacturer = manufacturer;
this.isRegistered = isRegistered;
}

//getters and setters...

}

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.failFast( true )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Car car = new Car( null, false );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

Here the validated object actually fails to satisfy both the constraints declared on the Car class, yet
the validation call yields only one ConstraintViolation since the fail fast mode is enabled.

There is no guarantee in which order the constraints are evaluated, i.e. it is not
deterministic whether the returned violation originates from the @NotNull or the
 @AssertTrue constraint. If required, a deterministic evaluation order can be
enforced using group sequences as described in Section 5.3, “Defining group
sequences”.

Refer to Section 9.2.8, “Provider-specific settings” to learn about the different ways of enabling the
fail fast mode when bootstrapping a validator.

12.3. Relaxation of requirements for method validation in

class hierarchies
The Jakarta Validation specification defines a set of preconditions which apply when defining
constraints on methods within class hierarchies. These preconditions are defined in section 5.6.5 of
the Jakarta Validation specification. See also Section 3.1.4, “Method constraints in inheritance
hierarchies” in this guide.

As per specification, a Jakarta Validation provider is allowed to relax these preconditions. With
Hibernate Validator you can do this in one of two ways.

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First you can use the configuration properties hibernate.validator.allow_parameter_constraint_override,
hibernate.validator.allow_multiple_cascaded_validation_on_result and
hibernate.validator.allow_parallel_method_parameter_constraint in validation.xml. See example
Example 12.2, “Configuring method validation behaviour in class hierarchies via properties”.

Example 12.2: Configuring method validation behaviour in class hierarchies via properties

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

Alternatively these settings can be applied during programmatic bootstrapping.

Example 12.3: Configuring method validation behaviour in class hierarchies

HibernateValidatorConfiguration configuration = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator

.class ).configure();

configuration.allowMultipleCascadedValidationOnReturnValues( true )
.allowOverridingMethodAlterParameterConstraint( true )
.allowParallelMethodsDefineParameterConstraints( true );

By default, all of these properties are false, implementing the default behavior as defined in the
Jakarta Validation specification.

Changing the default behaviour for method validation will result in non specification-
 conforming and non portable application. Make sure to understand what you are
doing and that your use case really requires changes to the default behaviour.

12.4. Programmatic constraint definition and declaration

As per the Jakarta Validation specification, you can define and declare constraints using Java
annotations and XML based constraint mappings.

In addition, Hibernate Validator provides a fluent API which allows for the programmatic configuration
of constraints. Use cases include the dynamic addition of constraints at runtime depending on some
application state or tests where you need entities with different constraints in different scenarios but
don’t want to implement actual Java classes for each test case.

By default, constraints added via the fluent API are additive to constraints configured via the standard
configuration capabilities. But it is also possible to ignore annotation and XML configured constraints

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where required.

The API is centered around the ConstraintMapping interface. You obtain a new mapping via
HibernateValidatorConfiguration#createConstraintMapping() which you then can
configure in a fluent manner as shown in Example 12.4, “Programmatic constraint declaration”.

Example 12.4: Programmatic constraint declaration

HibernateValidatorConfiguration configuration = Validation

.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )
.configure();

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

Validator validator = configuration.addMapping( constraintMapping )

.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Constraints can be configured on multiple classes and properties using method chaining. The
constraint definition classes NotNullDef and SizeDef are helper classes which allow to configure
constraint parameters in a type-safe fashion. Definition classes exist for all built-in constraints in the
org.hibernate.validator.cfg.defs package. By calling ignoreAnnotations() any
constraints configured via annotations or XML are ignored for the given element.

Each element (type, property, method etc.) may only be configured once within all
 the constraint mappings used to set up one validator factory. Otherwise a
ValidationException is raised.

It is not supported to add constraints to non-overridden supertype properties and

 methods by configuring a subtype. Instead you need to configure the supertype in
this case.

Having configured the mapping, you must add it back to the configuration object from which you then
can obtain a validator factory.

For custom constraints, you can either create your own definition classes extending ConstraintDef
or you can use GenericConstraintDef as seen in Example 12.5, “Programmatic declaration of a
custom constraint”.

Example 12.5: Programmatic declaration of a custom constraint

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping

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.type( Car.class )
.field( "licensePlate" )
.constraint( new GenericConstraintDef<>( CheckCase.class )
.param( "value", CaseMode.UPPER )
);

Container element constraints are supported by the programmatic API, using

containerElementType().

Example 12.6, “Programmatic declaration of a nested container element constraint” show an example
where constraints are declared on nested container elements.

Example 12.6: Programmatic declaration of a nested container element constraint

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping
.type( Car.class )
.field( "manufacturer" )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.field( "licensePlate" )
.ignoreAnnotations( true )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.constraint( new SizeDef().min( 2 ).max( 14 ) )
.field( "partManufacturers" )
.containerElementType( 0 )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.containerElementType( 1, 0 )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.type( RentalCar.class )
.getter( "rentalStation" )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() );

As demonstrated, the parameters passed to containerElementType() are the path of type

argument indexes used to obtain the desired nested container element type.

By invoking valid() you can mark a member for cascaded validation which is equivalent to
annotating it with @Valid. Configure any group conversions to be applied during cascaded validation
using the convertGroup() method (equivalent to @ConvertGroup). An example can be seen in
Example 12.7, “Marking a property for cascaded validation”.

Example 12.7: Marking a property for cascaded validation

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping
.type( Car.class )
.field( "driver" )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.valid()
.convertGroup( Default.class ).to( PersonDefault.class )
.field( "partManufacturers" )
.containerElementType( 0 )
.valid()
.containerElementType( 1, 0 )
.valid()
.type( Person.class )
.field( "name" )

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.constraint( new NotNullDef().groups( PersonDefault.class ) );

You can not only configure bean constraints using the fluent API but also method and constructor
constraints. As shown in Example 12.8, “Programmatic declaration of method and constructor
constraints” constructors are identified by their parameter types and methods by their name and
parameter types. Having selected a method or constructor, you can mark its parameters and/or return
value for cascaded validation and add constraints as well as cross-parameter constraints.

As shown in the example, valid() can be also invoked on a container element type.

Example 12.8: Programmatic declaration of method and constructor constraints

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping
.type( Car.class )
.constructor( String.class )
.parameter( 0 )
.constraint( new SizeDef().min( 3 ).max( 50 ) )
.returnValue()
.valid()
.method( "drive", int.class )
.parameter( 0 )
.constraint( new MaxDef().value( 75 ) )
.method( "load", List.class, List.class )
.crossParameter()
.constraint( new GenericConstraintDef<>(
LuggageCountMatchesPassengerCount.class ).param(
"piecesOfLuggagePerPassenger", 2
)
)
.method( "getDriver" )
.returnValue()
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.valid();

Last but not least you can configure the default group sequence or the default group sequence
provider of a type as shown in the following example.

Example 12.9: Configuration of default group sequence and default group sequence provider

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping
.type( Car.class )
.defaultGroupSequence( Car.class, CarChecks.class )
.type( RentalCar.class )
.defaultGroupSequenceProviderClass( RentalCarGroupSequenceProvider.class );

12.5. Applying programmatic constraint declarations to

the default validator factory
If you are not bootstrapping a validator factory manually but work with the default factory as
configured via META-INF/validation.xml (see Chapter 8, Configuring via XML), you can add one or more

134
constraint mappings by creating one or several constraint mapping contributors. To do so, implement
the ConstraintMappingContributor contract:

Example 12.10: Custom ConstraintMappingContributor implementation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.constraintapi;

public class MyConstraintMappingContributor implements ConstraintMappingContributor {

@Override
public void createConstraintMappings(ConstraintMappingBuilder builder) {
builder.addConstraintMapping()
.type( Marathon.class )
.getter( "name" )
.constraint( new NotNullDef() )
.field( "numberOfHelpers" )
.constraint( new MinDef().value( 1 ) );

builder.addConstraintMapping()
.type( Runner.class )
.field( "paidEntryFee" )
.constraint( new AssertTrueDef() );
}
}

You then need to specify the fully-qualified class name of the contributor implementation in META-
INF/validation.xml, using the property key
hibernate.validator.constraint_mapping_contributors. You can specify several
contributors by separating them with a comma.

12.6. Advanced constraint composition features

12.6.1. Validation target specification for purely composed constraints

In case you specify a purely composed constraint - i.e. a constraint which has no validator itself but is
solely made up from other, composing constraints - on a method declaration, the validation engine
cannot determine whether that constraint is to be applied as a return value constraint or as a cross-
parameter constraint.

Hibernate Validator allows to resolve such ambiguities by specifying the

@SupportedValidationTarget annotation on the declaration of the composed constraint type as
shown in Example 12.11, “Specifying the validation target of a purely composed constraint”. The
@ValidInvoiceAmount does not declare any validator, but it is solely composed by the @Min and
@NotNull constraints. The @SupportedValidationTarget ensures that the constraint is applied to
the method return value when given on a method declaration.

Example 12.11: Specifying the validation target of a purely composed constraint

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.purelycomposed;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.CONSTRUCTOR;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.PARAMETER;

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import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;

@Min(value = 0)
@NotNull
@Target({ METHOD, FIELD, ANNOTATION_TYPE, CONSTRUCTOR, PARAMETER })
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Documented
@Constraint(validatedBy = { })
@SupportedValidationTarget(ValidationTarget.ANNOTATED_ELEMENT)
@ReportAsSingleViolation
public @interface ValidInvoiceAmount {

String message() default

"{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11.purelycomposed."
+ "ValidInvoiceAmount.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

@OverridesAttribute(constraint = Min.class, name = "value")

long value();
}

12.6.2. Boolean composition of constraints

Jakarta Validation specifies that the constraints of a composed constraint (see Section 6.4,
“Constraint composition”) are all combined via a logical AND. This means all of the composing
constraints need to return true to obtain an overall successful validation.

Hibernate Validator offers an extension to this and allows you to compose constraints via a logical OR
or NOT. To do so, you have to use the ConstraintComposition annotation and the enum
CompositionType with its values AND, OR and ALL_FALSE.

Example 12.12, “OR composition of constraints” shows how to build a composed constraint
@PatternOrSize where only one of the composing constraints needs to be valid in order to pass the
validation. Either the validated string is all lower-cased or it is between two and three characters long.

Example 12.12: OR composition of constraints

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.booleancomposition;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
import static org.hibernate.validator.constraints.CompositionType.OR;

@ConstraintComposition(OR)
@Pattern(regexp = "[a-z]")
@Size(min = 2, max = 3)
@ReportAsSingleViolation
@Target({ METHOD, FIELD })
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Constraint(validatedBy = { })
public @interface PatternOrSize {
String message() default "{org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter11." +
"booleancomposition.PatternOrSize.message}";

Class<?>[] groups() default { };

Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default { };

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}


Using ALL_FALSE as composition type implicitly enforces that only a single violation
will get reported in case validation of the constraint composition fails.

12.7. Extensions of the Path API

Hibernate Validator provides an extension to the jakarta.validation.Path API. For nodes of
ElementKind.PROPERTY and ElementKind.CONTAINER_ELEMENT it allows to obtain the value of
the represented property. To do so, narrow down a given node to the type
org.hibernate.validator.path.PropertyNode or
org.hibernate.validator.path.ContainerElementNode respectively using Node#as(), as
shown in the following example:

Example 12.13: Getting the value from property nodes

Building building = new Building();

// Assume the name of the person violates a @Size constraint

Person bob = new Person( "Bob" );
Apartment bobsApartment = new Apartment( bob );
building.getApartments().add( bobsApartment );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Building>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( building );

Path path = constraintViolations.iterator().next().getPropertyPath();

Iterator<Path.Node> nodeIterator = path.iterator();

Path.Node node = nodeIterator.next();

assertEquals( node.getName(), "apartments" );
assertSame( node.as( PropertyNode.class ).getValue(), bobsApartment );

node = nodeIterator.next();
assertEquals( node.getName(), "resident" );
assertSame( node.as( PropertyNode.class ).getValue(), bob );

node = nodeIterator.next();
assertEquals( node.getName(), "name" );
assertEquals( node.as( PropertyNode.class ).getValue(), "Bob" );

This is also very useful to obtain the element of Set properties on the property path (e.g. apartments
in the example) which otherwise could not be identified (unlike for Map and List, there is no key nor
index in this case).

12.8. Dynamic payload as part of ConstraintViolation

In some cases automatic processing of violations can be aided, if the constraint violation provides
additional data - a so called dynamic payload. This dynamic payload could for example contain hints to
the user on how to resolve the violation.

Dynamic payloads can be set in custom constraints using

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext. This is shown in example Example 12.14,
“ConstraintValidator implementation setting a dynamic payload” where the

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jakarta.validation.ConstraintValidatorContext is unwrapped to
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext in order to call withDynamicPayload.

Example 12.14: ConstraintValidator implementation setting a dynamic payload

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.dynamicpayload;

import static org.hibernate.validator.internal.util.CollectionHelper.newHashMap;

public class ValidPassengerCountValidator implements ConstraintValidator

<ValidPassengerCount, Car> {

private static final Map<Integer, String> suggestedCars = newHashMap();

static {
suggestedCars.put( 2, "Chevrolet Corvette" );
suggestedCars.put( 3, "Toyota Volta" );
suggestedCars.put( 4, "Maserati GranCabrio" );
suggestedCars.put( 5, " Mercedes-Benz E-Class" );
}

@Override
public void initialize(ValidPassengerCount constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Car car, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( car == null ) {
return true;
}

int passengerCount = car.getPassengers().size();

if ( car.getSeatCount() >= passengerCount ) {
return true;
}
else {

if ( suggestedCars.containsKey( passengerCount ) ) {
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext hibernateContext = context.unwrap(
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class
);
hibernateContext.withDynamicPayload( suggestedCars.get( passengerCount ) );
}
return false;
}
}
}

On the constraint violation processing side, a jakarta.validation.ConstraintViolation can

then in turn be unwrapped to HibernateConstraintViolation in order to retrieve the dynamic
payload for further processing.

Example 12.15: Retrieval of a ConstraintViolation's dynamic payload

Car car = new Car( 2 );

car.addPassenger( new Person() );
car.addPassenger( new Person() );
car.addPassenger( new Person() );
Set<ConstraintViolation<Car>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( car );

assertEquals( 1, constraintViolations.size() );

ConstraintViolation<Car> constraintViolation = constraintViolations.iterator().next();

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@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
HibernateConstraintViolation<Car> hibernateConstraintViolation = constraintViolation.
unwrap(
HibernateConstraintViolation.class
);
String suggestedCar = hibernateConstraintViolation.getDynamicPayload( String.class );
assertEquals( "Toyota Volta", suggestedCar );

12.9. Enabling Expression Language features

Hibernate Validator restricts the Expression Language features exposed by default.

For this purpose, we define several feature levels in ExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel:

• NONE: Expression Language interpolation is fully disabled.

• VARIABLES: Allow interpolation of the variables injected via addExpressionVariable(),
resources bundles and usage of the formatter object.
• BEAN_PROPERTIES: Allow everything VARIABLES allows plus the interpolation of bean properties.
• BEAN_METHODS: Also allow execution of bean methods. This can lead to serious security issues,
including arbitrary code execution if not carefully handled.

Depending on the context, the features we expose are different:

• For constraints, the default level is BEAN_PROPERTIES. For all the built-in constraint messages to
be correctly interpolated, you need at least the VARIABLES level.
• For custom violations, created via the ConstraintValidatorContext, Expression Language is
disabled by default. You can enable it for specific custom violations and, when enabled, it will
default to VARIABLES.

Hibernate Validator provides ways to override these defaults when boostrapping the
ValidatorFactory.

To change the Expression Language feature level for constraints, use the following:

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.constraintExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel( ExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel.VARIABLES )
.buildValidatorFactory();

To change the Expression Language feature level for custom violations, use the following:

ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.customViolationExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel( ExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel
.VARIABLES )
.buildValidatorFactory();

Doing this will automatically enable Expression Language for all the custom

 violations in your application.

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It should only be used for compatibility and to ease the migration from older
Hibernate Validator versions.

These levels can also be defined using the following properties:

• hibernate.validator.constraint_expression_language_feature_level
• hibernate.validator.custom_violation_expression_language_feature_level

Accepted values for these properties are: none, variables, bean-properties and bean-methods.

12.10. ParameterMessageInterpolator
Hibernate Validator requires per default an implementation of the Unified EL (see Section 1.1.1,
“Unified EL”) to be available. This is needed to allow the interpolation of constraint error messages
using EL expressions as defined by the Jakarta Validation specification.

For environments where you cannot or do not want to provide an EL implementation, Hibernate
Validator offers a non EL based message interpolator -
org.hibernate.validator.messageinterpolation.ParameterMessageInterpolator.

Refer to Section 4.2, “Custom message interpolation” to see how to plug in custom message
interpolator implementations.

Constraint messages containing EL expressions will be returned un-interpolated by


org.hibernate.validator.messageinterpolation.ParameterMessageInt
erpolator. This also affects built-in default constraint messages which use EL
expressions. At the moment, DecimalMin and DecimalMax are affected.

12.11. ResourceBundleLocator
With ResourceBundleLocator, Hibernate Validator provides an additional SPI which allows to
retrieve error messages from other resource bundles than ValidationMessages while still using the
actual interpolation algorithm as defined by the specification. Refer to Section 4.2.1,
“ResourceBundleLocator” to learn how to make use of that SPI.

12.12. Customizing the locale resolution


These contracts are marked as @Incubating so they might be subject to change in
the future.

Hibernate Validator provides several extension points to build a custom locale resolution strategy. The
resolved locale is used when interpolating the constraint violation messages.

The default behavior of Hibernate Validator is to always use the system default locale (as obtained via
Locale.getDefault()). This might not be the desired behavior if, for example, you usually set your
system locale to en-US but want your application to provide messages in French.

The following example shows how to set the Hibernate Validator default locale to fr-FR:

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Example 12.16: Configure the default locale

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.defaultLocale( Locale.FRANCE )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Set<ConstraintViolation<Bean>> violations = validator.validate( new Bean() );

assertEquals( "doit avoir la valeur vrai", violations.iterator().next().getMessage() );

While this is already a nice improvement, in a fully internationalized application, this is not sufficient:
you need Hibernate Validator to select the locale depending on the user context.

Hibernate Validator provides the

org.hibernate.validator.spi.messageinterpolation.LocaleResolver SPI which allows
to fine-tune the resolution of the locale. Typically, in a JAX-RS environment, you can resolve the locale
to use from the Accept-Language HTTP header.

In the following example, we use a hardcoded value but, for instance, in the case of a RESTEasy
application, you could extract the header from the ResteasyContext.

Example 12.17: Fine tune the locale used to interpolate the messages via a LocaleResolver

LocaleResolver localeResolver = new LocaleResolver() {

@Override
public Locale resolve(LocaleResolverContext context) {
// get the locales supported by the client from the Accept-Language header
String acceptLanguageHeader = "it-IT;q=0.9,en-US;q=0.7";

List<LanguageRange> acceptedLanguages = LanguageRange.parse( acceptLanguageHeader

);
List<Locale> resolvedLocales = Locale.filter( acceptedLanguages, context
.getSupportedLocales() );

if ( resolvedLocales.size() > 0 ) {
return resolvedLocales.get( 0 );
}

return context.getDefaultLocale();
}
};

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.defaultLocale( Locale.FRANCE )
.locales( Locale.FRANCE, Locale.ITALY, Locale.US )
.localeResolver( localeResolver )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Set<ConstraintViolation<Bean>> violations = validator.validate( new Bean() );

assertEquals( "deve essere true", violations.iterator().next().getMessage() );


When using the LocaleResolver, you have to define the list of supported locales
via the locales() method.

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12.13. Custom contexts
The Jakarta Validation specification offers at several points in its API the possibility to unwrap a given
interface to an implementor specific subtype. In the case of constraint violation creation in
ConstraintValidator implementations as well as message interpolation in
MessageInterpolator instances, there exist unwrap() methods for the provided context instances
- ConstraintValidatorContext respectively MessageInterpolatorContext. Hibernate
Validator provides custom extensions for both of these interfaces.

12.13.1. HibernateConstraintValidatorContext

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext is a subtype of ConstraintValidatorContext which

allows you to:

• enable Expression Language interpolation for a particular custom violation - see below
• set arbitrary parameters for interpolation via the Expression Language message interpolation
facility using
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext#addExpressionVariable(String, Object)
or HibernateConstraintValidatorContext#addMessageParameter(String, Object).

Example 150. Custom @Future validator injecting an expression variable

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.context;

public class MyFutureValidator implements ConstraintValidator<Future, Instant> {

@Override
public void initialize(Future constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Instant value, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( value == null ) {
return true;
}

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext hibernateContext = context.unwrap(

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class
);

Instant now = Instant.now( context.getClockProvider().getClock() );

if ( !value.isAfter( now ) ) {
hibernateContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();
hibernateContext
.addExpressionVariable( "now", now )
.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate( "Must be after ${now}" )
.addConstraintViolation();

return false;
}

return true;
}
}

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Example 151. Custom @Future validator injecting a message parameter

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.context;

public class MyFutureValidatorMessageParameter implements ConstraintValidator<Future,

Instant> {

@Override
public void initialize(Future constraintAnnotation) {
}

@Override
public boolean isValid(Instant value, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( value == null ) {
return true;
}

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext hibernateContext = context.unwrap(

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class
);

Instant now = Instant.now( context.getClockProvider().getClock() );

if ( !value.isAfter( now ) ) {
hibernateContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();
hibernateContext
.addMessageParameter( "now", now )
.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate( "Must be after {now}" )
.addConstraintViolation();

return false;
}

return true;
}
}

Apart from the syntax, the main difference between message parameters and
expression variables is that message parameters are simply interpolated
 whereas expression variables are interpreted using the Expression Language
engine. In practice, use message parameters if you do not need the advanced
features of an Expression Language.

Note that the parameters specified via addExpressionVariable(String,

Object) and addMessageParameter(String, Object) are global and apply
to all constraint violations created by this isValid() invocation. This includes
 the default constraint violation, but also all violations created by the
ConstraintViolationBuilder. You can, however, update the parameters
between invocations of
ConstraintViolationBuilder#addConstraintViolation().

• set an arbitrary dynamic payload - see Section 12.8, “Dynamic payload as part of
ConstraintViolation”

By default, Expression Language interpolation is disabled for custom violations, this to avoid arbitrary
code execution or sensitive data leak if message templates are built from improperly escaped user
input.

It is possible to enable Expression Language for a given custom violation by using

143
enableExpressionLanguage() as shown in the example below:

public class SafeValidator implements ConstraintValidator<ZipCode, String> {

@Override
public boolean isValid(String value, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
if ( value == null ) {
return true;
}

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext hibernateContext = context.unwrap(

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class );
hibernateContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();

if ( isInvalid( value ) ) {
hibernateContext
.addExpressionVariable( "validatedValue", value )
.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate( "${validatedValue} is not a valid
ZIP code" )
.enableExpressionLanguage()
.addConstraintViolation();

return false;
}

return true;
}

private boolean isInvalid(String value) {

// ...
return false;
}
}

In this case, the message template will be interpolated by the Expression Language engine.

By default, only variables interpolation is enabled when enabling Expression Language.

You can enable more features by using

HibernateConstraintViolationBuilder#enableExpressionLanguage(ExpressionLangua
geFeatureLevel level).

We define several levels of features for Expression Language interpolation:

• NONE: Expression Language interpolation is fully disabled - this is the default for custom violations.
• VARIABLES: Allow interpolation of the variables injected via addExpressionVariable(),
resources bundles and usage of the formatter object.
• BEAN_PROPERTIES: Allow everything VARIABLES allows plus the interpolation of bean properties.
• BEAN_METHODS: Also allow execution of bean methods. This can lead to serious security issues,
including arbitrary code execution if not carefully handled.

Using addExpressionVariable() is the only safe way to inject a variable into an

expression and it’s especially important if you use the BEAN_PROPERTIES or
BEAN_METHODS feature levels.

If you inject user input by simply concatenating the user input in the message, you
will allow potential arbitrary code execution and sensitive data leak: if the user input

144
contains valid expressions, they will be executed by the Expression Language
engine.

Here is an example of something you should ABSOLUTELY NOT do:

public class UnsafeValidator implements ConstraintValidator<ZipCode, String>

{

@Override
public boolean isValid(String value, ConstraintValidatorContext context)
{
if ( value == null ) {
return true;
}

context.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();

HibernateConstraintValidatorContext hibernateContext = context.

unwrap(
HibernateConstraintValidatorContext.class );
hibernateContext.disableDefaultConstraintViolation();

if ( isInvalid( value ) ) {
hibernateContext
// THIS IS UNSAFE, DO NOT COPY THIS EXAMPLE
.buildConstraintViolationWithTemplate( value + " is not a
valid ZIP code" )
.enableExpressionLanguage()
.addConstraintViolation();

return false;
}

return true;
}

private boolean isInvalid(String value) {

// ...
return false;
}
}

In the example above, if value, which might be user input, contains a valid
expression, it will be interpolated by the Expression Language engine, potentially
leading to unsafe behaviors.

12.13.2. HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext

Hibernate Validator also offers a custom extension of MessageInterpolatorContext, namely

HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext (see Example 12.18,
“HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext”). This subtype was introduced to allow a better
integration of Hibernate Validator into Glassfish. The root bean type was in this case needed to
determine the right class loader for the message resource bundle. If you have any other use cases, let
us know.

Example 12.18: HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext

public interface HibernateMessageInterpolatorContext extends MessageInterpolator.Context {

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/**
* Returns the currently validated root bean type.
*
* @return The currently validated root bean type.
*/
Class<?> getRootBeanType();

/**
* @return the message parameters added to this context for interpolation
*
* @since 5.4.1
*/
Map<String, Object> getMessageParameters();

/**
* @return the expression variables added to this context for EL interpolation
*
* @since 5.4.1
*/
Map<String, Object> getExpressionVariables();

/**
* @return the path to the validated constraint starting from the root bean
*
* @since 6.1
*/
Path getPropertyPath();

/**
* @return the level of features enabled for the Expression Language engine
*
* @since 6.2
*/
ExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel getExpressionLanguageFeatureLevel();
}

12.14. Paranamer based ParameterNameProvider

Hibernate Validator comes with a ParameterNameProvider implementation which leverages the
Paranamer library.

This library provides several ways for obtaining parameter names at runtime, e.g. based on debug
symbols created by the Java compiler, constants with the parameter names woven into the bytecode
in a post-compile step or annotations such as the @Named annotation from JSR 330.

In order to use ParanamerParameterNameProvider, either pass an instance when bootstrapping a

validator as shown in Example 9.10, “Using a custom ParameterNameProvider” or specify
org.hibernate.validator.parameternameprovider.ParanamerParameterNameProvider
as value for the <parameter-name-provider> element in the META-INF/validation.xml file.

When using this parameter name provider, you need to add the Paranamer library to
 your classpath. It is available in the Maven Central repository with the group id
com.thoughtworks.paranamer and the artifact id paranamer.

By default ParanamerParameterNameProvider retrieves parameter names from constants added

to the byte code at build time (via DefaultParanamer) and debug symbols (via
BytecodeReadingParanamer). Alternatively you can specify a Paranamer implementation of your
choice when creating a ParanamerParameterNameProvider instance.

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12.15. Providing constraint definitions
Jakarta Validation allows to (re-)define constraint definitions via XML in its constraint mapping files.
See Section 8.2, “Mapping constraints via constraint-mappings” for more information and
Example 8.2, “Bean constraints configured via XML” for an example. While this approach is sufficient
for many use cases, it has its shortcomings in others. Imagine for example a constraint library wanting
to contribute constraint definitions for custom types. This library could provide a mapping file with
their library, but this file still would need to be referenced by the user of the library. Luckily there are
better ways.


The following concepts are considered experimental at this time. Let us know
whether you find them useful and whether they meet your needs.

12.15.1. Constraint definitions via ServiceLoader

Hibernate Validator allows to utilize Java’s ServiceLoader mechanism to register additional constraint
definitions. All you have to do is to add the file jakarta.validation.ConstraintValidator to META-
INF/services. In this service file you list the fully qualified classnames of your constraint validator
classes (one per line). Hibernate Validator will automatically infer the constraint types they apply to.
See Constraint definition via service file for an example.

Example 12.19: META-INF/services/jakarta.validation.ConstraintValidator

# Assuming a custom constraint annotation @org.mycompany.CheckCase

org.mycompany.CheckCaseValidator

To contribute default messages for your custom constraints, place a file

ContributorValidationMessages.properties and/or its locale-specific specializations at the root of your
JAR. Hibernate Validator will consider the entries from all the bundles with this name found on the
classpath in addition to those given in ValidationMessages.properties.

This mechanism is also helpful when creating large multi-module applications: instead of putting all
the constraint messages into one single bundle, you can have one resource bundle per module
containing only those messages of that module.

We highly recommend the reading of this blog post by Marko Bekhta, guiding you
 step by step through the process of creating an independent JAR that contains your
custom constraints and declares them via the ServiceLoader.

12.15.2. Adding constraint definitions programmatically

While the service loader approach works in many scenarios, but not in all (think for example OSGi
where service files are not visible), there is yet another way of contributing constraint definitions. You
can use the programmatic constraint declaration API - see Example 12.20, “Adding constraint
definitions through the programmatic API”.

Example 12.20: Adding constraint definitions through the programmatic API

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

147
constraintMapping
.constraintDefinition( ValidPassengerCount.class )
.validatedBy( ValidPassengerCountValidator.class );

If your validator implementation is rather simple (i.e. no initialization from the annotation is needed,
and ConstraintValidatorContext is not used), you also can use this alternative API to specify the
constraint logic using a Lambda expression or method reference:

Example 12.21: Adding constraint definition with a Lambda expression

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping();

constraintMapping
.constraintDefinition( ValidPassengerCount.class )
.validateType( Bus.class )
.with( b -> b.getSeatCount() >= b.getPassengers().size() );

Instead of directly adding a constraint mapping to the configuration object, you may use a
ConstraintMappingContributor as detailed in Section 12.5, “Applying programmatic constraint
declarations to the default validator factory”. This can be useful when configuring the default validator
factory using META-INF/validation.xml (see Chapter 8, Configuring via XML).

One use case for registering constraint definitions through the programmatic API is
the ability to specify an alternative constraint validator for the @URL constraint.
Historically, Hibernate Validator’s default constraint validator for this constraint
uses the java.net.URL constructor to validate an URL. However, there is also a
purely regular expression based version available which can be configured using a
ConstraintDefinitionContributor:

 Using the programmatic constraint declaration API to register a regular expression based
constraint definition for @URL

ConstraintMapping constraintMapping = configuration.createConstraintMapping(

);

constraintMapping
.constraintDefinition( URL.class )
.includeExistingValidators( false )
.validatedBy( RegexpURLValidator.class );

12.16. Customizing class-loading

There are several cases in which Hibernate Validator needs to load resources or classes given by
name:

• XML descriptors (META-INF/validation.xml as well as XML constraint mappings)

• classes specified by name in XML descriptors (e.g. custom message interpolators etc.)
• the ValidationMessages resource bundle
• the ExpressionFactory implementation used for expression based message interpolation

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By default, Hibernate Validator tries to load these resources via the current thread context class
loader. If that’s not successful, Hibernate Validator’s own class loader will be tried as a fallback.

For cases where this strategy is not appropriate (e.g. modularized environments such as OSGi), you
may provide a specific class loader for loading these resources when bootstrapping the validator
factory:

Example 12.22: Providing a class loader for loading external resources and classes

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.externalClassLoader( classLoader )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

In the case of OSGi, you could e.g. pass the loader of a class from the bundle bootstrapping Hibernate
Validator or a custom class loader implementation which delegates to Bundle#loadClass() etc.

Call ValidatorFactory#close() if a given validator factory instance is not


needed any longer. Failure to do so may result in a class loader leak in cases where
applications/bundles are re-deployed and a non-closed validator factory still is
referenced by application code.

12.17. Customizing the getter property selection strategy

When a bean is validated by Hibernate Validator, its properties get validated. A property can either be
a field or a getter. By default, Hibernate Validator respects the JavaBeans specification and considers
a method as a getter as soon as one of the conditions below is true:

• the method name starts with get, it has a non-void return type and has no parameters;
• the method name starts with is, has a return type of boolean and has no parameters;
• the method name starts with has, has a return type of boolean and has no parameters (this rule is
specific to Hibernate Validator and is not mandated by the JavaBeans specification)

While these rules are usually appropriate when following the classic JavaBeans convention, it might
happen, especially with code generators, that the JavaBeans naming convention is not followed and
that the getters' names are following a different convention.

In this case, the strategy for detecting getters should be redefined in order to fully validate the object.

A classic example of this requirement is when the classes follow a fluent naming convention, as
illustrated in Example 12.23, “A class that uses non-standard getters”.

Example 12.23: A class that uses non-standard getters

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.getterselectionstrategy;

public class User {

private String firstName;

private String lastName;

149
private String email;

// [...]

@NotEmpty
public String firstName() {
return firstName;
}

@NotEmpty
public String lastName() {
return lastName;
}

@Email
public String email() {
return email;
}
}

If such object gets validated, no validation will be performed on the getters as they are not detected by
the standard strategy.

Example 12.24: Validating a class with non-standard getters using the default getter property selection strategy

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

User user = new User( "", "", "not an email" );

Set<ConstraintViolation<User>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( user );

// as User has non-standard getters no violations are triggered

assertEquals( 0, constraintViolations.size() );

To make Hibernate Validator treat such methods as properties, a custom

GetterPropertySelectionStrategy should be configured. In this particular case, a possible
implementation of the strategy would be:

Example 12.25: Custom GetterPropertySelectionStrategy implementation

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.getterselectionstrategy;

public class FluentGetterPropertySelectionStrategy implements

GetterPropertySelectionStrategy {

private final Set<String> methodNamesToIgnore;

public FluentGetterPropertySelectionStrategy() {
// we will ignore all the method names coming from Object
this.methodNamesToIgnore = Arrays.stream( Object.class.getDeclaredMethods() )
.map( Method::getName )
.collect( Collectors.toSet() );
}

@Override
public Optional<String> getProperty(ConstrainableExecutable executable) {
if ( methodNamesToIgnore.contains( executable.getName() )
|| executable.getReturnType() == void.class

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|| executable.getParameterTypes().length > 0 ) {
return Optional.empty();
}

return Optional.of( executable.getName() );

}

@Override
public List<String> getGetterMethodNameCandidates(String propertyName) {
// As method name == property name, there always is just one possible name for a
method
return Collections.singletonList( propertyName );
}
}

There are multiple ways to configure Hibernate Validator to use this strategy. It can either be done
programmatically (see Example 12.26, “Configuring a custom GetterPropertySelectionStrategy
programmatically”) or by using the
hibernate.validator.getter_property_selection_strategy property in the XML
configuration (see Example 12.27, “Configuring a custom GetterPropertySelectionStrategy
using an XML property”).

Example 12.26: Configuring a custom GetterPropertySelectionStrategy programmatically

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
// Setting a custom getter property selection strategy
.getterPropertySelectionStrategy( new FluentGetterPropertySelectionStrategy() )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

User user = new User( "", "", "not an email" );

Set<ConstraintViolation<User>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( user );

assertEquals( 3, constraintViolations.size() );

Example 12.27: Configuring a custom GetterPropertySelectionStrategy using an XML property

org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.getterselectionstrategy.NoPrefixGetterProp
ertySelectionStrategy
</property>

</validation-config>

It is important to mention that in cases where programmatic constraints are added

using
 HibernateValidatorConfiguration#addMapping(ConstraintMapping),
adding mappings should always be done after the required getter property selection

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strategy is configured. Otherwise, the default strategy will be used for the mappings
added before defining the strategy.

12.18. Customizing the property name resolution for

constraint violations
Imagine that we have a simple data class that has @NotNull constraints on some fields:

Example 12.28: Person data class

public class Person {

@NotNull
@JsonProperty("first_name")
private final String firstName;

@JsonProperty("last_name")
private final String lastName;

public Person(String firstName, String lastName) {

this.firstName = firstName;
this.lastName = lastName;
}
}

This class can be serialized to JSON by using the Jackson library:

Example 12.29: Serializing Person object to JSON

public class PersonSerializationTest {

private final ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper();

@Test
public void personIsSerialized() throws JsonProcessingException {
Person person = new Person( "Clark", "Kent" );

String serializedPerson = objectMapper.writeValueAsString( person );

assertEquals( "{\"first_name\":\"Clark\",\"last_name\":\"Kent\"}", serializedPerson

);
}
}

As we can see, the object is serialized to:

Example 12.30: Person as json

{
"first_name": "Clark",
"last_name": "Kent"
}

Notice how the names of the properties differ. In the Java object, we have firstName and lastName,
whereas in the JSON output, we have first_name and last_name. We customized this behavior
through @JsonProperty annotations.

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Now imagine that we use this class in a REST environment, where a user can send a Person instance
as JSON in the request body. It would be nice, when indicating on which field the validation failed, to
indicate the name they use in their JSON request, first_name, and not the name we use internally in
our Java code, firstName.

The org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.PropertyNodeNameProvider
contract allows us to do this. By implementing it, we can define how the name of a property will be
resolved during validation. In our case, we want to read the value from the Jackson configuration.

One example of how to do this is to leverage the Jackson API:

Example 12.31: JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider implementation

import org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.JavaBeanProperty;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.Property;
import org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.PropertyNodeNameProvider;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.BeanDescription;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JavaType;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.introspect.BeanPropertyDefinition;

public class JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider implements PropertyNodeNameProvider {

private final ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper();

@Override
public String getName(Property property) {
if ( property instanceof JavaBeanProperty ) {
return getJavaBeanPropertyName( (JavaBeanProperty) property );
}

return getDefaultName( property );

}

private String getJavaBeanPropertyName(JavaBeanProperty property) {

JavaType type = objectMapper.constructType( property.getDeclaringClass() );
BeanDescription desc = objectMapper.getSerializationConfig().introspect( type );

return desc.findProperties()
.stream()
.filter( prop -> prop.getInternalName().equals( property.getName() ) )
.map( BeanPropertyDefinition::getName )
.findFirst()
.orElse( property.getName() );
}

private String getDefaultName(Property property) {

return property.getName();
}
}

And when doing the validation:

Example 12.32: JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider usage

public class JacksonPropertyNodeNameProviderTest {

@Test
public void nameIsReadFromJacksonAnnotationOnField() {
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class
)
.configure()

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.propertyNodeNameProvider( new JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider() )
.buildValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Person clarkKent = new Person( null, "Kent" );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Person>> violations = validator.validate( clarkKent );

ConstraintViolation<Person> violation = violations.iterator().next();

assertEquals( violation.getPropertyPath().toString(), "first_name" );

}

We can see that the property path now returns first_name.

Note that this also works when the annotations are on a getter:

Example 12.33: Annotation on a getter

@Test
public void nameIsReadFromJacksonAnnotationOnGetter() {
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )
.configure()
.propertyNodeNameProvider( new JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider() )
.buildValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();

Person clarkKent = new Person( null, "Kent" );

Set<ConstraintViolation<Person>> violations = validator.validate( clarkKent );

ConstraintViolation<Person> violation = violations.iterator().next();

assertEquals( violation.getPropertyPath().toString(), "first_name" );

}

public class Person {

private final String firstName;

@JsonProperty("last_name")
private final String lastName;

public Person(String firstName, String lastName) {

this.firstName = firstName;
this.lastName = lastName;
}

@NotNull
@JsonProperty("first_name")
public String getFirstName() {
return firstName;
}
}

This is just one use case of why we would like to change how the property names are resolved.

org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.PropertyNodeNameProvider can be
implemented to provide a property name in whatever way you see fit (reading from annotations, for
instance).

There are two more interfaces that are worth mentioning:

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• org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.Property is a base interface that
holds metadata about a property. It has a single String getName() method that can be used to
get the "original" name of a property. This interface should be used as a default way of resolving
the name (see how it is used in Example 12.31, “JacksonPropertyNodeNameProvider
implementation”).
• org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.JavaBeanProperty is an interface
that holds metadata about a bean property. It extends
org.hibernate.validator.spi.nodenameprovider.Property and provide some additional
methods like Class<?> getDeclaringClass() which returns the class that is the owner of the
property.

12.19. Fail fast on property violation mode


This mode is marked as @Incubating, so it might be subject to change in the
future.

Fail fast on property violation mode allows to perform class level constraint validation only if all
property level constrints have passed without any violations. Enabling such mode should make writing
class level constraint validators easier and cleaner, as the user will be working with valid properties.
Hence, there will be no need in any additional null checks or data sanity checks.

This mode can be enabled using one of the Hibernate Validator common ways. It can be done either
programmatically (Example 12.34, “Using the fail fast on property violation validation mode”), or
through the property (Example 12.36, “Setting the fail fast on property violation validation mode using
an XML property”).

Example 12.34: Using the fail fast on property violation validation mode

package org.hibernate.validator.referenceguide.chapter12.failfastonpropertyviolation;

@NonSelfPublishing
public class Book {

@ISBN
private String isbn;

@NotBlank
private String title;

@NotNull
private Person author;

@NotNull
private Person publisher;

//constructors, getters and setters...

}

Validator validator = Validation.byProvider( HibernateValidator.class )

.configure()
.failFastOnPropertyViolation( true )
.buildValidatorFactory()
.getValidator();

Book book = new Book( "978-1-56619-909-4", "Book", null /* author */, null /* publisher */

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);

Set<ConstraintViolation<Book>> constraintViolations = validator.validate( book );

assertEquals( 2, constraintViolations.size() );

for ( ConstraintViolation<Book> constraintViolation : constraintViolations ) {

assertEquals(
NotNull.class,
constraintViolation.getConstraintDescriptor()
.getAnnotation()
.annotationType()
);
}

Using this mode allows us to omit any additional checks in our class level validator. We don’t need to
be worried about any of the properties being null as we’ve dealt with it already, using standard
constraints.


It is important to mention that only simple property constraints will be checked
before going to class level ones. Any cascading constraints will be delayed till later.

Example 12.35: Implementation of NonSelfPublishing class level constrain validator

class NonSelfPublishingValidator implements ConstraintValidator<NonSelfPublishing, Book> {

@Override
public boolean isValid(Book book, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
return !book.getAuthor().equals( book.getPublisher() );
}
}

Example 12.36: Setting the fail fast on property violation validation mode using an XML property

<validation-config
xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/validation/configuration"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/validation/configuration
http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/validation/configuration/validation-configuration-
2.0.xsd"
version="2.0">

</validation-config>

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Chapter 13. Annotation Processor
Have you ever caught yourself by unintentionally doing things like

• specifying constraint annotations at unsupported data types (e.g. by annotating a String with
@Past)

• annotating the setter of a JavaBeans property (instead of the getter method)

• annotating static fields/methods with constraint annotations (which is not supported)?

Then the Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor is the right thing for you. It helps preventing such
mistakes by plugging into the build process and raising compilation errors whenever constraint
annotations are incorrectly used.

You can find the Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor as part of the


distribution bundle on Sourceforge or in the usual Maven repositories such as Maven
Central under the GAV org.hibernate.validator:hibernate-validator-
annotation-processor:9.0.0.Beta3.

13.1. Prerequisites
The Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor is based on the "Pluggable Annotation Processing API"
as defined by JSR 269 which is part of the Java Platform.

13.2. Features
As of Hibernate Validator 9.0.0.Beta3 the Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor checks that:

• constraint annotations are allowed for the type of the annotated element
• only non-static fields or methods are annotated with constraint annotations
• only non-primitive fields or methods are annotated with @Valid
• only such methods are annotated with constraint annotations which are valid JavaBeans getter
methods (optionally, see below)
• only such annotation types are annotated with constraint annotations which are constraint
annotations themselves
• definition of dynamic default group sequence with @GroupSequenceProvider is valid
• annotation parameter values are meaningful and valid
• method parameter constraints in inheritance hierarchies respect the inheritance rules
• method return value constraints in inheritance hierarchies respect the inheritance rules

13.3. Options
The behavior of the Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor can be controlled using the following
processor options:

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diagnosticKind
Controls how constraint problems are reported. Must be the string representation of one of the
values from the enum javax.tools.Diagnostic.Kind, e.g. WARNING. A value of ERROR will
cause compilation to halt whenever the AP detects a constraint problem. Defaults to ERROR.

methodConstraintsSupported
Controls whether constraints are allowed at methods of any kind. Must be set to true when
working with method level constraints as supported by Hibernate Validator. Can be set to false to
allow constraints only at JavaBeans getter methods as defined by the Jakarta Validation API.
Defaults to true.

verbose
Controls whether detailed processing information shall be displayed or not, useful for debugging
purposes. Must be either true or false. Defaults to false.

13.4. Using the Annotation Processor

This section shows in detail how to integrate the Hibernate Validator Annotation Processor into
command line builds (Maven, Ant, javac) as well as IDE-based builds (Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans).

13.4.1. Command line builds

13.4.1.1. Maven

For using the Hibernate Validator annotation processor with Maven, set it up via the
annotationProcessorPaths option like this:

Example 13.1: Using the HV Annotation Processor with Maven

<project>
[...]
<build>
[...]
<plugins>
[...]
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.13.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>17</source>
<target>17</target>
<annotationProcessorPaths>
<path>
<groupId>org.hibernate.validator</groupId>
<artifactId>hibernate-validator-annotation-
processor</artifactId>
<version>9.0.0.Beta3</version>
</path>
</annotationProcessorPaths>
</configuration>
</plugin>
[...]
</plugins>
[...]

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</build>
[...]
</project>

13.4.1.2. Gradle

When using Gradle it is enough to reference the annotation processor as an annotationProcessor

dependency.

Example 13.2: Using the annotation processor with Gradle

dependencies {
annotationProcessor group: 'org.hibernate.validator', name: 'hibernate-validator-
annotation-processor', version: '9.0.0.Beta3'

// any other dependencies ...

}

13.4.1.3. Apache Ant

Similar to directly working with javac, the annotation processor can be added as as compiler argument
when invoking the javac task for Apache Ant:

Example 13.3: Using the annotation processor with Ant

13.4.1.4. javac

When compiling on the command line using javac, specify the JAR hibernate-validator-annotation-
processor-9.0.0.Beta3.jar using the "processorpath" option as shown in the following listing. The
processor will be detected automatically by the compiler and invoked during compilation.

Example 13.4: Using the annotation processor with javac

javac src/main/java/org/hibernate/validator/ap/demo/Car.java \
-cp /path/to/validation-api-3.1.0.jar \
-processorpath /path/to/hibernate-validator-annotation-processor-9.0.0.Beta3.jar

13.4.2. IDE builds

13.4.2.1. Eclipse

The annotation processor will automatically be set up for Maven projects configured as described
above, provided you have the M2E Eclipse plug-in installed.

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For plain Eclipse projects follow these steps to set up the annotation processor:

• Right-click your project, choose "Properties"

• Go to "Java Compiler" and make sure, that "Compiler compliance level" is set to "17". Otherwise
the processor won’t be activated
• Go to "Java Compiler - Annotation Processing" and choose "Enable annotation processing"
• Go to "Java Compiler - Annotation Processing - Factory Path" and add the JAR hibernate-
validator-annotation-processor-9.0.0.Beta3.jar
• Confirm the workspace rebuild

You now should see any annotation problems as regular error markers within the editor and in the
"Problem" view:

13.4.2.2. IntelliJ IDEA

The following steps must be followed to use the annotation processor within IntelliJ IDEA (version 9
and above):

• Go to "File", then "Settings",

• Expand the node "Compiler", then "Annotation Processors"
• Choose "Enable annotation processing" and enter the following as "Processor path":
/path/to/hibernate-validator-annotation-processor-9.0.0.Beta3.jar

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• Add the processor’s fully qualified name org.hibernate.validator.ap.ConstraintValidationProcessor
to the "Annotation Processors" list
• If applicable add you module to the "Processed Modules" list

Rebuilding your project then should show any erroneous constraint annotations:

13.4.2.3. NetBeans

The NetBeans IDE supports using annotation processors within the IDE build. To do so, do the
following:

• Right-click your project, choose "Properties"

• Go to "Libraries", tab "Processor", and add the JAR hibernate-validator-annotation-processor-
9.0.0.Beta3.jar
• Go to "Build - Compiling", select "Enable Annotation Processing" and "Enable Annotation
Processing in Editor". Add the annotation processor by specifying its fully qualified name
org.hibernate.validator.ap.ConstraintValidationProcessor

Any constraint annotation problems will then be marked directly within the editor:

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13.5. Known issues
The following known issues exist as of July 2017:

• Container element constraints are not supported for now.

• Constraints applied to a container but in reality applied to the container elements (be it via the
Unwrapping.Unwrap payload or via a value extractor marked with @UnwrapByDefault) are not
supported correctly.
• HV-308: Additional validators registered for a constraint using XML are not evaluated by the
annotation processor.
• Sometimes custom constraints can’t be properly evaluated when using the processor within
Eclipse. Cleaning the project can help in these situations. This seems to be an issue with the
Eclipse JSR 269 API implementation, but further investigation is required here.
• When using the processor within Eclipse, the check of dynamic default group sequence definitions
doesn’t work. After further investigation, it seems to be an issue with the Eclipse JSR 269 API
implementation.

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Chapter 14. Further reading
Last but not least, a few pointers to further information.

A great source for examples is the Jakarta Validation TCK which is available for anonymous access on
GitHub. In particular the TCK’s tests might be of interest. The Jakarta Validation specification itself is
also a great way to deepen your understanding of Jakarta Validation and Hibernate Validator.

If you have any further questions about Hibernate Validator or want to share some of your use cases,
have a look at the Hibernate Validator Wiki, the Hibernate Validator Forum and the Hibernate
Validator tag on Stack Overflow.

In case you would like to report a bug use Hibernate’s Jira instance. Feedback is always welcome!

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