12.10. String Based Annotations

12.10.1. Convert String Based @*Param Annotations to Objects

JAX-RS @*Param annotations, including @PathParam and @FormParam, are represented as strings in a raw HTTP request. These types of injected parameters can be converted to objects if these objects have a valueOf(String) static method or a constructor that takes one String parameter.
RESTEasy provides two proprietary @Provider interfaces to handle this conversion for classes that don't have either a valueOf(String) static method, or a string constructor.

Example 12.11. StringConverter

The StringConverter interface is implemented to provide custom string marshalling. It is registered under the resteasy.providers context-param in the web.xml file. It can also be registered manually by calling the ResteasyProviderFactory.addStringConverter() method.
The example below is a simple example of using StringConverter.
import org.jboss.resteasy.client.ProxyFactory;
import org.jboss.resteasy.spi.StringConverter;
import org.jboss.resteasy.test.BaseResourceTest;
import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;

import javax.ws.rs.HeaderParam;
import javax.ws.rs.MatrixParam;
import javax.ws.rs.PUT;
import javax.ws.rs.Path;
import javax.ws.rs.PathParam;
import javax.ws.rs.QueryParam;
import javax.ws.rs.ext.Provider;

public class StringConverterTest extends BaseResourceTest
{
  public static class POJO
  {
     private String name;

     public String getName()
     {
	return name;
     }

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

  @Provider
  public static class POJOConverter implements StringConverter<POJO>
  {
     public POJO fromString(String str)
     {
	System.out.println("FROM STRNG: " + str);
	POJO pojo = new POJO();
	pojo.setName(str);
	return pojo;
     }

     public String toString(POJO value)
     {
	return value.getName();
     }
  }

  @Path("/")
  public static class MyResource
  {
     @Path("{pojo}")
     @PUT
     public void put(@QueryParam("pojo")POJO q, @PathParam("pojo")POJO pp,
		     @MatrixParam("pojo")POJO mp, @HeaderParam("pojo")POJO hp)
     {
	Assert.assertEquals(q.getName(), "pojo");
	Assert.assertEquals(pp.getName(), "pojo");
	Assert.assertEquals(mp.getName(), "pojo");
	Assert.assertEquals(hp.getName(), "pojo");
     }
  }

  @Before
  public void setUp() throws Exception
  {
     dispatcher.getProviderFactory().addStringConverter(POJOConverter.class);
     dispatcher.getRegistry().addPerRequestResource(MyResource.class);
  }

  @Path("/")
  public static interface MyClient
  {
     @Path("{pojo}")
     @PUT
     void put(@QueryParam("pojo")POJO q, @PathParam("pojo")POJO pp,
	      @MatrixParam("pojo")POJO mp, @HeaderParam("pojo")POJO hp);
  }

  @Test
  public void testIt() throws Exception
  {
     MyClient client = ProxyFactory.create(MyClient.class, "http://localhost:8081");
     POJO pojo = new POJO();
     pojo.setName("pojo");
     client.put(pojo, pojo, pojo, pojo);
  }
}

Example 12.12. StringParameterUnmarshaller

The StringParameterUnmarshaller interface is sensitive to the annotations placed on the parameter or field you are injecting into. It is created per injector. The setAnnotations() method is called by resteasy to initialize the unmarshaller.
This interface can be added by creating and registering a provider that implements the interface. It can also be bound using a meta-annotation called org.jboss.resteasy.annotations.StringsParameterUnmarshallerBinder.
The example below formats a java.util.Date based @PathParam.
public class StringParamUnmarshallerTest extends BaseResourceTest
{
   @Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
   @StringParameterUnmarshallerBinder(DateFormatter.class)
   public @interface DateFormat
   {
      String value();
   }

   public static class DateFormatter implements StringParameterUnmarshaller<Date>
   {
      private SimpleDateFormat formatter;

      public void setAnnotations(Annotation[] annotations)
      {
         DateFormat format = FindAnnotation.findAnnotation(annotations, DateFormat.class);
         formatter = new SimpleDateFormat(format.value());
      }

      public Date fromString(String str)
      {
         try
         {
            return formatter.parse(str);
         }
         catch (ParseException e)
         {
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
      }
   }

   @Path("/datetest")
   public static class Service
   {
      @GET
      @Produces("text/plain")
      @Path("/{date}")
      public String get(@PathParam("date") @DateFormat("MM-dd-yyyy") Date date)
      {
         System.out.println(date);
         Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
         c.setTime(date);
         Assert.assertEquals(3, c.get(Calendar.MONTH));
         Assert.assertEquals(23, c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH));
         Assert.assertEquals(1977, c.get(Calendar.YEAR));
         return date.toString();
      }
   }

   @BeforeClass
   public static void setup() throws Exception
   {
      addPerRequestResource(Service.class);
   }

   @Test
   public void testMe() throws Exception
   {
      ClientRequest request = new ClientRequest(generateURL("/datetest/04-23-1977"));
      System.out.println(request.getTarget(String.class));
   }
}
It defines a new annotation called @DateFormat. The annotation is annotated with the meta-annotation StringParameterUnmarshallerBinder with a reference to the DateFormater classes.
The Service.get() method has a @PathParam parameter that is also annotated with @DateFormat. The application of @DateFormat triggers the binding of the DateFormatter. The DateFormatter will now be run to unmarshal the path parameter into the date paramter of the get() method.