Infinite Recursion with Jackson JSON and Hibernate JPA issue

Question

When trying to convert a JPA object that has a bi-directional association into JSON, I keep getting

org.codehaus.jackson.map.JsonMappingException: Infinite          


        

Answer 1

I also met the same problem. I used @JsonIdentityInfo's ObjectIdGenerators.PropertyGenerator.class generator type.

That's my solution:

@Entity
@Table(name = "ta_trainee", uniqueConstraints = {@UniqueConstraint(columnNames = {"id"})})
@JsonIdentityInfo(generator = ObjectIdGenerators.PropertyGenerator.class, property = "id")
public class Trainee extends BusinessObject {
...

Answer 2

I had this problem, but I didn't want to use annotation in my entities, so I solved by creating a constructor for my class, this constructor must not have a reference back to the entities who references this entity. Let's say this scenario.

public class A{
   private int id;
   private String code;
   private String name;
   private List<B> bs;
}

public class B{
   private int id;
   private String code;
   private String name;
   private A a;
}

If you try to send to the view the class B or A with @ResponseBody it may cause an infinite loop. You can write a constructor in your class and create a query with your entityManager like this.

"select new A(id, code, name) from A"

This is the class with the constructor.

public class A{
   private int id;
   private String code;
   private String name;
   private List<B> bs;

   public A(){
   }

   public A(int id, String code, String name){
      this.id = id;
      this.code = code;
      this.name = name;
   }

}

However, there are some constrictions about this solution, as you can see, in the constructor I did not make a reference to List bs this is because Hibernate does not allow it, at least in version 3.6.10.Final, so when I need to show both entities in a view I do the following.

public A getAById(int id); //THE A id

public List<B> getBsByAId(int idA); //the A id.

The other problem with this solution, is that if you add or remove a property you must update your constructor and all your queries.

Answer 3

The new annotation @JsonIgnoreProperties resolves many of the issues with the other options.

@Entity

public class Material{
   ...    
   @JsonIgnoreProperties("costMaterials")
   private List<Supplier> costSuppliers = new ArrayList<>();
   ...
}

@Entity
public class Supplier{
   ...
   @JsonIgnoreProperties("costSuppliers")
   private List<Material> costMaterials = new ArrayList<>();
   ....
}

Check it out here. It works just like in the documentation:
http://springquay.blogspot.com/2016/01/new-approach-to-solve-json-recursive.html

Answer 4

You may use @JsonIgnore to break the cycle (reference).

You need to import org.codehaus.jackson.annotate.JsonIgnore (legacy versions) or com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore (current versions).

Answer 5

@JsonIgnoreProperties is the answer.

Use something like this ::

@OneToMany(mappedBy = "course",fetch=FetchType.EAGER)
@JsonIgnoreProperties("course")
private Set<Student> students;

Answer 6

In my case it was enough to change relation from:

@OneToMany(mappedBy = "county")
private List<Town> towns;

to:

@OneToMany
private List<Town> towns;

another relation stayed as it was:

@ManyToOne
@JoinColumn(name = "county_id")
private County county;