data binding - Spring MVC 3.0: How do I bind to a persistent object

Question

I'm working with Spring MVC and I'd like it to bind a a persistent object from the database, but I cannot figure out how I can set my code to make a call to the DB before binding. For example, I'm trying to update a "BenefitType" object to the database, however, I want it to get the object fromthe database, not create a new one so I do not have to update all the fields.

    @RequestMapping("/save")
public String save(@ModelAttribute("item") BenefitType benefitType, BindingResult result)
{
    ...check for errors
    ...save, etc.
}

Answer 1

There are several options:

• In the simpliest case when your object has only simple properties you can bind all its properties to the form fields (hidden if necessary), and get a fully bound object after submit. Complex properties also can be bound to the form fields using PropertyEditors.

• You may also use session to store your object between GET and POST requests. Spring 3 faciliates this approach with @SessionAttributes annotation (from the Petclinic sample):

  @Controller
  @RequestMapping("/owners/*/pets/{petId}/edit")
  @SessionAttributes("pet") // Specify attributes to be stored in the session       
  public class EditPetForm {    
      ...
      @InitBinder
      public void setAllowedFields(WebDataBinder dataBinder) {
          // Disallow binding of sensitive fields - user can't override 
          // values from the session
          dataBinder.setDisallowedFields("id");
      }
      @RequestMapping(method = RequestMethod.GET)
      public String setupForm(@PathVariable("petId") int petId, Model model) {
          Pet pet = this.clinic.loadPet(petId);
          model.addAttribute("pet", pet); // Put attribute into session
          return "pets/form";
      }
      @RequestMapping(method = { RequestMethod.PUT, RequestMethod.POST })
      public String processSubmit(@ModelAttribute("pet") Pet pet, 
          BindingResult result, SessionStatus status) {
          new PetValidator().validate(pet, result);
          if (result.hasErrors()) {
              return "pets/form";
          } else {
              this.clinic.storePet(pet);
              // Clean the session attribute after successful submit
              status.setComplete();
              return "redirect:/owners/" + pet.getOwner().getId();
          }
      }
  }
  

  However this approach may cause problems if several instances of the form are open simultaneously in the same session.

• So, the most reliable approach for the complex cases is to create a separate object for storing form fields and merge changes from that object into persistent object manually.