NullPointerException - Alfresco Developer Manual, somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator

[Al Johnston]

Hi,

I am learning a whole bunch of things at once due to a new API I am learning. In the past, I've always jared my POJO's and distributed them as
sockets or on a web server by exploding my dir and dropping in my files. In the past week, aside from the new API I'm learning, I've been
introduced to Spring, Ant and Log4j. As a result of this, I'm not really sure where to look to solve my NPE problem.

I really appreciate any help that can be given me (and as late I have to apologize if I'm not in the right forum). I've been stuck on this for days and
while I'm learning the new API well, I can't move on until I fix this NPE problem. If I had any hair, I'd be pulling it out now.

Here's what happens. I build the following file with ant in Eclipse (I am used to using NetBeans but this API only has a tie into Eclipse so I'm using
Eclipse until I get through learning the API):

 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project name="SomeCo Client Extensions ch3" default="deploy" basedir=".">
	<property file="build.properties" />

	<property name="label" value="ch3" />
	<property name="project.dir" value="." />
	<property name="build.dir" value="${project.dir}/build" />
	<property name="bin.dir" value="${project.dir}/bin" />
	<property name="project.name" value="someco-client-extensions" />
	<property name="package.file.zip" value="${build.dir}/${project.name}.zip" />
	<property name="package.file.jar" value="${build.dir}/${project.name}.jar" />
	<property name="project.file.zip" value="${build.dir}/${project.name}-project-${label}.zip" />
    <property name="package.file.amp" value="${build.dir}/${project.name}.amp" />
    <property name="module.id" value="com.someco.module.extensions.Core" />
    <property name="module.dir" value="/alfresco/module" />
	<property name="source.dir" value="${project.dir}/src" />
	<property name="config.dir" value="${project.dir}/config" />
	<property name="data.dir" value="${project.dir}/data" />
	<property name="web.dir" value="${source.dir}/web" />
	<property name="extension.dir" value="/alfresco/extension" />

	<path id="classpath.server">
		<fileset dir="${alfresco.sdk.server.dir}/server" includes="**/*.jar" />
	</path>

	<path id="classpath.remote">
		<fileset dir="${alfresco.sdk.remote.dir}/remote" includes="**/*.jar" />
	</path>		

	<path id="classpath.build">
	    <fileset dir="${build.dir}" includes="**/*.jar" />
    </path>
    
	<target name="clean" description="Removes all generated files">
		<delete dir="${build.dir}" />
		<delete dir="${bin.dir}" />		
	</target>

	<target name="clean-tomcat" description="Removes deployed extension directory, lib/someco*.jar, and someco/" >
		<delete dir="${alfresco.web.dir}/WEB-INF/classes/alfresco/extension" />
		<delete dir="${alfresco.web.dir}/WEB-INF/classes/alfresco/module" />
		<delete dir="${alfresco.web.dir}/jsp/extension" />
		<delete dir="${alfresco.web.dir}/someco" />
		<delete file="${alfresco.web.dir}/WEB-INF/lib/someco-alfresco.jar" />
	</target>

	<target name="setup" description="Creates the ${build.dir} and ${bin.dir} directories">
		<mkdir dir="${build.dir}" />
		<mkdir dir="${bin.dir}" />		
	</target>

	<target name="package-extension" depends="setup, package-jar" description="Creates a zip called ${package.file.zip} which can be unzipped on top of an exploded Alfresco web app">
		<delete file="${package.file.zip}" />
		<zip destfile="${package.file.zip}" update="true">
			<zipfileset dir="${config.dir}${extension.dir}" prefix="WEB-INF/classes${extension.dir}" />
			<zipfileset file="${package.file.jar}" prefix="WEB-INF/lib" />
			<zipfileset dir="${web.dir}" excludes="META-INF/**" />
		</zip>
	</target>
	
	<target name="package-amp" depends="setup, package-jar" description="Packages the customizations as an Alfresco module in ${package.file.amp}">
		<delete file="${package.file.amp}" />
		<zip destfile="${package.file.amp}">
			<zipfileset file="${package.file.jar}" prefix="lib" />
			<zipfileset dir="${web.dir}" prefix="web" />
			<zipfileset file="${config.dir}${module.dir}/${module.id}/module.properties" />						
			<zipfileset file="${config.dir}${module.dir}/${module.id}/file-mapping.properties" />
			<zipfileset file="${config.dir}${module.dir}/${module.id}/module-context.xml" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}" />
			<zipfileset file="${config.dir}${module.dir}/${module.id}/someco-core.properties" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}" />			
			<zipfileset dir="${data.dir}" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}/bootstrap" />
			<zipfileset dir="${config.dir}${extension.dir}/model" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}/model" />
 	 		<!-- <zipfileset file="${config.dir}${extension.dir}/someco-model-context.xml" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}" />--> 
			<zipfileset file="${config.dir}${extension.dir}/web-client-config-custom.xml" prefix="config${module.dir}/${module.id}/ui" />			
		</zip>
	</target>
	
	<target name="install-amp" depends="package-amp" description="Uses the Alfresco MMT to install the AMP into ${alfresco.war.path}">
        <java dir="." fork="true" classname="org.alfresco.repo.module.tool.ModuleManagementTool">
			<classpath refid="classpath.server"/>
            <arg line="install ${package.file.amp} ${alfresco.war.path} -force -verbose"/>
        </java>
    </target>
    
    <target name="deploy-amp" depends="install-amp" description="Unzips the AMP'd WAR file into ${alfresco.web.dir}">
   		<unzip src="${alfresco.war.path}" dest="${alfresco.web.dir}" />
    </target>

	<target name="deploy" depends="package-extension" description="Unzips the ${package.file.zip} into ${alfresco.web.dir}">
		<unzip src="${package.file.zip}" dest="${alfresco.web.dir}" />
	</target>

	<target name="zip-project" depends="setup" description="Zips the entire Eclipse project as-is into ${project.file.zip}">
		<delete file="${project.file.zip}" />
		<zip destfile="${project.file.zip}">
			<zipfileset dir="${project.dir}" excludes="build/** bin/**" prefix="${project.name}-${label}" />
		</zip>
	</target>	

	<target name="compile" description="Compiles src to ${bin.dir}">
		<mkdir dir="${bin.dir}" />
		<javac srcdir="${source.dir}" destdir="${bin.dir}" source="1.5" target="1.5" debug="on" fork="yes" deprecation="on">
			<classpath refid="classpath.server"/>
			<classpath refid="classpath.remote"/>
		</javac>
		<!-- copy in non-compiled files like props if needed -->
		<copy todir="${bin.dir}">
			<fileset dir="${source.dir}" excludes="**/*.java"/>
		</copy>
	</target>
	
	<target name="package-jar" depends="setup, compile"
		description="Jars up the compiled classes and ${web.dir}/META-INF into ${package.file.jar}">
			<delete file="${package.file.jar}" />
			<jar destfile="${package.file.jar}">
				<fileset dir="${bin.dir}" includes="com/**" />
				<zipfileset dir="${web.dir}/META-INF" excludes="*.zip" prefix="META-INF" />				
			</jar>
	</target>
	
	<target name="data-creator" depends="package-jar" >
		<java dir="./bin" fork="true" classname="com.someco.examples.SomeCoDataCreator">
			<classpath refid="classpath.build"/>
			<classpath refid="classpath.remote"/>
            <arg line="admin admin /app:company_home/cm:Someco/cm:Marketing/cm:Whitepapers whitepaper whitepaper"/>
        </java>
    </target>
   

Everything compiles fine and my directories get created on Tomcat. I provide the build file as edification in case it is needed for you to help me.

Once I compile, I start Tomcat. It begins starting up until it gets to my module-context.xml file.

 
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC '-//SPRING//DTD BEAN//EN' 'http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans.dtd'>

<beans>

	<!-- Import the model context -->
	<!-- 
	<import resource="classpath:alfresco/module/com.someco.module.extensions.Core/someco-model-context.xml" />
	-->
    <!-- Rather than import the non-AMP model context file, which would require us changing
    	 that file to point to the scModel.xml file in the AMP folder structure, we'll just 
    	 configure the dictionaryBootstrap bean here and leave the model-context file out of
    	 the AMP. That allows us to switch back-and-forth b/w AMP and non-AMP without modifying
    	 any files. In a real project, you'll probably pick either AMP or non-AMP and stick
    	 to it.
     -->
    <bean id="extension.dictionaryBootstrap" parent="dictionaryModelBootstrap" depends-on="dictionaryBootstrap">
        <property name="models">
            <list>
                <value>alfresco/module/com.someco.module.extensions.Core/model/scModel.xml</value>
            </list>
        </property>
    </bean>	
    
        <!-- Import sample data -->
    <bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrap" class="org.alfresco.repo.module.ImporterModuleComponent" parent="module.baseComponent">
   
		<!-- Module Details -->
		<property name="moduleId" value="com.someco.module.extensions.Core" />
		<property name="name" value="somecoModuleCoreBootstrap" />
		<property name="description" value="Someco module core extensions initial data requirements" />
		<property name="sinceVersion" value="1.0" />
		<property name="appliesFromVersion" value="1.0" />
		<property name="executeOnceOnly" value="true" />
   
		<!-- Data properties -->
		<property name="importer" ref="spacesBootstrap"/>
		<property name="bootstrapViews">
			<list>
				<props>
					<prop key="path">/${spaces.company_home.childname}</prop>
					<prop key="location">alfresco/module/com.someco.module.extensions.Core/bootstrap/whitepapers.acp</prop>
				</props>
			</list>
		</property>
		
	</bean>

	<!-- Create test users and groups -->    
<!-- the problem bean -->   <bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator" class="com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator" init-method="init">
    	<property name="authenticationService">
            <ref bean="authenticationService" />
        </property> 
		<property name="personService">
            <ref bean="personService" />
        </property>
		<property name="authorityService">
            <ref bean="authorityService" />
        </property>
		<property name="transactionService">
            <ref bean="transactionService" />
        </property>        
       
    </bean>      

	
    <!-- web client configuration bootstrap bean -->
    <bean id="somecoModuleCore.configBootstrap" class="org.alfresco.web.config.WebClientConfigBootstrap" init-method="init">
       <property name="configs">
         <list>
            <value>classpath:alfresco/module/com.someco.module.extensions.Core/ui/web-client-config-custom.xml</value>
         </list>
       </property>
    </bean>


	
	<bean id="bootstrapExtraBundlesBean" class="org.alfresco.web.app.ResourceBundleBootstrap">
		<property name="resourceBundles">
			<list>
				<value>alfresco.module.com.someco.module.extensions.Core.someco-core</value>
			</list>
		</property>
	</bean>
</beans>
   

This file is "module-context.xml" and it is located in the WAR directory: {$WAR.dir}\classes\alfresco\module\com.someco.module.extension.Core\
module-context.xml

Once I start Tomcat and it hits the bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator" line, I get a NullPointerException. The error is:

    
org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator' defined in file [C:\Alfresco\tomcat\webapps\alfresco\WEB-INF\classes\alfresco\module\com.someco.module.extensions.Core\module-context.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
	at org.alfresco.repo.search.IndexerComponent.createNode(IndexerComponent.java:72)
	at org.alfresco.repo.node.index.NodeIndexer.indexCreateNode(NodeIndexer.java:91)
	at org.alfresco.repo.node.db.DbNodeServiceImpl.createNode(DbNodeServiceImpl.java:343)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
	at org.springframework.aop.support.AopUtils.invokeJoinpointUsingReflection(AopUtils.java:304)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.invokeJoinpoint(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:182)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:149)
	at org.alfresco.repo.tenant.MultiTNodeServiceInterceptor.invoke(MultiTNodeServiceInterceptor.java:110)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.JdkDynamicAopProxy.invoke(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
	at $Proxy11.createNode(Unknown Source)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
	at org.alfresco.repo.service.StoreRedirectorProxyFactory$RedirectorInvocationHandler.invoke(StoreRedirectorProxyFactory.java:221)
	at $Proxy12.createNode(Unknown Source)
	at org.alfresco.repo.node.MLPropertyInterceptor.invoke(MLPropertyInterceptor.java:279)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.alfresco.repo.node.NodeRefPropertyMethodInterceptor.invoke(NodeRefPropertyMethodInterceptor.java:188)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.alfresco.repo.node.NodeRefPropertyMethodInterceptor.invoke(NodeRefPropertyMethodInterceptor.java:188)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.JdkDynamicAopProxy.invoke(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
	at $Proxy11.createNode(Unknown Source)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.RepositoryAuthenticationDao.createUser(RepositoryAuthenticationDao.java:254)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.AuthenticationServiceImpl.createAuthentication(AuthenticationServiceImpl.java:81)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.AbstractChainingAuthenticationService.createAuthentication(AbstractChainingAuthenticationService.java:75)

************************** TRACE CONTINUES ERROR AT MY CLASS *******************
--->	at com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator.init(BootstrapAuthorityCreator.java:44)
********************************************************************************

Trace Continues for other errors due to my NPE
********************************************************************************
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeCustomInitMethod(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1242)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1208)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1172)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:427)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:249)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:155)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:246)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:160)
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:291)
	at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:352)
	at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.createWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:246)
	at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.initWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:189)
	at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:49)
	at org.alfresco.web.app.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:69)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:3843)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:4342)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.addChildInternal(ContainerBase.java:791)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.addChild(ContainerBase.java:771)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.addChild(StandardHost.java:525)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployDescriptor(HostConfig.java:627)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployDescriptors(HostConfig.java:553)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployApps(HostConfig.java:488)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.start(HostConfig.java:1149)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.lifecycleEvent(HostConfig.java:311)
	at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleSupport.fireLifecycleEvent(LifecycleSupport.java:117)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1053)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:719)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1045)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:443)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:516)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:710)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:578)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:288)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:413)

Here is the class and the line where the NPE occurs...

 
package com.someco.module;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

import javax.transaction.UserTransaction;

import org.alfresco.model.ContentModel;
import org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.AuthenticationServiceImpl;
import org.alfresco.repo.security.authority.AuthorityServiceImpl;
import org.alfresco.repo.security.person.PersonServiceImpl;
import org.alfresco.repo.transaction.TransactionServiceImpl;
import org.alfresco.service.cmr.security.AuthenticationService;
import org.alfresco.service.cmr.security.AuthorityService;
import org.alfresco.service.cmr.security.AuthorityType;
import org.alfresco.service.cmr.security.PersonService;
import org.alfresco.service.namespace.QName;
import org.alfresco.service.transaction.TransactionService;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;


public class BootstrapAuthorityCreator {
	private AuthorityService authorityService;
    private PersonService personService;
    private TransactionService transactionService;
    private AuthenticationService authenticationService;
    private UserTransaction tx;
    private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(BootstrapAuthorityCreator.class);
    
    private AuthenticationService getAuthenticationService() {
    	return new AuthenticationServiceImpl();
    }
    
    public void init() throws Exception {
    	String salesGroup;
    	String marketingGroup;
    	
    	tx = transactionService.getUserTransaction();
        tx.begin();
        
    	// create tuser1, tuser2, tuser3, tuser4
        if(!authenticationService.authenticationExists("tuser1")) {        	
44    		authenticationService.createAuthentication("tuser1", "password".toCharArray());    		
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser1 auth");
        }

        if (!personService.personExists("tuser1")) {
    		personService.createPerson(createDefaultProperties("tuser1", "Test", "User1", "tuser1@localhost", "password"));
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser1 person");
    	}

        if(!authenticationService.authenticationExists("tuser2")) {
    		authenticationService.createAuthentication("tuser2", "password".toCharArray());
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser2 auth");
        }

    	if (!personService.personExists("tuser2")) {
    		personService.createPerson(createDefaultProperties("tuser2", "Test", "User2", "tuser2@localhost", "password"));
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser2 person");
    	}

        if(!authenticationService.authenticationExists("tuser3")) {
    		authenticationService.createAuthentication("tuser3", "password".toCharArray());
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser3 auth");
        }

    	if (!personService.personExists("tuser3")) {
    		personService.createPerson(createDefaultProperties("tuser3", "Test", "User3", "tuser3@localhost", "password"));
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser3 person");
    	}

        if(!authenticationService.authenticationExists("tuser4")) {
    		authenticationService.createAuthentication("tuser4", "password".toCharArray());
    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser4 auth");
        }

    	if (!personService.personExists("tuser4")) {
    		personService.createPerson(createDefaultProperties("tuser4", "Test", "User4", "tuser4@localhost", "password"));
    		//if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser4 person");
    	}
    	
    	if (authorityService.authorityExists(authorityService.getName(AuthorityType.GROUP, "sales"))) {
    		salesGroup = authorityService.getName(AuthorityType.GROUP, "sales");
    	} else {
    		// create the sales group
    		salesGroup = authorityService.createAuthority(AuthorityType.GROUP, "sales");
    	}

    	//add tuser1 and tuser2 to the sales group
    	authorityService.addAuthority(salesGroup, "tuser1");
    	authorityService.addAuthority(salesGroup, "tuser2");
    	
    	if (authorityService.authorityExists(authorityService.getName(AuthorityType.GROUP, "marketing"))) {
    		marketingGroup = authorityService.getName(AuthorityType.GROUP, "marketing");
    	} else {
    		// create the marketing group
    		marketingGroup = authorityService.createAuthority(AuthorityType.GROUP, "marketing");
    	}

    	//add tuser3 and tuser4 to the marketing group
    	authorityService.addAuthority(marketingGroup, "tuser3");
    	authorityService.addAuthority(marketingGroup, "tuser4");
    	
    	tx.commit();

    }
    
    private Map<QName, Serializable> createDefaultProperties(String userName, String firstName, String lastName,
            String email, String password) {
        HashMap<QName, Serializable> properties = new HashMap<QName, Serializable>();
        properties.put(ContentModel.PROP_USERNAME, userName);
        properties.put(ContentModel.PROP_FIRSTNAME, firstName);
        properties.put(ContentModel.PROP_LASTNAME, lastName);
        properties.put(ContentModel.PROP_EMAIL, email);
        properties.put(ContentModel.PROP_PASSWORD, password);
        return properties;
    }

	public void setAuthorityService(AuthorityService authorityService) {
		logger.debug("*************** CREATED AuthorityService *************");		
		this.authorityService = authorityService;
	}

	public void setPersonService(PersonService personService) {
		this.personService = personService;		
		logger.debug("*************** CREATED PersonService *************");
	}

	public void setTransactionService(TransactionService transactionService) {
		this.transactionService = transactionService;
	}

	public void setAuthenticationService(AuthenticationService authenticationService) {
		this.authenticationService = authenticationService;
	}
}

   

I have a null AuthorityService. Yet, my somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator bean does have the dependencies set. Again, from
the module-context.xml file:

  
    <bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator" class="com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator" init-method="init">
    	<property name="authenticationService">
            <ref bean="authenticationService" />
        </property> 
		<property name="personService">
            <ref bean="personService" />
        </property>
		<property name="authorityService">
            <ref bean="authorityService" />
        </property>
		<property name="transactionService">
            <ref bean="transactionService" />
        </property>        
       
    </bean>
  

Can anyone help me understand why I'm getting a NPE?

Thanks so much for you help. This seems like the last hurdle to having my development environment set. If I can understand what I'm doing wrong here,
I can move on and fix this if it ever comes up in the future. I sincerely appreciate any help and please let me know if I've provided enough/relevant
information. Incidentally, I've also moved a lot of stuff around (like the order loading in the module-context.xml file). I have also tried putting declarations
in my init() method such as if(authorityService == null) {this.authorityService = new AuthorityServiceImpl();}. Nothing I have tried has worked.

Best,
Al

[David Newton]

You'll need to be more specific where the exception is occurring; that's a lot of code and config to wade through.

Have you considered creating a minimal set of code and config to reproduce the error without overwhelming people with potentially unrelated detail?

[Al Johnston]

I appreciate that it's a lot. I included it all but tried to mark it well, knowing that I don't yet know enough about these packages to
know precisely what I need to be posting. Here's the problem in a nutshell I believe...

ERROR:

   
SEVERE: Exception sending context initialized event to listener instance of class org.alfresco.web.app.ContextListener
org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator' defined in file [C:\Alfresco\tomcat\webapps\alfresco\WEB-INF\classes\alfresco\module\com.someco.module.extensions.Core\module-context.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
 

That NPE is happening when the loader get to {$WAR.dir}\alfresco\module\com.comeco.module.extension.core\module-context.xml.
The error code above goes on to say that the NPE is at line 44 of my BootstrapAuthorityCreator.
First, the declaration in module-context.xml:

SPRING BEAN

  
	<!-- Create test users and groups -->    
    <bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator" class="com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator" init-method="init">
    	<property name="authenticationService">
            <ref bean="authenticationService" />
        </property> 
		<property name="personService">
            <ref bean="personService" />
        </property>
		<property name="authorityService">
            <ref bean="authorityService" />
        </property>
		<property name="transactionService">
            <ref bean="transactionService" />
        </property>       
       
    </bean>

  

That creates the bean from BootstrapAuthorityCreator. Line 44, where I get the NPE is:

JAVA CLASS

  
43        if(!authenticationService.authenticationExists("tuser1")) {        	
44    		authenticationService.createAuthentication("tuser1", "password".toCharArray());    		
45    		if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) logger.debug("Created tuser1 auth");
46        }
  

Hope that helps and sorry for the verbosity.

[David Newton]

Is the authenticationService null?

[Al Johnston]

That's what it appears to be. Since this is an example and I'm learning Spring due to following the example, I'm not sure how to ensure that AuthenticationService is instantiated. I would think that happens here:

  
	<!-- Create test users and groups -->    
    <bean id="somecoModuleCore.bootstrapAuthorityCreator" class="com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator" init-method="init">
    	<property name="authenticationService">
            <ref bean="authenticationService" />
        </property> 
		<property name="personService">
            <ref bean="personService" />
        </property>
		<property name="authorityService">
            <ref bean="authorityService" />
        </property>
		<property name="transactionService">
            <ref bean="transactionService" />
        </property>      
    </bean>
  

Doesn't my <ref bean="authenticationService"> ensure that I have an AuthenticationService when Tomcat starts? Also, isn't that the value passed into setAuthenticationService(AuthenticationService authenticationService) in my BootstrapAuthorityCreator?

Incidentally, I did try to force AuthenticationService to be referenced. I added a line to my code in the init() method:

   
if(authenticationService == null) {this.authenticationService = new AuthenticationServiceImpl();}
 

I still got an NPE.

[David Newton]

It doesn't ensure there's an implementation unless you've defined a bean for it, otherwise it would have no idea what to instantiate.

If you do it manually and it's *still* throwing an NPE on the first line that uses it then something is broken with your deployment or configuration, or the NPE is coming from a different line.

[Al Johnston]

I'm sure that the NPE is coming from that line. Now if I just knew how to track down what is wrong in my config...

The classes I'm trying to use are getting created in the stack trace. The error is referenced in them before it is referenced in my object.

 
(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
	at $Proxy11.createNode(Unknown Source)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.RepositoryAuthenticationDao.createUser(RepositoryAuthenticationDao.java:254)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.AuthenticationServiceImpl.createAuthentication(AuthenticationServiceImpl.java:81)
	at org.alfresco.repo.security.authentication.AbstractChainingAuthenticationService.createAuthentication(AbstractChainingAuthenticationService.java:75)
	at com.someco.module.BootstrapAuthorityCreator.init(BootstrapAuthorityCreator.java:44)
   

I'm sure it's something in my configuration. But, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to cure it.

[Al Johnston]

I'm going to mark this as sort-of-resolved as I was able to finally get it working.

This turns out to be an issue that can't be fixed with the Spring config. I lucked upon a google hit when searching for one of the error messages. The author of the book responded there to 'try deploying using "non-amp".' amp is a deploy configuration provided by the vendor that gives some additional support. In any event, I deployed without using the vendor's packages and everything works!

[Al Johnston]

Dear forum boss,

Upon discovery, I think that searchers would be better served if this thread were moved to the other open-source forum topic. I'm not sure how many people are searching around for Alfresco information, but from what I was finally able to dig up on the web, others have the problem I was having and this information may save them some time.

Best,
Al