Best Practice of redirecting in Spring Controller - java

Here I have to controller methods for example,
(Case 1) One way is
#Controller
#requestMapping("main")
Class ControllerClass{
#RequestMapping("first", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public String post(Model model){
//processing
return "redirect:second";
}
#RequestMapping("second", method = RequestMethod.GET)
public String post(Model model){
//processing
return "myview";
}
}
And (Case 2) another way is
#Controller
#requestMapping("main")
Class ControllerClass{
#RequestMapping("first", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public String post(Model model){
//processing
return "redirect:/main/second";
}
#RequestMapping("second", method = RequestMethod.GET)
public String post(Model model){
//processing
return "myview";
}
}
Both ways work correctly, but I want to know which one is better to avoid future problems like one I faced recently:
When I forwarded the request to /main/first from another controller, I got a 404 error in code which is using Case 1.

As per Spring Documentation:
The redirect: prefix
While the use of RedirectView works fine, if the controller itself creates the RedirectView, there is no avoiding the fact that the controller is aware that a redirection is happening. This is really suboptimal and couples things too tightly. The controller should not really care about how the response gets handled. In general it should operate only in terms of view names that have been injected into it.
The special redirect: prefix allows you to accomplish this. If a view name is returned that has the prefix redirect:, the UrlBasedViewResolver (and all subclasses) will recognize this as a special indication that a redirect is needed. The rest of the view name will be treated as the redirect URL.
The net effect is the same as if the controller had returned a RedirectView, but now the controller itself can simply operate in terms of logical view names. A logical view name such as redirect:/myapp/some/resource will redirect relative to the current Servlet context, while a name such as redirect:http://myhost.com/some/arbitrary/path will redirect to an absolute URL.
Most Real time enterprise project prefers to use case 2 in all controllers they use,so that the inter calling between different controller is fine.

Related

Spring Boot. Forward on RestController

I am implementing a mechanism for replacing short links.
I need to forwarded request to another controller. I found examples how to do it in spring on models, but I don't understand how to do it in RestControllers
Example what i found (use models)
#Controller
public class ShrotLinkForwardController {
#RequestMapping("/s/*")
public String myMethod(HttpServletRequest request) {
return "forward:/difmethod";
}
}
Or maybe I'm looking in the wrong direction and I need to make a filter?
UPD. I don't know the final endpoint, it is calculated in the forwarded method. So, i cant autowired other controller
There are 2 ways to achieve what you want.
1. Call the method on the target controller directly.
Controllers are just normal Spring beans. You can get it via autowire.
#Controller
public class ShrotLinkForwardController {
#Autowired
OtherController otherController;
#RequestMapping("/s/*")
public String myMethod(Model model) {
otherController.doStuff();
return ...;
}
}
2. Trigger the forward by returning a string
To trigger the forward, try returning a String instead of ModelAndView.
This is the approach you mentioned in your question. Note that the syntax should be forward:/forwardURL. The string after forward: is the URL pointing to another controller, not the method name.
#Controller
public class ShrotLinkForwardController {
#RequestMapping("/s/*")
public String myMethod(Model model) {
return "forward:/forwardURL";
}
}
you could inject the target controller and simply call the method
#Controller
public class ShortLinkForwardController {
#Autowired
private RestController target;
#RequestMapping("/s/*")
public String myMethod(HttpServletRequest request) {
return target.myMethod(request);
}
}
Caveat: Path related request properties will still point to "/s/*"
Or use ResponseEntity and set target location...
public ResponseEntity<Void> myMethod(HttpServletRequest request) {
return ResponseEntity.status(302).location(URI.create(...)).build();
}
All answers are about returning String
But I've found another solution
Maybe it will help someone with my problem in case when you need to make forward from one REST endpoint to another REST endpoint.
And it also could be applied to your case.
#RestController
public class CustomerController {
#GetMapping("/forwarding_endpoint")
public void makeForward(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
request.getSession().getServletContext().getRequestDispatcher("/forward_endpoint").forward(request, response);
}
}
UPD. I don't know the final endpoint, it is calculated in the
forwarded method. So, i cant autowired other controller
but I don't understand how to do it in RestControllers
I can see some indications of possible bad design here, so I will try to explain the possible issues and how should be handled according to best practices.
If your requirement is to make a forward to another controller, then this might be an indication of 3 possible issues:
The job to be done by the other controller (which you say you want to forward to) can be extracted into a service method in service layer. Then both controllers can call the same service method, without each controller be aware of the other.
Your need could also be an indicator of the following issue. You need 2 controllers for exactly the same practical reason, so that they provide for same input exactly the same output, but to be available from 2 different URLs. If this is the case then you can use just 1 controller and allow it to be executed for both URLs. See the following code to achieve this:
#RequestMapping({"/s/*", "/s2/*})
public String myMethod(HttpServletRequest request) {
return "some response";
}
You need to expose only 1 URL to the client which will serve everything. Then the approach with forward will also not benefit you, since the client will be able to reach the other forwarded controller directly if he wishes so. In this case you can implement 1 single controller which then according to the needs builds different responses. You can do this in RestController although not suggested by Sonar and other code review tools by marking the method to return ResponseEntity<?>. Example:
#RequestMapping("/s/*")
public ResponseEntity<?> myMethod(HttpServletRequest request) {
if (condition 1) {
return new ResponseEntity<YourObject1>(HttpStatus.OK);
} else if (condition 2) {
return new ResponseEntity<YourObject2>(HttpStatus.OK);
} else {
return new ResponseEntity<YourObject3>(HttpStatus.OK);
}
}
this last choice is not considered best practice with <?> but for this requirement I don't see any other way out.

Spring 3.x - how do I redirect from a mapping that returns data?

I have a method in my controller like this:
#RequestMapping(value="getData", method=RequestMethod.GET)
#ResponseBody
public List<MyDataObj> getData()
{
return myService.getData();
}
The data is returned as JSON or xsl, depending on the request.
If the person making the request is not authorized to access the data I need to redirect the user to a "not authorized" page, so something like this:
#RequestMapping(value="getData", method=RequestMethod.GET)
#ResponseBody
public List<MyDataObj> getData()
{
if (!isAuthorized())
{
// redirect to notAuthorized.jsp
}
return myService.getData();
}
All the examples I've seen using Spring require the method to return either a String or a ModelAndView. I thought about using HttpServletResponse.sendRedirect() but all my JSPs are under WEB-INF and can't be reached directly.
How can I deny access gracefully to the data request URL?
A more elegant solution may be to use a HandlerInterceptor which would check for authorization, blocking any requests which are not permitted to proceed. If the request then reaches your controller, you can assume it's OK.
The answer is below. But your particular case would rather to handle with other approach.
#RequestMapping(value = "/someUrl", method = RequestMethod.GET)
#ResponseBody
public Response someMethod(String someData, HttpServletResponse response){
if(someData=="redirectMe"){
response.sendRedirect(ppPageUrl);
}
...
}
Another approach is filter. You can move all security logic into filter and keep clean code in controllers.
Pretty simple:
Send a error status to the client
response.setStatus(HttpServletResponse.SC_NO_CONTENT);
and handle the same with you ajax callback handler and redirect. :)

Spring SimpleFormController in 3.0

i notice that this controller has now been deprecated in the latest spring and was wondering what the alternative controller is?
In Spring 3.0 you should use simple classes annotated by #Controller. Such controller can handle more than one request. Each request is handled by its own method. These methods are annotated by #RequestMapping.
One thing you need to rethink is the fact, that a old school SimpleFormController handle a lot of different requests (at least: one to get the form and a second to submit the form). You have to handle this now by hand. But believe me it is easier.
For example this Controller in REST Style, will handle two requests:
/book - POST: to create a book
/book/form - GET: to get the form for creation
Java Code:
#RequestMapping("/book/**")
#Controller
public class BookController {
#RequestMapping(value = "/book", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public String create(
#ModelAttribute("bookCommand") final BookCommand bookCommand) {
Book book = createBookFromBookCommand(bookCommand);
return "redirect:/book/" + book.getId();
}
#RequestMapping(value = "/book/form", method = RequestMethod.GET)
public String createForm(final ModelMap modelMap) {
modelMap.addAttribute("all", "what you need");
return "book/create"; //book/create.jsp
}
}
Annotated POJOs can act as controllers; see #Controller.
In Spring 3.0, your Controllers should no longer inherit from a base class.
The standard way is to use annotated controllers.

Spring - Redirect after POST (even with validation errors)

I'm trying to figure out how to "preserve" the BindingResult so it can be used in a subsequent GET via the Spring <form:errors> tag. The reason I want to do this is because of Google App Engine's SSL limitations. I have a form which is displayed via HTTP and the post is to an HTTPS URL. If I only forward rather than redirect then the user would see the https://whatever.appspot.com/my/form URL. I'm trying to avoid this. Any ideas how to approach this?
Below is what I'd like to do, but I only see validation errors when I use return "create".
#RequestMapping(value = "/submit", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public final String submit(
#ModelAttribute("register") #Valid final Register register,
final BindingResult binding) {
if (binding.hasErrors()) {
return "redirect:/register/create";
}
return "redirect:/register/success";
}
Since Spring 3.1 you can use RedirectAttributes. Add the attributes that you want to have available before doing the redirect. Add both, the BindingResult and the object that you are using to validate, in this case Register.
For BindingResult you will use the name: "org.springframework.validation.BindingResult.[name of your ModelAttribute]".
For the object that you are using to validate you will use the name of ModelAttribute.
To use RedirectAttributes you have to add this in your config file. Among other things you are telling to Spring to use some newer classes:
<mvc:annotation-driven />
Now the errors will be displayed wherever you are redirecting
#RequestMapping(value = "/submit", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public final String submit(#ModelAttribute("register") #Valid final Register register, final BindingResult binding, RedirectAttributes attr, HttpSession session) {
if (binding.hasErrors()) {
attr.addFlashAttribute("org.springframework.validation.BindingResult.register", binding);
attr.addFlashAttribute("register", register);
return "redirect:/register/create";
}
return "redirect:/register/success";
}
In addition to Oscar's nice answer, if you are following that RedirectAttributes approach, do not forget that you are actually passing the modelAttribute to the redirected page. This means if you create a new instance of that modelAttribute for the redirected page (in a controller), you will lose the validation errors. So, if your POST controller method is something like this:
#RequestMapping(value = "/submit", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public final String submit(#ModelAttribute("register") #Valid final Register register, final BindingResult binding, RedirectAttributes attr, HttpSession session) {
if (binding.hasErrors()) {
attr.addFlashAttribute("org.springframework.validation.BindingResult.register", binding);
attr.addFlashAttribute("register", register);
return "redirect:/register/create";
}
return "redirect:/register/success";
}
Then you will probably need to do a modification in your register create page GET controller. From this:
#RequestMapping(value = "/register/create", method = RequestMethod.GET)
public String registerCreatePage(Model model) {
// some stuff
model.addAttribute("register", new Register());
// some more stuff
}
to
#RequestMapping(value = "/register/create", method = RequestMethod.GET)
public String registerCreatePage(Model model) {
// some stuff
if (!model.containsAttribute("register")) {
model.addAttribute("register", new Register());
}
// some more stuff
}
Source: http://gerrydevstory.com/2013/07/11/preserving-validation-error-messages-on-spring-mvc-form-post-redirect-get/
I would question why you need the redirect. Why not just submit to the same URL and have it respond differently to a POST? Nevertheless, if you really want to do this:
#RequestMapping(value = "/submit", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public final String submit(
#ModelAttribute("register") #Valid final Register register,
final BindingResult binding,
HttpSession session) {
if (binding.hasErrors()) {
session.setAttribute("register",register);
session.setAttribute("binding",binding);
return "redirect:/register/create";
}
return "redirect:/register/success";
}
Then in your "create" method:
model.put("register",session.getAttribute("register"));
model.put("org.springframework.validation.BindingResult.register",session.getAttribute("register"));
The problem is you're redirecting to a new controller, rather than rendering the view and returning the processed form page. You need to do something along the lines of:
String FORM_VIEW = wherever_your_form_page_resides
...
if (binding.hasErrors())
return FORM_VIEW;
I would keep the paths outside of any methods due to code duplication of strings.
The only way to persist objects between requests (ie a redirect) is to store the object in a session attribute. So you would include "HttpServletRequest request" in method parameters for both methods (ie, get and post) and retrieve the object via request.getAttribute("binding"). That said, and having not tried it myself you may need to figure out how to re-bind the binding to the object in the new request.
Another "un-nicer" way is to just change the browser URL using javascript
I don't know the exact issue with Google App Engine but using the ForwardedHeaderFilter may help to preserve the original scheme that the client used. This filter was added in Spring Framework 4.3 but some Servlet containers provide similar filters and the filter is self-sufficient so you can also just grab the source if needed.
Perhaps this is a bit simplistic, but have you tried adding it to your Model? I.e., include the Model in your method's arguments, then add the BindingResult to it, which is then available in your view.
model.addAttribute("binding",binding);
I think you may have to use a forward rather than a redirect (in my head I can't remember if a redirect loses the session or not — I could be wrong about this as I don't have any documentation handy, i.e., if you're not getting the BindingResult after adding it to the Model, try using a forward instead to confirm this).

Get the variable in the path of a URI

In Spring MVC I have a controller that listens to all requests coming to /my/app/path/controller/*.
Let's say a request comes to /my/app/path/controller/blah/blah/blah/1/2/3.
How do I get the /blah/blah/blah/1/2/3 part, i.e. the part that matches the * in the handler mapping definition.
In other words, I am looking for something similar that pathInfo does for servlets but for controllers.
In Spring 3 you can use the # PathVariable annotation to grab parts of the URL.
Here's a quick example from http://blog.springsource.com/2009/03/08/rest-in-spring-3-mvc/
#RequestMapping(value="/hotels/{hotel}/bookings/{booking}", method=RequestMethod.GET)
public String getBooking(#PathVariable("hotel") long hotelId, #PathVariable("booking") long bookingId, Model model) {
Hotel hotel = hotelService.getHotel(hotelId);
Booking booking = hotel.getBooking(bookingId);
model.addAttribute("booking", booking);
return "booking";
}
In Spring 2.5 you can override any method that takes an instance of HttpServletRequest as an argument.
org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.AbstractController.handleRequest
In Spring 3 you can add a HttpServletRequest argument to your controller method and spring will automatically bind the request to it.
e.g.
#RequestMapping(method = RequestMethod.GET)
public ModelMap doSomething( HttpServletRequest request) { ... }
In either case, this object is the same request object you work with in a servlet, including the getPathInfo method.

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