[STR-2020] Improve error detail when form validation fails from absent ActionServlet

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Resolved
• Priority: Minor
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 1.1.0
• Fix Version/s: 1.4.0
• Component/s: Core
• Environment: Operating System: other; Platform: Other
• Bugzilla Id: 27910
• Assignee: Paul Benedict
• Reporter: Ralf Hauser
• Created: 25/Mar/04 00:59
• Updated: 02/May/13 02:28
• Resolved: 29/Aug/07 03:27

Description

In my multi-step form wizard, hidden form fields may be a bad idea for security
reasons. Therefore, I keep a copy of the form in the session and incrementally
add the values gathered from the browser.
There arose even a scenario where it was advisable to set some values in that
form even without first doing a PropertyUtils.copyProperties from a form coming
from a browser. A subsequent .validate() then causes the above nullPointer
exception.

Suggestion:
When doing the
ServletContext application = getServlet().getServletContext();
in the ValidatorForm, first test whether the "getServlet()" really returns other
than null and otherwise return a decent error message.

I am not fully clear why the problem arises, but I guess that ValidatorForm()
not having a constructor method is part of the reason for this.
Anyway, I got it working by extending my form as follows:
public class MyForm extends ValidatorForm
public MyForm()

{ super(); }

public MyForm(ActionServlet servlet) {
this();
if (super.getServlet() == null) {
if (servlet == null)

{ log.error("servlet == null"); }

else

{ super.setServlet(servlet); log.debug("set servlet: " + servlet); }

} else

{ log.debug("super.getServlet(): " + super.getServlet()); }

when creating the form, I call it with
MyForm myForm = new MyForm(getServlet());

Issue Links

• is depended upon by: STR-786 Make error messages more specific (omnibus issue)