Validation Errors

Vaildation errors will be returned on error result objects when we cannot process the API call because parameters are invalid. Validation errors have a code, message, and attribute. The code is intended for programmatic consumption, the message is human-readable, and the attribute identified which parameter the validation error is on.

Hierarchy

Errors are returned in a hierarchy that matches the parameter hierarchy. For example, when creating a customer with a credit card and billing address, the credit card is nested under customer, and the billing address under credit card.

CustomerRequest request = new CustomerRequest().
    email("invalid_email").
    creditCard().
        number("not_numeric").
        billingAddress().
            countryName("not_a_valid_country").
            done().
        done();

You can get all errors at all levels, errors at a specific level, or errors at a specific level on a specific attribute.

All Errors on All Levels

To get all errors on all levels, call getAllDeepValidationErrors on result.getErrors(). 

for (ValidationError error : result.getErrors().getAllDeepValidationErrors()) {
    System.out.println(error.getCode());
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

Errors at Specific Levels

To get errors at a specific level, use the forObject method to narrow the scope. Then, call getAllValidationErrors() to retrieve the list of ValidationError objects. The getAttribute() method on ValidationError will indicate which attribute is invalid.

List<ValidationError> customerErrors = result.getErrors().forObject("customer").getAllValidationErrors();
for (ValidationError error : customerErrors) {
    System.out.println(error.getAttribute());
    System.out.println(error.getCode());
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

List<ValidationError> creditCardErrors = result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").getAllValidationErrors();
for (ValidationError error : creditCardErrors) {
    System.out.println(error.getAttribute());
    System.out.println(error.getCode());
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

List<ValidationError> addressErrors = result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").forObject("billingAddress").getAllValidationErrors();
for (ValidationError error : addressErrors) {
    System.out.println(error.getAttribute());
    System.out.println(error.getCode());
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

From a specific level, you can also get the number of errors at that level using size.

result.getErrors().forObject("customer").size();
//  Number of errors only on customer

result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").size();
//  Number of errors only on credit card

result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").forObject("billingAddress").size();
//  Number of errors only on billing address

Errors on Specific Attribute

You can also get errors at a specific level on a specific attribute. This is useful if you want to display error messages inline in your forms.

result.getErrors().forObject("customer").onField("email");
result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").onField("number");
result.getErrors().forObject("customer").forObject("creditCard").forObject("billingAddress").onField("countryName");

Base Errors

Sometimes validation errors aren’t caused by a specific input parameter. For example, canceled subscriptions cannot be updated. For these validation errors, we use an attribute named “base” for the validation error.

SubscriptionRequest request = new SubscriptionRequest().
    price(new BigDecimal("10.00"));

Result<Subscription> result = gateway.subscription().update("the_subscription_id", request);

for (ValidationError error : result.getErrors().forObject("subscription").onField("base")) {
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

Errors on Add-ons/Discounts

It is possible to add, update and remove many add-ons and discounts at once. If any of the add-ons or discounts contain errors, these errors will be indexed based on the order of the add-on or discount in the request (begining at 0).

SubscriptionRequest request = new SubscriptionRequest().
    paymentMethodToken("the_payment_method_token").
    planId("the_plan_id").
    addOns().
        update("addon_7").
            amount(new BigDecimal("-15")).
            done().
        update("discount_7").
            quantity(-10).
            done().
        done();

Result<Subscription> result = gateway.subscription().create(request);

List<ValidationError> amountErrors = result.getErrors().forObject("subscription").forObject("addOns").forObject("update").forIndex(0).onField("amount");
for (ValidationError error : amountErrors) {
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

List<ValidationError> quantityErrors = result.getErrors().forObject("subscription").forObject("addOns").forObject("update").forIndex(1).onField("quantity");
for (ValidationError error : quantityErrors) {
    System.out.println(error.getMessage());
}

See Also