wsdl2java - Use java.util.Date instead of XMLGregorianCalendar

If you have a web service definition, WSDL, and you want to generate the equivalent java code (either for the client or for the server side) one of the simplest way is by using Apache CXF wsdl2java Maven plugin. Check here: http://cxf.apache.org/docs/maven-cxf-codegen-plugin-wsdl-to-java.html

Problems with XMLGregorianCalendar

The conversion between wsdl dataTypes and java dataTypes is held automatically by this plugin, so in most cases, you don´t need to worry about anything more.
But one annoying thing most people notes is the conversión between date/dateTime and XMLGregorianCalendar.

For example, by having this detifintion:

<xs:complexType name="operacionesPagoFiltroDTO">
 <xs:sequence>
  <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="entidad" type="xs:long" />
  <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="fechaDesde" type="xs:dateTime" />
  <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="fechaHasta" type="xs:dateTime" />
  <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="nifUsuario" type="xs:string" />
  <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="seccion" type="xs:long" />
 </xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>

You will get this POJO:

@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
@XmlType(name = "operacionesPagoFiltroDTO", propOrder = {
    "entidad",
    "fechaDesde",
    "fechaHasta",
    "nifUsuario",
    "seccion"
})
public class OperacionesPagoFiltroDTO {

    protected Long entidad;
    @XmlSchemaType(name = "dateTime")
    protected XMLGregorianCalendar fechaDesde;
    @XmlSchemaType(name = "dateTime")
    protected XMLGregorianCalendar fechaHasta;
    protected String nifUsuario;
    protected Long seccion;

    (...)

}

So, you have to manually make the conversion in order to obtain java.util.Date.

Solution

The solution is to use a custom binding file and a dateAdapter. When CXF plugin is executed, it will check the binding configuration and will generate the java.util.Date automatically.

In pom.xml you have to specify the custom binding file:

<plugin>
 <groupId>org.apache.cxf</groupId>
 <artifactId>cxf-codegen-plugin</artifactId>
 <version>${cxf.version}</version>
 <executions>
  <execution>
   <id>generate-sources</id>
   <phase>generate-sources</phase>
   <configuration>
    <sourceRoot>${project.build.directory}/generated/cxf</sourceRoot>
    <wsdlOptions>        
     <wsdlOption>
      <wsdl>${basedir}/src/main/resources/wsdl/gestionEconomica/GestionEconomica.wsdl</wsdl>       
      <bindingFiles>
       <bindingFile>${basedir}/src/main/resources/wsdl/gestionEconomica/GestionEconomicaBinding.xml</bindingFile>
      </bindingFiles>
     </wsdlOption>
    </wsdlOptions>
   </configuration>
   <goals>
    <goal>wsdl2java</goal>
   </goals>
  </execution>
 </executions>
</plugin>

And this would be the binding file:

<jaxws:bindings wsdlLocation="GestionEconomica.xsd.wsdl"
 xmlns:jaxws="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jaxws" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
 xmlns:jxb="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jaxb" xmlns:wsdl="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/">

 <jaxws:bindings node="wsdl:definitions/wsdl:types/xs:schema[@targetNamespace='http://mytargetspace.es/']">
  
  <jxb:globalBindings xmlns:jxb="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jaxb" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
   <jxb:javaType 
       name="java.util.Date" 
       xmlType="xs:dateTime"
    parseMethod="org.apache.cxf.xjc.runtime.DataTypeAdapter.parseDateTime"
    printMethod="org.apache.cxf.xjc.runtime.DataTypeAdapter.printDateTime" />
  </jxb:globalBindings>
 </jaxws:bindings>
</jaxws:bindings>

By doing so, you will get this POJO:

@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
@XmlType(name = "operacionesPagoFiltroDTO", propOrder = {
    "entidad",
    "fechaDesde",
    "fechaHasta",
    "nifUsuario",
    "seccion"
})
public class OperacionesPagoFiltroDTO {

    protected Long entidad;
    @XmlElement(type = String.class)
    @XmlJavaTypeAdapter(Adapter1 .class)
    @XmlSchemaType(name = "dateTime")
    protected Date fechaDesde;
    @XmlElement(type = String.class)
    @XmlJavaTypeAdapter(Adapter1 .class)
    @XmlSchemaType(name = "dateTime")
    protected Date fechaHasta;
    protected String nifUsuario;
    protected Long seccion;

    (...)
}

You can specify any adapter you want, but CXF also provides you with a basic implementation: org.apache.cxf.xjc.runtime.DataTypeAdapter. In order to use it, you need to add this extra dependency to your pom.xml:

<dependency>
 <groupId>org.apache.cxf.xjc-utils</groupId>
 <artifactId>cxf-xjc-runtime</artifactId>
 <version>${cxf-xjc-runtime.version}</version>
</dependency>

Note: You can check more about wsdl2java and eclipse in one of my previous posts: http://trabajosdesisifo.blogspot.com.es/2015/04/eclipse-maven-configure-wsdl2java.html