Hibernate Validator Annotations Example

Welcome to Hibernate Validator Annotations Example tutorial. Today, i will show you Hibernate Validator API with a full working example. Hibernate Validator is a JSR 303 implementation for bean validation. The way to work with hibernate framework is to define constraints for java bean fields, and then, validating the bean.

Hibernate Validator features

Defining validation data using annotation and/or XML.
Full object validation, including inner objects using recursion
Create customized constraints and validators.
Customized error messages.
Define groups(profiles).
Create a Traversable Resolver.

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Create project directory structure
In this Hibernate Validator Annotations Example, we will create java project with final directory structure:

Hibernate Validator Annotations Example

Maven dependencies
We provide the required Hibernate and MySQL dependency in pom.xml like this:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
	<groupId>com.javabycode.hibernate</groupId>
	<artifactId>HibernateValidatorAnnotationsExample</artifactId>
	<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
	<description>Hibernate validator annotations example</description>

	<dependencies>
		<!-- Hibernate Core API -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
			<artifactId>hibernate-core</artifactId>
			<version>4.3.11.Final</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
			<artifactId>hibernate-annotations</artifactId>
			<version>3.5.6-Final</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.validation</groupId>
			<artifactId>validation-api</artifactId>
			<version>1.1.0.Final</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
			<artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
			<version>5.1.1.Final</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.el</groupId>
			<artifactId>javax.el-api</artifactId>
			<version>2.2.4</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.glassfish.web</groupId>
			<artifactId>javax.el</artifactId>
			<version>2.2.4</version>
		</dependency>
		<!-- MySQL Driver -->
		<dependency>
			<groupId>mysql</groupId>
			<artifactId>mysql-connector-java</artifactId>
			<version>5.0.5</version>
		</dependency>
		
	</dependencies>
</project>

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">

<groupId>com.javabycode.hibernate</groupId>

<artifactId>HibernateValidatorAnnotationsExample</artifactId>

<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>

<description>Hibernate validator annotations example</description>

<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>

<artifactId>hibernate-core</artifactId>

<version>4.3.11.Final</version>

</dependency>

<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>

<artifactId>hibernate-annotations</artifactId>

<version>3.5.6-Final</version>

</dependency>

<groupId>javax.validation</groupId>

<artifactId>validation-api</artifactId>

<version>1.1.0.Final</version>

</dependency>

<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>

<artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>

<version>5.1.1.Final</version>

</dependency>

<groupId>javax.el</groupId>

<artifactId>javax.el-api</artifactId>

</dependency>

<groupId>org.glassfish.web</groupId>

<artifactId>javax.el</artifactId>

</dependency>

<groupId>mysql</groupId>

<artifactId>mysql-connector-java</artifactId>

</dependency>

</dependencies>

</project>

Let’s look into the above dependencies:
We need to add JSR303 and Hibernate Validator dependencies in pom.xml to use them.

		<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.validation</groupId>
			<artifactId>validation-api</artifactId>
			<version>1.1.0.Final</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
			<artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
			<version>5.1.1.Final</version>
		</dependency>

<groupId>javax.validation</groupId>

<artifactId>validation-api</artifactId>

<version>1.1.0.Final</version>

</dependency>

<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>

<artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>

<version>5.1.1.Final</version>

</dependency>

However, Hibernate Validator requires Expression Language API dependencies (JSR 341) for evaluating dynamic expressions in constraint violation messages. Required dependencies are

<dependency>
			<groupId>javax.el</groupId>
			<artifactId>javax.el-api</artifactId>
			<version>2.2.4</version>
		</dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.glassfish.web</groupId>
			<artifactId>javax.el</artifactId>
			<version>2.2.4</version>
		</dependency>

<groupId>javax.el</groupId>

<artifactId>javax.el-api</artifactId>

</dependency>

<groupId>org.glassfish.web</groupId>

<artifactId>javax.el</artifactId>

</dependency>

If you run the application on server application such as JBoss, you can skip over this dependencies because it’s already provided.

Create bean validation
Create a Student class and add some validation constraints to it. You also refer to other validation constraints

package com.javabycode.hibernate.model;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Date;

import javax.persistence.Column;
import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.GeneratedValue;
import javax.persistence.GenerationType;
import javax.persistence.Id;
import javax.persistence.Table;
import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull;
import javax.validation.constraints.Past;
import javax.validation.constraints.Size;
import org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty;

@Entity
@Table(name = "STUDENT")
public class Student implements Serializable {

	private static final long serialVersionUID = 6832006422622219737L;

	@Id
	@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
	private Long id;

	@NotEmpty(message="Name cannot be empty")
	@Size(min=5, max=30)
	@Column(name = "NAME", nullable = false)
	private String name;

	@NotNull
	@Past 	
	@Column(name = "ENTERING_DATE", nullable = false)
	private Date enteringDate;
	
	@NotEmpty
	@Column(name = "NATIONALITY", nullable = false)
	private String nationality;

	@NotNull(message="Code cannot be null")
	@Size(min=5, max=5)
	@Column(name = "CODE", nullable = false)
	private String code;
	
	public Student(){
		
	}

	public Student(String name, Date enteringDate,String nationality, String code){
		this.name = name;
		this.enteringDate = enteringDate;
		this.nationality = nationality;
		this.code = code;
	}
	
	public Long getId() {
		return id;
	}

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

	public String getName() {
		return name;
	}

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

	public void setCode(String code) {
		this.code = code;
	}

	public void setEnteringDate(Date enteringDate) {
		this.enteringDate = enteringDate;
	}

	public void setNationality(String nationality) {
		this.nationality = nationality;
	}

	public String getCode() {
		return code;
	}

	public Date getEnteringDate() {
		return enteringDate;
	}

	public String getNationality() {
		return nationality;
	}

	@Override
	public int hashCode() {
		final int prime = 31;
		int result = 1;
		result = prime * result + name.hashCode();
		result = prime * result + ((code == null) ? 0 : code.hashCode());
		return result;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean equals(Object obj) {
		if (this == obj)
			return true;
		if (obj == null)
			return false;
		if (!(obj instanceof Student))
			return false;
		Student other = (Student) obj;
		if (id != other.id)
			return false;
		if (code == null) {
			if (other.code != null)
				return false;
		} else if (!code.equals(other.code))
			return false;
		return true;
	}

	@Override
	public String toString() {
		return "Student [id=" + id + ", name=" + name + ", enteringDate=" + enteringDate + ", nationality="
				+ nationality + ", code=" + code + "]";
	}
}

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package com.javabycode.hibernate.model;

import java.io.Serializable;

import java.util.Date;

import javax.persistence.Column;

import javax.persistence.Entity;

import javax.persistence.GeneratedValue;

import javax.persistence.GenerationType;

import javax.persistence.Id;

import javax.persistence.Table;

import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull;

import javax.validation.constraints.Past;

import javax.validation.constraints.Size;

import org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty;

@Entity

@Table(name = "STUDENT")

public class Student implements Serializable {

private static final long serialVersionUID = 6832006422622219737L;

@Id

@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)

private Long id;

@NotEmpty(message="Name cannot be empty")

@Size(min=5, max=30)

@Column(name = "NAME", nullable = false)

private String name;

@NotNull

@Past

@Column(name = "ENTERING_DATE", nullable = false)

private Date enteringDate;

@NotEmpty

@Column(name = "NATIONALITY", nullable = false)

private String nationality;

@NotNull(message="Code cannot be null")

@Size(min=5, max=5)

@Column(name = "CODE", nullable = false)

private String code;

public Student(){

}

public Student(String name, Date enteringDate,String nationality, String code){

this.name = name;

this.enteringDate = enteringDate;

this.nationality = nationality;

this.code = code;

}

public Long getId() {

return id;

}

public void setId(Long id) {

this.id = id;

}

public String getName() {

return name;

}

public void setName(String name) {

this.name = name;

}

public void setCode(String code) {

this.code = code;

}

public void setEnteringDate(Date enteringDate) {

this.enteringDate = enteringDate;

}

public void setNationality(String nationality) {

this.nationality = nationality;

}

public String getCode() {

return code;

}

public Date getEnteringDate() {

return enteringDate;

}

public String getNationality() {

return nationality;

}

@Override

public int hashCode() {

final int prime = 31;

int result = 1;

result = prime * result + name.hashCode();

result = prime * result + ((code == null) ? 0 : code.hashCode());

return result;

}

@Override

public boolean equals(Object obj) {

if (this == obj)

return true;

if (obj == null)

return false;

if (!(obj instanceof Student))

return false;

Student other = (Student) obj;

if (id != other.id)

return false;

if (code == null) {

if (other.code != null)

return false;

} else if (!code.equals(other.code))

return false;

return true;

}

@Override

public String toString() {

return "Student [id=" + id + ", name=" + name + ", enteringDate=" + enteringDate + ", nationality="

+ nationality + ", code=" + code + "]";

}

As you see above, we can also provide custom error message for any validation. If not the hibernate built-in error message will be used.

Hibernate Validator Custom Error Messages
We can create our custom error messages too, all we need is to push ValidationMessages.properties file into the classpath.

ValidationMessages.properties

javax.validation.constraints.NotNull.message = attribute is required
org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty.message = attribute is required

1 2	javax.validation.constraints.NotNull.message = attribute is required org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty.message = attribute is required

Hibernate validator also support localization, in that case the file names follow the pattern of bundle name with language code and country code, for example ValidationMessages_en_US.properties

The property name for message is fully classified annotation name with message at the end, you can easily figure out from above examples.

Create a test program
In this Hibernate Validator Annotations Example tutorial, we create a main class in which we save a student object missed some fields. Then we validate that object by using Hibernate validator API.

package com.javabycode.hibernate;

import java.util.Set;
import javax.validation.Validation;
import javax.validation.Validator;
import javax.validation.ValidatorFactory;
import javax.validation.ConstraintViolation;
import org.hibernate.Session;
import org.hibernate.SessionFactory;

import com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student;

public class HibernateValidatorAnnotationsExample {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		SessionFactory sessionFactory = HibernateUtil.getSessionFactory();
		ValidatorFactory factory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();
		Validator validator = factory.getValidator();

		Student student = new Student("", null, "", "1234569");
		Set<ConstraintViolation<Student>> constraintViolations = validator.validate(student);
		// printing the validation errors
		for (ConstraintViolation<Student> constraintViolation : constraintViolations) {
			System.out.println(constraintViolation.getPropertyPath() + " -> " + constraintViolation.getMessage());
		}

		Session session = sessionFactory.openSession();
		session.save(student);
		sessionFactory.close();
	}

}

package com.javabycode.hibernate;

import java.util.Set;

import javax.validation.Validation;

import javax.validation.Validator;

import javax.validation.ValidatorFactory;

import javax.validation.ConstraintViolation;

import org.hibernate.Session;

import org.hibernate.SessionFactory;

import com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student;

public class HibernateValidatorAnnotationsExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {

SessionFactory sessionFactory = HibernateUtil.getSessionFactory();

ValidatorFactory factory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();

Validator validator = factory.getValidator();

Student student = new Student("", null, "", "1234569");

Set<ConstraintViolation<Student>> constraintViolations = validator.validate(student);

// printing the validation errors

for (ConstraintViolation<Student> constraintViolation : constraintViolations) {

System.out.println(constraintViolation.getPropertyPath() + " -> " + constraintViolation.getMessage());

}

Session session = sessionFactory.openSession();

session.save(student);

sessionFactory.close();

}

Run above main and produce the output like below

nationality -> attribute is required
name -> Name cannot be empty
code -> size must be between 5 and 5
name -> size must be between 5 and 30
enteringDate -> attribute is required
Exception in thread "main" javax.validation.ConstraintViolationException: Validation failed for classes [com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student] during persist time for groups [javax.validation.groups.Default, ]
List of constraint violations:[
	ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='attribute is required', propertyPath=nationality, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty.message}'}
	ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='Name cannot be empty', propertyPath=name, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='Name cannot be empty'}
	ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='size must be between 5 and 5', propertyPath=code, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.Size.message}'}
	ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='size must be between 5 and 30', propertyPath=name, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.Size.message}'}
	ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='attribute is required', propertyPath=enteringDate, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.NotNull.message}'}
]

nationality -> attribute is required

name -> Name cannot be empty

code -> size must be between 5 and 5

name -> size must be between 5 and 30

enteringDate -> attribute is required

Exception in thread "main" javax.validation.ConstraintViolationException: Validation failed for classes [com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student] during persist time for groups [javax.validation.groups.Default, ]

List of constraint violations:[

ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='attribute is required', propertyPath=nationality, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{org.hibernate.validator.constraints.NotEmpty.message}'}

ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='Name cannot be empty', propertyPath=name, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='Name cannot be empty'}

ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='size must be between 5 and 5', propertyPath=code, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.Size.message}'}

ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='size must be between 5 and 30', propertyPath=name, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.Size.message}'}

ConstraintViolationImpl{interpolatedMessage='attribute is required', propertyPath=enteringDate, rootBeanClass=class com.javabycode.hibernate.model.Student, messageTemplate='{javax.validation.constraints.NotNull.message}'}

]

That’s it on the tutorial Hibernate Validator Annotations Example

Download complete source code, please click link below

HibernateValidatorAnnotationsExample.zip (185 downloads)

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