Stack overflow on hibernate caused by one to many relationship

Question

I have created a one to many relationship. Although everything seems fine when I query the objects by id from the many to one side, the joined column throws a stackoverflow exception, that I cannot figure out why it happens. Roughly I have followed this tutorial.

Player Entity

@Entity
@Data
public class Player {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    @Basic(optional = false)
    @Column(name = "player_id", updatable = false, unique = true, nullable = false)
    private Long id;
    @Column(name = "name")
    private String name;
    @Column(name = "num")
    private int num;
    @Column(name = "position")
    private String position;
    @ManyToOne(fetch = FetchType.LAZY)
    @JoinColumn(name = "team_id")
    private Team team;
}

Team Entity

@Entity
@Data
public class Team {
    @Id
    @Column(name="team_id", updatable = false, unique = true)
    private String id;
    @Column(name = "name")
    private String name;
    @OneToMany(mappedBy = "team")
    private List<Player> players;
}

My player repository

@Repository
public interface PlayerRepository extends CrudRepository<Player, Long> {
    Optional<Player> findById(Long id);
}

Database entries in import.sql

insert into Team (team_id,name) values('Barcelona','Barcelona');
insert into Player (name,num,position,team_id) values('Andreas Inniesta', 8, 'Midfielder', 'Barcelona');
insert into Player (name,num,position,team_id) values('Lionel Messi', 10, 'Forward', 'Barcelona');

The player table at h2-console

This is the exception

java.lang.StackOverflowError: null
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:136) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Player.toString(Player.java:8) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.util.AbstractCollection.toString(AbstractCollection.java:462) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.collection.internal.PersistentBag.toString(PersistentBag.java:510) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.proxy.pojo.javassist.JavassistLazyInitializer.invoke(JavassistLazyInitializer.java:84) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at mypackage.entity.Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.toString(Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.java) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Player.toString(Player.java:8) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.util.AbstractCollection.toString(AbstractCollection.java:462) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.collection.internal.PersistentBag.toString(PersistentBag.java:510) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.proxy.pojo.javassist.JavassistLazyInitializer.invoke(JavassistLazyInitializer.java:84) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at mypackage.entity.Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.toString(Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.java) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Player.toString(Player.java:8) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.util.AbstractCollection.toString(AbstractCollection.java:462) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.collection.internal.PersistentBag.toString(PersistentBag.java:510) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.proxy.pojo.javassist.JavassistLazyInitializer.invoke(JavassistLazyInitializer.java:84) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at mypackage.entity.Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.toString(Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.java) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Player.toString(Player.java:8) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.util.AbstractCollection.toString(AbstractCollection.java:462) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at org.hibernate.collection.internal.PersistentBag.toString(PersistentBag.java:510) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
        at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
        at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
        at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]

Root of the exception

at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at org.hibernate.proxy.pojo.javassist.JavassistLazyInitializer.invoke(JavassistLazyInitializer.java:84) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
at mypackage.entity.Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.toString(Team_$$_jvst2b7_1.java) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at mypackage.entity.Player.toString(Player.java:8) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at java.util.AbstractCollection.toString(AbstractCollection.java:462) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at org.hibernate.collection.internal.PersistentBag.toString(PersistentBag.java:510) ~[hibernate-core-5.2.17.Final.jar!/:5.2.17.Final]
at java.lang.String.valueOf(String.java:2994) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at java.lang.StringBuilder.append(StringBuilder.java:131) ~[na:1.8.0_121]
at mypackage.entity.Team.toString(Team.java:9) ~[classes!/:1.0-SNAPSHOT]
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor43.invoke(Unknown Source) ~[na:na]

Furthermore debugging the error shows that some kind of internal conversion to string fails on the joined column.

Answer 1

As I can see you're using Lombok.

You think that you're not creating toString method, but Lombok doesn't think so. The @Data annotation causes generation of toString method.

From Lombok documentation:

@Data is a convenient shortcut annotation that bundles the features of @ToString, @EqualsAndHashCode, @Getter / @Setter and @RequiredArgsConstructor together: In other words, @Data generates all the boilerplate that is normally associated with simple POJOs (Plain Old Java Objects) and beans: getters for all fields, setters for all non-final fields, and appropriate toString, equals and hashCode implementations that involve the fields of the class, and a constructor that initializes all final fields, as well as all non-final fields with no initializer that have been marked with @NonNull, in order to ensure the field is never null.

So Lombok created toString method for you which leads to infinite recursion.

You can fix it by:

@Data
@ToString(exclude = "players")
public class Team {
   // ...
}

Or:

@Data
public class Team {
    @OneToMany(mappedBy = "team")
    @ToString.Exclude
    private List<Player> players;
}

Worth to mention, if you still need include players in the Team's toString representation, try to disassemble the @Data annotation and add only the parts you really need. Then define your own toString method.

Answer 2

Even i faced similar problem. I got StackoverFlow Error while trying to persist one to many relationship. The solution was.

@Data
@EqualsAndHashCode(exclude = "players")   // players is @OneToMany
 class Team {
  @OneToMany(mappedBy = "team")
   private List<Player> players;
 }

This was causing issue because it used to create hashcode using all the entities. This lead to recursion.