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How can I deserialize a nested wrapped String in Jackson?

I have a JSON string that contains a nested and wrapped JSON string. I'd like to deserialize this using Jackson but I'm unsure how. Here's a sample bean:
#JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
public class SomePerson {
public final String ssn;
public final String birthday;
public final Address address;
#JsonCreator
public SomePerson(
#JsonProperty("ssn") String ssn,
#JsonProperty("birthday") String birthday,
#JsonProperty("data") Address address,
#JsonProperty("related") List<String> related) {
this.ssn = ssn;
this.birthday = birthday;
this.address = address;
}
#JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
public static class Address {
public final String city;
public final String country;
#JsonCreator
public Address(
#JsonProperty("city") String city,
#JsonProperty("country") String country) {
this.city = city;
this.country = country;
}
}
}
The JSON string resembles this:
{
ssn: "001",
birthday: "01.01.2020",
address: "{ city: \"London\", country: \"UK\" }"
}
While I've deserialized nsted objects before - I'm rather lost as to how to do this when the object is a wrapped string.

When internal object is escaped JSON String we need to deserialise it "twice". First time is run when root JSON Object is deserialised and second time we need to run manually. To do that we need to implement custom deserialiser which implements com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.deser.ContextualDeserializer interface. It could look like this:
class FromStringJsonDeserializer<T> extends StdDeserializer<T> implements ContextualDeserializer {
/**
* Required by library to instantiate base instance
* */
public FromStringJsonDeserializer() {
super(Object.class);
}
public FromStringJsonDeserializer(JavaType type) {
super(type);
}
#Override
public T deserialize(JsonParser p, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException {
String value = p.getValueAsString();
return ((ObjectMapper) p.getCodec()).readValue(value, _valueType);
}
#Override
public JsonDeserializer<?> createContextual(DeserializationContext ctxt, BeanProperty property) {
return new FromStringJsonDeserializer<>(property.getType());
}
}
We need to annotate our property with this class:
#JsonDeserialize(using = FromStringJsonDeserializer.class)
public final Address address;
Since now, you should be able to deserialise above JSON payload to your POJO model.
See also:
How to inject dependency into Jackson Custom deserializer
Is it possible to configure Jackson custom deserializers at class level for different data types?

readValue(String,Class) should work:
Address addObject = mapper.readValue(root.getString("address"), Address.class);
Where root is your main JSONObject.

How to get Jackson mixin to handle an included type?

I'm using Jackson mixins to only serialize out specific fields.
My ObjectMapper is configured like so:
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
mapper.setVisibility(PropertyAccessor.ALL, Visibility.NONE);
mapper.setSerializationInclusion(Include.NON_NULL);
mapper.addMixIn(Person.class, SyncPerson.class);
mapper.addMixIn(TransactionLog.class, TransactionLogExport.class);
Here are the model classes paired with the JSON mixin objects that I'd like to export:
// Model class
public class Person {
private Long id;
private String email;
private String firstName;
private String lastName;
}
// Desired JSON format. Excludes 'id' field
public interface SyncPerson {
#JsonProperty("firstName")
String getFirstName();
#JsonProperty("lastName")
String getLastName();
#JsonProperty("email")
String getEmail();
}
// Model class
public class TransactionLog {
private long id;
private Integer version;
private Person person;
private Date date;
private EntityAction action;
}
// Desired JSON format. Excludes 'id' field, 'version', 'date'
public interface TransactionLogExport {
#JsonProperty("id")
String getId();
#JsonProperty("person")
Person person();
#JsonProperty("action")
EntityAction getAction();
}
Yet, my tests are showing that the person attribute of the TransactionLog isn't coming through.
#Test
public void testWriteValue() throws Exception {
Person person = new Person();
person.setEmail("a#c.com");
person.setFirstName("A");
person.setLastName("C");
TransactionLog log = new TransactionLog();
log.setId(0L);
log.setAction(EntityAction.CREATE);
log.setPerson(person);
log.setStartValue("start");
log.setEndValue("end");
log.setChanges("change");
String prettyJson = mapper.writerWithDefaultPrettyPrinter().writeValueAsString(log);
System.out.println(prettyJson);
// Prints:
// {
// "id" : 0,
// "action" : "CREATE",
}
}
If I try the same test with a regular ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper(); instead of the mixin, then I see the full object exported, including the Person with email, names, etc. So something must be wrong with how I've configured the mixin... or else I'm misunderstanding something.
So can anyone help indicate what I could do to export out the subtype 'person' in my mixin?
Thanks!

Finally figured out the issue. The test now prints what we want:
{
“id” : 0,
“person” : {
“email” : “a#c.com”,
“firstName” : “A”,
“lastName” : “C”
},
“action” : “CREATE”
}
The mistake was in TransactionLogExport. It needs to say:
#JsonProperty("person")
Person getPerson();
Instead of:
#JsonProperty("person")
Person person();
I.e. the method needs to start with 'get'.

jackson: mapping some fields of json to inner fields of class

I want to map some fields of json to inner fields of a class. e.g
{
values:[{
"name":"Abc",
"age":18,
"street":"test",
"postalcoad":"1231412"
},
{
"name":"ccvb",
"age":20,
"street":"test2",
"postalcoad":"123"
}
]}
Following i my java class
#JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
public class Customer{
#JsonProperty("name")
private string name;
#JsonProperty("age")
private int age;
private Address address;
}
#JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
public class Address{
#JsonProperty("street")
private string street;
#JsonProperty("postalcode")
private string postalcode;
}
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
Customer[] c = mapper.readValue(mapper.readTree(json).get("values").toString(), Customer[].class);
It returns me Customer object without Address. Any idea how can i create Address object from this json.

One of the options is to use #JsonCreator annotation:
#JsonCreator
public Customer(
#JsonProperty("name") String name,
#JsonProperty("age") int age,
#JsonProperty("street") String street,
#JsonProperty("postalcode") String postalcode
) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.address = new Address();
this.address.street = street;
this.address.postalcode = postalcode;
}
Second option is create custom deserializer and bind your class with deserializer using #JsonDeserialize annotation
#JsonDeserialize(using = CustomerDeserializer.class)
public static class Customer{
....
}
public class CustomerDeserializer extends StdDeserializer<Customer> {
public CustomerDeserializer() {
super(Customer.class);
}
#Override
public Customer deserialize(JsonParser p, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
Customer customer = new Customer();
JsonNode treeNode = p.readValueAsTree();
if (treeNode == null) {
return null;
}
customer.setName(treeNode.get("name").asText());
customer.setAge(treeNode.get("age").asInt());
Address address = new Address();
address.setStreet(treeNode.get("street").asText());
address.setPostalcode(treeNode.get("postalcode").asText());
customer.setAddress(address);
return customer;
}
}
As third option, you can use #JsonAnySetter with some kind of post construct processing:
public interface PostConstruct {
void postConstruct();
}
public class Customer implements PostConstruct {
//mapping
private Map<String, Object> additionalFields = new HashMap<>();
#JsonAnySetter
public void setAdditionalValue(String key, Object value) {
additionalFields.put(key, value);
}
#Override
public void postConstruct() {
address = new Address();
address.setStreet(String.valueOf(additionalFields.get("street")));
address.setPostalcode(String.valueOf(additionalFields.get("postalcode")));
}
}
public static class PostConstructDeserializer extends DelegatingDeserializer {
private final JsonDeserializer<?> deserializer;
public PostConstructDeserializer(JsonDeserializer<?> deserializer) {
super(deserializer);
this.deserializer = deserializer;
}
#Override
protected JsonDeserializer<?> newDelegatingInstance(JsonDeserializer<?> newDelegatee) {
return deserializer;
}
#Override
public Object deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException {
Object result = _delegatee.deserialize(jp, ctxt);
if (result instanceof PostConstruct) {
((PostConstruct) result).postConstruct();
}
return result;
}
}
//using of post construct deserializer
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
SimpleModule module = new SimpleModule();
module.setDeserializerModifier(new BeanDeserializerModifier() {
#Override
public JsonDeserializer<?> modifyDeserializer(DeserializationConfig config,
BeanDescription beanDesc,
final JsonDeserializer<?> deserializer) {
return new PostConstructDeserializer(deserializer);
}
});
mapper.registerModule(module);

I would create a custom deserializer and inside of it call the default deserializer for Customer and then call the default deseriazlier for Address. Then you add the address to the customer object. This way they both look at the same json but you get two different objects out and you can connect them the way you want.
To call a standard deserializer from a custom deseriazlier see this answer: How do I call the default deserializer from a custom deserializer in Jackson.

Jackson - Deserialize empty String Member to null

I like to deserialize with Jackson an empty String member ("") to null. The Deserialization Feature "ACCEPT_EMPTY_STRING_AS_NULL_OBJECT" can for this unfortunately not be used (see link).
#JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
#JsonInclude(Include.NON_NULL)
public class Supplier {
private Integer id;
private String name;
private String image;
private String link;
private String description;
}
So after deserialization of the following JSON String the string members "link" and "image" should be null and not "".
{"id":37,"name":"Life","image":"","link":"","description":null}
I am looking for a way to write an own deserializer which can be used for String members of a POJO. Is there a way to achieve this? I am using faster Jackson 2.6.0.

The custom deserializer can be done as follows in Jackson 2.6.0.
public class SupplierDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<Supplier> {
#Override
public Supplier deserialize(JsonParser jp, DeserializationContext context) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
Supplier sup = new Supplier();
JsonNode node = jp.readValueAsTree();
sup.setId(node.get("id").asInt());
sup.setDescription(node.get("description").asText());
String image = node.get("image").asText();
if("".equals(image)) {
image = null;
}
sup.setImage(image);
String link = node.get("link").asText();
if("".equals(link)) {
link = null;
}
sup.setLink(link);
sup.setName(node.get("name").asText());
return sup;
}
}
Register the custom deserialiser with the Supplier class
#JsonDeserialize(using = SupplierDeserializer.class)
public class Supplier {
private Integer id;
private String name;
private String image;
private String link;
private String description;
// getters and setters
}
Call the ObjectMapper class to parse the JSON data
String jsonData = "{\"id\":37,\"name\":\"Life\",\"image\":\"\",\"link\":\"\",\"description\":null}";
Supplier sup = new ObjectMapper().readValue(jsonData, Supplier.class);

Deserialize nested array as ArrayList with Jackson

I have a piece of JSON, that looks like this:
{
"authors": {
"author": [
{
"given-name": "Adrienne H.",
"surname": "Kovacs"
},
{
"given-name": "Philip",
"surname": "Moons"
}
]
}
}
I have created a class to store Author information:
public class Author {
#JsonProperty("given-name")
public String givenName;
public String surname;
}
And two wrapper classes:
public class Authors {
public List<Author> author;
}
public class Response {
public Authors authors;
}
This is working, but having two wrapper classes seems to be unnecessary. I want to find a way to remove Authors class and have a list as a property of Entry class. Is something like that is possible with Jackson?
Update
Solved that with custom deserializer:
public class AuthorArrayDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<List<Author>> {
private static final String AUTHOR = "author";
private static final ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
private static final CollectionType collectionType =
TypeFactory
.defaultInstance()
.constructCollectionType(List.class, Author.class);
#Override
public List<Author> deserialize(JsonParser jsonParser, DeserializationContext deserializationContext)
throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
ObjectNode objectNode = mapper.readTree(jsonParser);
JsonNode nodeAuthors = objectNode.get(AUTHOR);
if (null == nodeAuthors // if no author node could be found
|| !nodeAuthors.isArray() // or author node is not an array
|| !nodeAuthors.elements().hasNext()) // or author node doesn't contain any authors
return null;
return mapper.reader(collectionType).readValue(nodeAuthors);
}
}
And using it like this:
#JsonDeserialize(using = AuthorArrayDeserializer.class)
public void setAuthors(List<Author> authors) {
this.authors = authors;
}
Thanks #wassgren for the idea.

I see at least two approaches to do this if you want to get rid of wrapper classes. The first is to use the Jackson Tree Model (JsonNode) and the second is to use a deserialization feature called UNWRAP_ROOT_VALUE.
Alternative 1: Use JsonNode
When deserializing JSON using Jackson there are multiple ways to control what type of objects that are to be created. The ObjectMapper can deserialize the JSON to e.g. a Map, JsonNode (via the readTree-method) or a POJO.
If you combine the readTree-method with the POJO conversion the wrappers can be completely removed. Example:
// The author class (a bit cleaned up)
public class Author {
private final String givenName;
private final String surname;
#JsonCreator
public Author(
#JsonProperty("given-name") final String givenName,
#JsonProperty("surname") final String surname) {
this.givenName = givenName;
this.surname = surname;
}
public String getGivenName() {
return givenName;
}
public String getSurname() {
return surname;
}
}
The deserialization can then look something like this:
// The JSON
final String json = "{\"authors\":{\"author\":[{\"given-name\":\"AdrienneH.\",\"surname\":\"Kovacs\"},{\"given-name\":\"Philip\",\"surname\":\"Moons\"}]}}";
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
// Read the response as a tree model
final JsonNode response = mapper.readTree(json).path("authors").path("author");
// Create the collection type (since it is a collection of Authors)
final CollectionType collectionType =
TypeFactory
.defaultInstance()
.constructCollectionType(List.class, Author.class);
// Convert the tree model to the collection (of Author-objects)
List<Author> authors = mapper.reader(collectionType).readValue(response);
// Now the authors-list is ready to use...
If you use this Tree Model-approach the wrapper classes can be completely removed.
Alternative 2: remove one of the wrappers and unwrap the root value
The second approach is to remove only one of the wrappers. Assume that you remove the Authors class but keep the Response-wrapper. If you add the a #JsonRootName-annotation you can later unwrap the top-level name.
#JsonRootName("authors") // This is new compared to your example
public class Response {
private final List<Author> authors;
#JsonCreator
public Response(#JsonProperty("author") final List<Author> authors) {
this.authors = authors;
}
#JsonProperty("author")
public List<Author> getAuthors() {
return authors;
}
}
Then, for your mapper simply use:
ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
// Unwrap the root value i.e. the "authors"
mapper.configure(DeserializationFeature.UNWRAP_ROOT_VALUE, true);
final Response responsePojo = mapper.readValue(json, Response.class);
The second approach only removes one of the wrapper classes but instead the parsing function is quite pretty.