Spring Data Rest -Disable self links(HAL) in Json

Question

I am newbie to spring-data-rest. In my Application when i make a rest call i am getting json which consist on self-links and links to foreign key tables. But i want json instead on links. I generated my code using telosys tool generator. Here is my JSON what i am gettin when i made a REST call to the "merchandise" table in database.:

{
"id"  : 1,
 "rate": 300,
 "type": "item",
 "shortDescription": "test",
 "longDescription": "test test",

 "_links": {
 "self": {
 "href": "http://localhost:8080/sportsrest/merchandises/1"
 },
 "listOfMerchandiseAttribute": {
 "href": "http://localhost:8080/sportsrest/merchandises/1/listOfMerchandiseAttribute"
     },
   }
 }

But in instead of getting link of "listOfMerchandiseAttribute" i want to get JSON of listOfMerchandiseAttribute. listOfMerchandiseAttribute is my another table in database

That is i want my json like this:

  {
  "id": 1,
 "rate": 300,
 "type": "item",
 "shortDescription": "test",
 "longDescription": "test test",

 "_links": {
 "self": {
 "href": "http://localhost:8080/sportsrest/merchandises/1"
 },
 "listOfMerchandiseAttribute": { 
         "id": 1,
         "attributeName": "testname",
         "attributeValue": 50     
     },
   }
 }

When i search on google i got some results and changed the ApplicationConfig.java file according to that but still i am getting links instead of JSON. Here is My ApplicationConfig file.

ApplicationConfig.java

 /*
 * Created on 19 Mar 2015 ( Time 14:41:07 )
 * Generated by Telosys Tools Generator ( version 2.1.0 )
 */

package co.vitti.sports;

import org.springframework.context.MessageSource;

import javax.sql.DataSource;

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.ComponentScan;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.context.support.ResourceBundleMessageSource;
import org.springframework.data.rest.core.config.RepositoryRestConfiguration;
import org.springframework.data.rest.webmvc.config.RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration;
import org.springframework.http.MediaType;
import org.springframework.jdbc.datasource.embedded.EmbeddedDatabaseBuilder;
import org.springframework.jdbc.datasource.embedded.EmbeddedDatabaseType;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.DefaultServletHandlerConfigurer;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.EnableWebMvc;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.ResourceHandlerRegistry;

import co.vitti.sports.validator.BinaryValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.CustomerPackageBalValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MerchandiseItemValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.CustomerPackageValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.InvoiceValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.UserRoleValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.SportValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MerchandiseTypeValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.BookingValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.TenantValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.PaymentModeValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.CourtValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MerchandisePackageValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.CartValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MigrationValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.TenantSportValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.repository.converter.TenantSportKeyConverter;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.TenantPaymentmodeValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.repository.converter.TenantPaymentmodeKeyConverter;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MerchandiseAttributeValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.repository.converter.MerchandiseAttributeKeyConverter;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.CartItemValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.MerchandiseValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.UserValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.TimeslotValidator;
import co.vitti.sports.validator.RoleValidator;

import org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConfigurableConversionService;

/**
 * Application configuration.
 * ( messages resources, validators)
 * @author Telosys Tools Generator
 *
 */
@Configuration
@ComponentScan(basePackageClasses = ApplicationConfig.class)
@EnableWebMvc
public class ApplicationConfig extends RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration {

    @Override
    protected void configureRepositoryRestConfiguration(RepositoryRestConfiguration config){
        config.setDefaultMediaType((MediaType) MediaType.parseMediaTypes("application/x-spring-data-verbose+json"));
    }

    @Bean
    public DataSource dataSource(){
        EmbeddedDatabaseBuilder  builder = new EmbeddedDatabaseBuilder();
        return builder.setType(EmbeddedDatabaseType.HSQL).build();

    }
    /**
     * Message Ressource declaration.
     * @return MessageRessource
     */
    @Bean
    public MessageSource messageSource() {
        ResourceBundleMessageSource source = new ResourceBundleMessageSource();
        source.setBasename("i18n/messages");
        source.setUseCodeAsDefaultMessage(true);
        return source;
    }

   /**
     * Validator declaration for Binary
     * @return the BinaryValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public BinaryValidator beforeCreateBinaryValidator() {
        return new BinaryValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for CustomerPackageBal
     * @return the CustomerPackageBalValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public CustomerPackageBalValidator beforeCreateCustomerPackageBalValidator() {
        return new CustomerPackageBalValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for MerchandiseItem
     * @return the MerchandiseItemValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandiseItemValidator beforeCreateMerchandiseItemValidator() {
        return new MerchandiseItemValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for CustomerPackage
     * @return the CustomerPackageValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public CustomerPackageValidator beforeCreateCustomerPackageValidator() {
        return new CustomerPackageValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Invoice
     * @return the InvoiceValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public InvoiceValidator beforeCreateInvoiceValidator() {
        return new InvoiceValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for UserRole
     * @return the UserRoleValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public UserRoleValidator beforeCreateUserRoleValidator() {
        return new UserRoleValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Sport
     * @return the SportValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public SportValidator beforeCreateSportValidator() {
        return new SportValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for MerchandiseType
     * @return the MerchandiseTypeValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandiseTypeValidator beforeCreateMerchandiseTypeValidator() {
        return new MerchandiseTypeValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Booking
     * @return the BookingValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public BookingValidator beforeCreateBookingValidator() {
        return new BookingValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Tenant
     * @return the TenantValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public TenantValidator beforeCreateTenantValidator() {
        return new TenantValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for PaymentMode
     * @return the PaymentModeValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public PaymentModeValidator beforeCreatePaymentModeValidator() {
        return new PaymentModeValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Court
     * @return the CourtValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public CourtValidator beforeCreateCourtValidator() {
        return new CourtValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for MerchandisePackage
     * @return the MerchandisePackageValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandisePackageValidator beforeCreateMerchandisePackageValidator() {
        return new MerchandisePackageValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Cart
     * @return the CartValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public CartValidator beforeCreateCartValidator() {
        return new CartValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Migration
     * @return the MigrationValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MigrationValidator beforeCreateMigrationValidator() {
        return new MigrationValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for TenantSport
     * @return the TenantSportValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public TenantSportValidator beforeCreateTenantSportValidator() {
        return new TenantSportValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for TenantPaymentmode
     * @return the TenantPaymentmodeValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public TenantPaymentmodeValidator beforeCreateTenantPaymentmodeValidator() {
        return new TenantPaymentmodeValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for MerchandiseAttribute
     * @return the MerchandiseAttributeValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandiseAttributeValidator beforeCreateMerchandiseAttributeValidator() {
        return new MerchandiseAttributeValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for CartItem
     * @return the CartItemValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public CartItemValidator beforeCreateCartItemValidator() {
        return new CartItemValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Merchandise
     * @return the MerchandiseValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandiseValidator beforeCreateMerchandiseValidator() {
        return new MerchandiseValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for User
     * @return the UserValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public UserValidator beforeCreateUserValidator() {
        return new UserValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Timeslot
     * @return the TimeslotValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public TimeslotValidator beforeCreateTimeslotValidator() {
        return new TimeslotValidator();
    }
   /**
     * Validator declaration for Role
     * @return the RoleValidator
     */
    @Bean
    public RoleValidator beforeCreateRoleValidator() {
        return new RoleValidator();
    }

    /**
     * Add all converters for composite keys
     */
    @Override
    protected void configureConversionService(ConfigurableConversionService conversionService) {
        super.configureConversionService(conversionService);
        conversionService.addConverter(this.tenantsportKeyConverter());
        conversionService.addConverter(this.tenantpaymentmodeKeyConverter());
        conversionService.addConverter(this.merchandiseattributeKeyConverter());
    }

    /**
     * Converter for the composite key in the TenantSport entity
     * @return the converter
     */
    @Bean
    public TenantSportKeyConverter tenantsportKeyConverter() {
        return new TenantSportKeyConverter();
    }
    /**
     * Converter for the composite key in the TenantPaymentmode entity
     * @return the converter
     */
    @Bean
    public TenantPaymentmodeKeyConverter tenantpaymentmodeKeyConverter() {
        return new TenantPaymentmodeKeyConverter();
    }
    /**
     * Converter for the composite key in the MerchandiseAttribute entity
     * @return the converter
     */
    @Bean
    public MerchandiseAttributeKeyConverter merchandiseattributeKeyConverter() {
        return new MerchandiseAttributeKeyConverter();
    }

 // equivalents for <mvc:resources/> tags
    @Override
    public void addResourceHandlers(ResourceHandlerRegistry registry) {
    registry.addResourceHandler("/app/**").addResourceLocations("/app/")
    .setCachePeriod(31556926);
    }

    // equivalent for <mvc:default-servlet-handler/> tag
    @Override
    public void configureDefaultServletHandling(
    DefaultServletHandlerConfigurer configurer) {
    configurer.enable();
    }

}

Can anyone please help me to solve my issue and get the JSON instead on links. Thanks in Advance.

Tetralogy

is listOfMerchandiseAttribute its own repository? if it isn't, then you should get the full json, not the link – Herald

@NeilMcGuigan Thanks for replay. listOfMerchandise is not it's own repository. I got the above JSON when i made a REST call to the merchandise table. primary key in merchandise table is foreign key in listOhMerchandiseAttribute. So, i am getting the link of the listOfMerchandiseAttribute table. But instead of link i need to get the JSON of that table. – Tetralogy

Answer 1

You could use Excerpts (especially made for this scenario). Because the Spring example is so eloquent and it's silly to just copy it here I'll just point it: https://docs.spring.io/spring-data/rest/docs/3.1.x/reference/html/#projections-excerpts.excerpting-commonly-accessed-data.
But just for the record and your convenience I'll paste the main parts of the spring example:

@Projection(name = "inlineAddress", types = { Person.class }) 
interface InlineAddress {
  String getFirstName();
  String getLastName();
  Address getAddress(); 
}

see at Projection javadoc that types means The type the projection type is bound to.
The excerpt could be used this way:

@RepositoryRestResource(excerptProjection = InlineAddress.class)
interface PersonRepository extends CrudRepository<Person, Long> {}

in order to get this:

{
  "firstName" : "Frodo",
  "lastName" : "Baggins",
  "address" : { 
    "street": "Bag End",
    "state": "The Shire",
    "country": "Middle Earth"
  },
  "_links": ...
}

For you merchandise is the equivalent of Person and the listOfMerchandiseAttribute is the equivalent of address.

How to get rid of _links

Check my answer at Disable Hypertext Application Language (HAL) in JSON?.

Final notes

Spring is evolving so be aware that this works with at least:

spring-data-rest-webmvc 3.1.3.RELEASE

or, if you prefeer spring boot version:

spring-boot-starter-parent 2.1.1.RELEASE

Defoliant

Answer 2

You should make sure that listOfMerchandiseAttribute is a member of your domain class. Then default converting to JSON should have it there. And Spring Data REST will use what-ever you current representation is and add Hypermedia.

See also Disable Hypertext Application Language (HAL) in JSON?

Ipsus

Answer 3

A cleaner way to do it would be to set the following property to false in application.properties along with creating Projections

spring.hateoas.use-hal-as-default-json-media-type=false

Meanly

Answer 4

I suggest using a custom ResourceProcessor to modify the links that Spring adds. See example in https://mcmap.net/q/671236/-spring-data-rest-integration-with-spring-hateoas Also, if you want to remove the links only on some occasions, you could associate the custom ResourceProcessor with a Projection.

Casi