JSFServerSession getManagedBeanValue() and Bean Constructor

[szgaljic]

Hello,

Regarding the JSFServerSession getManagedBeanValue() method, I have noticed a very weird behavior.

Say I had a bean called MyBean

package com.example;

public class MyBean{
 public int random = -1;

 public MyBean(){
 // guaranteed to generate a number greater than 0
 random = SomeClass.generateRandom();
 System.out.println("MyBean constructed, random="+random);
 }
}

Defined properly in faces-config.xml

<managed-bean>
 <description>My Perfect Bean</description>
 <managed-bean-name>myBean</managed-bean-name>
 <managed-bean-class>com.example.MyBean</managed-bean-class>
 <managed-bean-scope>request</managed-bean-scope>
</managed-bean>

And a J-Unit called UserBeanTest with two tests

package com.example;

public class UserBeanTest extends org.apache.cactus.ServletTestCase{
 public static junit.framework.Test suite(){
 return new junit.framework.TestSuite( UserBeanTest.class );
 }

 // SUCCESS
 public void test__DirectConstructorInvocation(){
 MyBean bean = new MyBean();
 assertNotNull( bean );
 assertTrue( bean.random != -1 ); // <<<<<<<<<<<< PASS !!
 }

 // FAIL
 public void test__WithJSFServer(){
 JSFSession jsfSession = new JSFSession("/index.faces");
 JSFClientSession jsfClient = jsfSession.getJSFClientSession();
 JSFServerSession jsfServer = jsfSession.getJSFServerSession();

 MyBean bean = (MyBean)jsfServer.getManagedBeanValue("myBean");

 assertNotNull( bean ); //pass
 assertTrue( bean.random != -1 ); // <<<<<<<<<<<< FAIL !!
 }
}

As expected when the test__DirectConstructorInvocation test, the bean is constructed and the a random number is generated. This allows the test the pass.

With the test__WithJSFServer test, the bean is successfully created and a random number is generated and assigned to the variable random. (i know this code has ran because of my System.out statement) However, once the JSFServerSessions returns back to me the value of "myBean" from getManagedBeanValue, the value of random is still -1? I don't understand how the object could have been created, the constructor invoked, but somehow none of the code in the constructor retained?

Any help?

Thanks,
Steven

[ssilvert]

This looks odd:

MyBean bean = (MyBean)jsfServer.getManagedBeanValue("myBean");

It have an EL expression:

MyBean bean = (MyBean)jsfServer.getManagedBeanValue("#{myBean"");

But the really odd part is that you wouldn't get an ELException from that.

So assuming that your code is actually correct and it really did return an instance of MyBean, I'm not sure what could be happening.

You might want to look at this bug which would come into play if the bean was never referenced in your application code: https://jira.jboss.org/jira/browse/JSFUNIT-164

One question I have is, which JSF implementation and platform are you using? And more specifically, do you know the EL implementation?

Stan

[szgaljic]

Opss!!! You're right sorry that was a typo I really did mean to type

MyBean bean = (MyBean)jsfServer.getManagedBeanValue("myBean");

And yes I do know EL expression language. I'll look into that bug URL you just sent. If you're interested, try it out for yourself, I'm curious if others experience the same.

Env...

Tomcat v6.0
jboss-jsfunit-core-1.0.0.Beta3.jar
JRE 1.6.0_07

[ssilvert]

What version of JSF are you using?

Stan

[szgaljic]

I can't believe I wrote another typo, this post is going down the drain fast.

MyBean bean = (MyBean)jsfServer.getManagedBeanValue("#{myBean}");

I am using JSF 1.2

[ssilvert]

I can't recreate your problem. Can you send me a simple WAR that demonstrates it?

Also, can you try changing MyBean to look like this:

package com.example;

public class MyBean{
 public int random = -1;

 public MyBean(){
 // guaranteed to generate a number greater than 0
 random = 1;
 System.out.println("MyBean constructed, random="+random);
 }
}

[szgaljic]

Stan,

I'm sorry, I have no idea what has changed but I can't recreate this now. Its working fine now. If it happens again I'll be sure to bring it up. Thank you for your patience.

Steven