f:validateWholeBean in JSF 2.3 - jsf

Question

I want to implement f:validateWholeBean with JSF 2.3.
I tried to implement this example with Mojarra 2.3.0-m05 and Tomcat 8:
<h:form>
<h:panelGroup>
<h:inputSecret id="passwd" value="#{bean.dataList['passwd']}">
<f:ajax event="blur" render="passwdvalidator" />
</h:inputSecret>
<h:message id="passwdvalidator" for="passwd" />
</h:panelGroup>
<h:panelGroup>Confirm Password</h:panelGroup>
<h:panelGroup>
<h:inputSecret id="confurmpasswd" value="#{bean.dataList['passwd']}">
<f:ajax event="blur" render="confurmpasswdvalidator" />
</h:inputSecret>
<h:message id="confurmpasswdvalidator" for="confurmpasswd" />
</h:panelGroup>
<h:commandButton action="#{bean.submit}">
<f:ajax render="#form" execute="#form"></f:ajax>
</h:commandButton>
<f:validateWholeBean value="#{contactBean}" validationGroups="validateBean.ContactGroup" />
</h:form>
Custom Validator
#Named
#ViewScoped
public class NewAccountValidator implements Validator, Serializable
{
#Override
public void validate(FacesContext fc, UIComponent uic, Object o) throws ValidatorException
{
// not used
}
public void validatePasswords(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value)
{
String l;
String s = value.toString().trim();
if (s != null)
{
// compare passwords
}
else
{
throw new ValidatorException(new FacesMessage(FacesMessage.SEVERITY_INFO,
s.isEmpty() ? " This field cannot be empty!" : " '" + s + "' is not a number!", null));
}
}
}
What is the proper way to implement solution with f:validateWholeBean and custom JSF validator?

Answer 1

You shouldn't implement a "standard" validator, but a ConstraintValidator.
You can find an example on Arjan Tijms Weblog:
<h:form>
<h:inputText value="#{indexBean.foo}">
<f:validateBean validationGroups="javax.validation.groups.Default,java.util.RandomAccess"/>
</h:inputText>
<h:inputText value="#{indexBean.bar}">
<f:validateBean validationGroups="javax.validation.groups.Default,java.util.RandomAccess"/>
</h:inputText>
<f:validateWholeBean value="#{indexBean}" validationGroups="java.util.RandomAccess"/>
<h:commandButton value="submit"/>
</h:form>
with backing bean:
#Named
#RequestScoped
#ValidIndexBean(groups = java.util.RandomAccess.class)
public class IndexBean implements ConstraintValidator<ValidIndexBean, IndexBean> {
#Constraint(validatedBy = IndexBean.class)
#Documented
#Target(TYPE)
#Retention(RUNTIME)
public #interface ValidIndexBean {
String message() default "Invalid Bean";
Class<?>[] groups() default {};
Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default {};
}
#Inject // #EJB
private PersistenceService service;
#NotNull
private String foo;
#NotNull
private String bar;
#Override
public void initialize(ValidIndexBean constraintAnnotation) {
//
}
#Override
public boolean isValid(IndexBean other, ConstraintValidatorContext context) {
// return other.getFoo().equals(other.getBar());
return service.query("select count(p) from Person p where p.foo like ?1 and p.bar like ?2", other.getFoo(), other.getBar()) == 0;
}
...
}
answer for comments:
this is a regular bean, so yes, it can be #ViewScoped.
then you should create multiple validators: it's a bad practice to make a single validator perform multiple logics.
unrelated:
As I can see from the code you posted, you are misunderstanding the use of "classic" validator, making it a ManagedBean (CDI flavoured), but this is not the "plain" use of JSF Validators/Converters.
I suppose you are not using a validator, but a validation method instead.
A "classic" Validator should look like (see here):
#FacesValidator("usernameValidator")
public class UsernameValidator implements Validator, Serializable
{
#Override
public void validate(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value) throws ValidatorException
{
// you should use THIS method to validate a single Component's Value
if(query("select count(*) from user where username = '?'", String.valueOf(value)) > 0)
{
throw new ValidatorException(new FacesMessage(FacesMessage.SEVERITY_ERROR, "invalid username"));
}
}
}
and should be used like:
<h:inputText value="#{someBean.username}" validator="usernameValidator" />
so:
"classic" Faces Validators are tought for validating one component's value
they shouldn't be #ManagedBean or #Named
they should be referenced by name (validator="usernameValidator" without using EL expressions validator="#{usernameValidator}")
However, it's a best practice for Validators/Converters to be "specialized": they should perform a single validation logic.
If you need to validate a component value, i.e. a Date, that must be non-null and greater than 01/01/1970, you'll need two specialized validators.