NullPointerException in oc4j

Question

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Hi,
I am migrating a jsf based web application from tomcat to oc4j. The application works properly in tomcat. But it generates error in oc4j. I can successfully deploy the application. However when I go to the web site, oc4j produces the following exception:
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.sun.faces.context.ExternalContextImpl.dispatch(ExternalContextImpl.java:322)
at com.sun.faces.application.ViewHandlerImpl.renderView(ViewHandlerImpl.java:130)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.RenderResponsePhase.execute(RenderResponsePhase.java:87)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.LifecycleImpl.phase(LifecycleImpl.java:200)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.LifecycleImpl.render(LifecycleImpl.java:117)
at javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet.service(FacesServlet.java:198)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].server.http.ServletRequestDispatcher.invoke(ServletRequestDispatcher.java:765)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].server.http.ServletRequestDispatcher.forwardInternal(ServletRequestDispatcher.java:317)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].server.http.HttpRequestHandler.processRequest(HttpRequestHandler.java:790)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].server.http.HttpRequestHandler.run(HttpRequestHandler.java:270)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].server.http.HttpRequestHandler.run(HttpRequestHandler.java:112)
at com.evermind[Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE 10g (9.0.4.0.0)].util.ReleasableResourcePooledExecutor$MyWorker.run(ReleasableResourcePooledExecutor.java:192)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:534)
I can see html files that don't contain jsf code properly. But jsf doesn't work.
I searched through the internet for similar errors. I found a few one but they weren't resolved neither, unfortunately.
Did you experience a similar error before?
Thanks for your help...
Mert

Answer 1

I turned on FINEST logging, and it appears that this exception is thrown when processing the following class (trimmed irrelevant parts):
@Entity
@Table(name = "PS_HRLY_APPRVR_VW")
@NamedQueries({ ... })
public class ApproverAssignment implements Serializable
@Embeddable
public static class ApproverAssignmentPK implements Serializable
@Embedded
@AttributeOverride(name = "employeeId", column =
@Column(name = "emplid", updatable = false))
private EmployeeId workerId;
@Embedded
@AttributeOverride(name = "employeeId", column =
@Column(name = "supervisor_id", updatable = false))
private EmployeeId approverId;
@Override
public int hashCode()
@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj)
@EmbeddedId
private ApproverAssignmentPK approverAssignmentPK = new ApproverAssignmentPK();
...getters/setters
Also, here's the source code for EmployeeId:
@Embeddable
public class EmployeeId implements Serializable
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
@Length(max=10, min=9)
private String employeeId;
//for JPA
protected EmployeeId()
protected EmployeeId(String employeeId)
this.employeeId = employeeId;
public String getEmployeeId()
return employeeId;
@Override
public int hashCode()
@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj)
@ConstructsFromString
public static EmployeeId valueOf(String employeeId)
Preconditions.checkNotNull(employeeId, "employeeId is null");
return new EmployeeId(employeeId);
Maybe toplink doesn't like nested @Embeddables? I thought they were legal, but maybe I'm wrong.
Thanks