Java Validation - Adding @Valid constraint to custom constraint throws "@Valid is not applicable to annotation type"

Question

I have a model object annotated with Java validation annotations.

class Criteria{
    @NotEmpty String id;    
    @NotEmpty String name;
    String fileName;
    String hours;   
}

As per the business requirement, either fileName or hours field will be populated, to validate which I have a custom validator 'CriteriaValidator' written.

@Documented
@Constraint(validatedBy = {CriteriaValidator.class})
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target({ElementType.TYPE , ElementType.FIELD, ElementType.PARAMETER})
public @interface ValidCriteria {
    String message() default "{Criteria.Invalid}";
    Class<?>[] groups() default {};
    Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default {};
}

The model above is passed in as input parameter for a method which is also annotated with @Valid and @ValidCriteria.

public void update(@Valid @ValidCriteria Criteria criteria){...}

The issue I have is with 2 annotations in the method. I have to add @Valid in order to check constraints annotated within the class. My custom validator checks only for the existence of one of the 2 fields: filename or hours.

The question I have is, how do I have a single annotation @ValidCriteria which validates my special requirement as well as the @NotEmpty fields in the object.

I tried adding @Valid in my custom constraint @ValidCriteria, however I get the error '@Valid is not applicable to annotation type'

JB Nizet · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-01 06:18:43Z

1

The @ValidCriteria annotation should be on the Criteria class:

@ValidCriteria
class Criteria{
    @NotEmpty String id;    
    @NotEmpty String name;
    String fileName;
    String hours;   
}

answered Jun 1, 2014 at 6:18

JB Nizet

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2 Comments

MFIhsan Over a year ago

Awesome. It works perfectly and my method signature only has @Valid constraint now.

andrew17 Over a year ago

Sorry, but if I want to validate class to which I dont have access and cannot annotate with validation annotation? I created custom annotation and want use it to validate external class in controller method parameter.

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