Grails rejectvalue error and domain error validation - grails

Question

I'm trying to do some serverside validation in grails and pass my errors back to the frontend as json to be processed by angularjs.
Error conditions
Department - required
Department - unique
Description - foobar not allowed
I have the following code.
Controller
def saveDepartment() {
def errors = []
def success = true
def department
try{
department = departmentService.save(request.JSON);
if(department.hasErrors()) {
success = false
errors = department.errors.fieldErrors;
}
} catch(Exception e){
e.printStackTrace()
errors = "Unknown"
success = false
if(log.errorEnabled){
log.error("save department encountered unknown error: ", e)
}
response.status = 500
} finally {
respond ([success:success, errors:errors, department:department]) as JSON;
}
}
Service
def save(jsonObj) {
def dept = new Department();
dept.setName(jsonObj.name);
dept.setDescription(jsonObj.description);
if(dept.description.equals('foobar')) {
dept.errors.rejectValue('description', 'foobar', 'Foobar is not allowed')
}
if (!dept.save()) {
dept.discard();
}
return dept;
}
Service Method Attempt 2 with debugging code
def save(jsonObj) {
def dept = new Department();
dept.setName(jsonObj.name);
dept.setDescription(jsonObj.description);
if(dept.description.equals('foobar')) {
println 'rejected value '
dept.errors.rejectValue('description', 'foobar', 'Foobar is not allowed')
}
println 'dept errors ' + dept.errors.allErrors.size();
if (dept.errors.hasErrors()) {
dept.errors.allErrors.each {FieldError error ->
println error
}
}
if (!dept.save(true)) {
println 'dept errors 2 ' + dept.errors.allErrors.size();
if (dept.errors.hasErrors()) {
dept.errors.allErrors.each {FieldError error ->
println error
}
}
}
return dept;
}
Output
..................rejected value
dept errors 1
Field error in object 'org.hri.leaverequest.Department' on field 'description': rejected value [foobar]; codes [foobar.org.hri.leaverequest.Department.descripti
on,foobar.description,foobar.java.lang.String,foobar]; arguments []; default message [Foobar is not allowed]
dept errors 2 1
Field error in object 'org.hri.leaverequest.Department' on field 'name': rejected value [null]; codes [org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.error.org.h
ri.leaverequest.Department.name,org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.error.name,org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.error.java.lang.String,or
g.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.error,department.name.nullable.error.org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name,department.name.nullable.error.name,depart
ment.name.nullable.error.java.lang.String,department.name.nullable.error,org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name,org.
hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.name,org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable.java.lang.String,org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name.nullable,depa
rtment.name.nullable.org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name,department.name.nullable.name,department.name.nullable.java.lang.String,department.name.nullable,nulla
ble.org.hri.leaverequest.Department.name,nullable.name,nullable.java.lang.String,nullable]; arguments [name,class org.hri.leaverequest.Department]; default mess
age [Property [{0}] of class [{1}] cannot be null]
Issues
If department is null and description has foobar with rejectValue, only one error, "department null" is returned, foobar does not appear in the errors.
If department contains existing value and description contains foobar, the unique constraint is returned but foobar does not appear in the errors.
If department has a good value and foobar still exist, the rejectValue doesn't prevent the save from happening and no errors are thrown. Now if I output dept.errors after the rejectValue, I can see the error actually exist.
Goal
My goal is to return all my errors and not save to the db if an error exist, what am I missing to achieve that goal?

Answer 1

You can do it this way:
dept.validate()
if(dept.description.equals('foobar')) {
dept.errors.rejectValue('description', 'foobar', 'Foobar is not allowed')
}
if(!dept.errors.hasErrors()) {
dept.save()
}
return dept

Answer 2

surely that is the validation constraints that you need to get right in the domain class or relevant validator?.
You have a set of criterias and the validation on the backend should fail to match what you expect to return or not as an error ? or maybe I am missing something
class Example {
Department deparment
static constraints = {
department(nullable:false, blank:false, unique:true, validator: checkDept)
}
static def checkDept= { val, obj, errors ->
//department has a value
if (val) {
//val is now also the same as object.department
if (obj.deparment.description='foo') {
errors.rejectValue(propertyName, "nullable.input", [''] as Object[], 'this is description as foo being rejected')
} else if (obj.deparment.name='bar') {
errors.rejectValue('department.name', "nullable.input", [''] as Object[], 'this is name of bar')
} else {
errors.rejectValue(propertyName, "nullable.input", [''] as Object[], 'this is null and being rejected')
}
}
}
}
propertyName will bind to actual object name - if you are failing based on department.something and the field names are that on the gsp page then you may need to tweak that.
The logics of above is not exactly what you have asked for but it should give you an idea of how you can customise to exactly what you wish to fail. If it doesn't match those then it will just go through as you require