Error deploying Spring Boot app on TomEE: UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeController'

Question

I succesfully coded a simple REST application using Spring and Hibernate with just one table, and everything worked well when the app is runned as Spring Boot App.

But i have to deploy the war file on a TomEE plus 1.7.4 server. I had a lot of errors i think i already corrected but now i have the following exception:

org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeController': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'employeeDAO'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeDAO': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'er'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeRepository': Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:588) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.InjectionMetadata.inject(InjectionMetadata.java:88) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessPropertyValues(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:366) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1264) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:553) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:483) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:306) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:230) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:302) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:197) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:761) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:867) ~[spring-context-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:543) ~[spring-context-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.context.embedded.EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.refresh(EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.java:122) ~[spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:693) ~[spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:360) ~[spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:303) ~[spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.web.support.SpringBootServletInitializer.run(SpringBootServletInitializer.java:151) [spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.web.support.SpringBootServletInitializer.createRootApplicationContext(SpringBootServletInitializer.java:131) [spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.boot.web.support.SpringBootServletInitializer.onStartup(SpringBootServletInitializer.java:86) [spring-boot-1.5.4.RELEASE.jar:1.5.4.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.web.SpringServletContainerInitializer.onStartup(SpringServletContainerInitializer.java:169) [spring-web-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.startInternal(StandardContext.java:5573) [catalina.jar:7.0.68]
at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:147) [catalina.jar:7.0.68]
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1572) [catalina.jar:7.0.68]
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1562) [catalina.jar:7.0.68]
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:266) [na:1.8.0_101]
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142) [na:1.8.0_101]
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617) [na:1.8.0_101]
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745) [na:1.8.0_101]
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeDAO': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'er'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeRepository': Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:588) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.InjectionMetadata.inject(InjectionMetadata.java:88) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessPropertyValues(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:366) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1264) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:553) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:483) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:306) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:230) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:302) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:202) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.config.DependencyDescriptor.resolveCandidate(DependencyDescriptor.java:208) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1138) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1066) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:585) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
... 28 common frames omitted
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'employeeRepository': Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1628) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:555) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:483) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:306) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:230) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:302) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:202) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.config.DependencyDescriptor.resolveCandidate(DependencyDescriptor.java:208) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1138) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1066) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:585) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
... 41 common frames omitted
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: null
at org.hibernate.engine.transaction.internal.jta.JtaStatusHelper.getStatus(JtaStatusHelper.java:73) ~[hibernate-core-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.engine.transaction.internal.jta.JtaStatusHelper.isActive(JtaStatusHelper.java:115) ~[hibernate-core-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.engine.transaction.internal.jta.CMTTransaction.join(CMTTransaction.java:149) ~[hibernate-core-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.ejb.AbstractEntityManagerImpl.joinTransaction(AbstractEntityManagerImpl.java:1230) ~[hibernate-entitymanager-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.ejb.AbstractEntityManagerImpl.postInit(AbstractEntityManagerImpl.java:178) ~[hibernate-entitymanager-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.ejb.EntityManagerImpl.<init>(EntityManagerImpl.java:89) ~[hibernate-entitymanager-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.ejb.EntityManagerFactoryImpl.createEntityManager(EntityManagerFactoryImpl.java:193) ~[hibernate-entitymanager-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at org.hibernate.ejb.EntityManagerFactoryImpl.createEntityManager(EntityManagerFactoryImpl.java:188) ~[hibernate-entitymanager-4.2.21.Final.jar:4.2.21.Final]
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[na:1.8.0_101]
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62) ~[na:1.8.0_101]
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:1.8.0_101]
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498) ~[na:1.8.0_101]
at org.springframework.orm.jpa.AbstractEntityManagerFactoryBean.invokeProxyMethod(AbstractEntityManagerFactoryBean.java:459) ~[spring-orm-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.orm.jpa.AbstractEntityManagerFactoryBean$ManagedEntityManagerFactoryInvocationHandler.invoke(AbstractEntityManagerFactoryBean.java:630) ~[spring-orm-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy150.createEntityManager(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
at org.springframework.orm.jpa.SharedEntityManagerCreator$SharedEntityManagerInvocationHandler.invoke(SharedEntityManagerCreator.java:292) ~[spring-orm-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy154.getDelegate(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
at org.springframework.data.jpa.provider.PersistenceProvider.fromEntityManager(PersistenceProvider.java:303) ~[spring-data-jpa-1.11.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.support.JpaRepositoryFactory.<init>(JpaRepositoryFactory.java:59) ~[spring-data-jpa-1.11.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.support.JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.createRepositoryFactory(JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.java:88) ~[spring-data-jpa-1.11.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.support.JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.doCreateRepositoryFactory(JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.java:78) ~[spring-data-jpa-1.11.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.repository.core.support.TransactionalRepositoryFactoryBeanSupport.createRepositoryFactory(TransactionalRepositoryFactoryBeanSupport.java:81) ~[spring-data-commons-1.13.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.repository.core.support.RepositoryFactoryBeanSupport.afterPropertiesSet(RepositoryFactoryBeanSupport.java:248) ~[spring-data-commons-1.13.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.support.JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet(JpaRepositoryFactoryBean.java:101) ~[spring-data-jpa-1.11.4.RELEASE.jar:na]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1687) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1624) ~[spring-beans-4.3.9.RELEASE.jar:4.3.9.RELEASE]
... 51 common frames omitted

Application Details

This is the structure of my project:

pom.xml

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>co.edu.uniquindio.prueba</groupId>
<artifactId>prueba</artifactId>
<packaging>war</packaging>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<name>prueba Maven Webapp</name>
<url>http://maven.apache.org</url>
<parent>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.4.RELEASE</version>
    <relativePath /> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
</parent>
<properties>
    <hibernate.version>4.2.21.Final</hibernate.version>
</properties>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>junit</groupId>
        <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
        <version>3.8.1</version>
        <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.hibernate/hibernate-validator -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
        <artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
        <version>4.2.0.Final</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/javax.validation/validation-api -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.validation</groupId>
        <artifactId>validation-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.0.0.GA</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-tomcat</artifactId>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
        <artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
        <version>42.2.5.jre7</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
        <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>

</dependencies>

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            <configuration>
                <source>1.7</source>
                <target>1.7</target>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

EmployeeApplication

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.builder.SpringApplicationBuilder;
import org.springframework.boot.web.support.SpringBootServletInitializer;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.config.EnableJpaAuditing;

@SpringBootApplication
@EnableJpaAuditing
public class EmployeeApplication extends SpringBootServletInitializer {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
    SpringApplication.run(EmployeeApplication.class, args);
}

@Override
protected SpringApplicationBuilder configure(SpringApplicationBuilder builder) {
    return builder.sources(EmployeeApplication.class);
}
}

EmployeeController

import java.util.List;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

import prueba.dao.EmployeeDAO;
import prueba.model.Employee;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/company")
public class EmployeeController {

@Autowired
EmployeeDAO employeeDAO;

/*get all employees*/
@GetMapping("/employees")
public List<Employee> getAllEmployees(){
    return employeeDAO.findAll();
}

}

EmployeeDAO

package prueba.dao;

import java.util.List;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

import prueba.model.Employee;
import prueba.repository.EmployeeRepository; 

@Service
public class EmployeeDAO {

@Autowired
EmployeeRepository er;


/* search all employees*/

public List<Employee> findAll(){
    return er.findAll();
}
}

EmployeeRepository

package prueba.repository;

import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;

import prueba.model.Employee;

public interface EmployeeRepository extends JpaRepository<Employee, Long> {

}

Employee

package prueba.model;

import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.EntityListeners;
import javax.persistence.GeneratedValue;
import javax.persistence.GenerationType;
import javax.persistence.Id;
import javax.persistence.Table;

import org.springframework.data.jpa.domain.support.AuditingEntityListener;

@Entity
@Table(name = "EMPLEADO", schema="public")
@EntityListeners(AuditingEntityListener.class)

public class Employee {

@Id
@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.AUTO)
private long id;

private String nombre;


public Employee(){

}

public Employee(long id, String nombre) {
    this.id = id;
    this.nombre = nombre;
}

public long getId() {
    return id;
}

public void setId(long id) {
    this.id = id;
}

public String getNombre() {
    return nombre;
}

public void setNombre(String nombre) {
    this.nombre = nombre;
}

@Override
public String toString() {
    return "Empleado [id=" + id + ", nombre=" + nombre + "]";
}

}

Also application.properties

## Spring DATASOURCE (DataSourceAutoConfiguration & DataSourceProperties)
spring.datasource.url = jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/prueba
spring.datasource.username = postgres
spring.datasource.password = 1234
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.postgresql.Driver


## Hibernate Properties
# The SQL dialect makes Hibernate generate better SQL for the chosen database
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect = org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect

# Hibernate ddl auto (create, create-drop, validate, update)
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto = validate

I want to know why is this error happening on TomEE and not on the spring's embebbed tomcat, and what could i do to fix it. Thank you so much in advance for your time. Sorry for my english, is not my first language.

Please let me know if further information is required.

Answer 1

I made it work, apparently JTA was the problem. As I don't need it on my project I just added spring.jta.enabled=false on my application.properties file.