Page serialisation causes stackOverflow exception

Question

In my application, one of the pages has a particularly heavyweight model, using ArrayLists of serializable objects. When Wicket attempts to serialize it, I get a stackOverflow exception. The page is part of a Wizard, so there is stateful information which must be saved.

I first tried to disable Wicket's page serialisation, using a dummy page serialiser class as described here

However this caused application wide problems, as many of our pages are stateful and their models need to be serialised.

Using a loadable/detachable model for the problematic page isn't practical, as recreating the model data from the database is a very expensive operation and would cause noticeable delays every time the page needs to be re-created.

So the question is, what's the best approach to solving the stack overflow problem, and retaining the stateful operation of the web page without using Wicket serialisation?

A simplistic solution is just to increase the JVM's stack size, but this doesn't feel like it would scale well. And how big is big enough?

Here is the stack trace (truncated)

15-Jul-2014 09:52:36 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve invoke
SEVERE: Servlet.service() for servlet default threw exception
java.lang.StackOverflowError
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1169)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1001)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1001)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.ArrayList.writeObject(ArrayList.java:570)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor110.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.ArrayList.writeObject(ArrayList.java:570)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor110.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.ArrayList.writeObject(ArrayList.java:570)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor110.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at java.io.ObjectStreamClass.invokeWriteObject(ObjectStreamClass.java:945)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1469)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.defaultWriteFields(ObjectOutputStream.java:1518)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeSerialData(ObjectOutputStream.java:1483)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeOrdinaryObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:1400)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject0(ObjectOutputStream.java:1158)
    at java.io.ObjectOutputStream.writeObject(ObjectOutputStream.java:330)
    at java.util.HashMap.writeObject(HashMap.java:1000)
    at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor531.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at

Does the model permit any kind of loop in the object references? Then the serializing code must be tweaked to bneak the loop. — laune, Jul 14 '14 at 15:07
cyclic dependencies are handled by the JVM. It's specifically large lists of objects that can cause stack overflow during serialization. But I don't think that cyclic dependencies exist in the model anyway. — Andrew Fielden, Jul 14 '14 at 15:15
I don't think the JVM avoids recursion into an object that already has been serialized using writeObject(java.io.ObjectOutputStream out). And a StackOverflow isn't caused by large lists - these are allocated on the heap. - Reconsider! — laune, Jul 14 '14 at 15:24
One thing that might cause a stack overflow is serializing a List that contains itself, directly or indirectly. — VGR, Jul 14 '14 at 16:06
I understand it isn't feasible to load all the data from the database every time but is all the data strictly session-dependent state? Is there nothing in there which could be put into an in-memory but external cache (and even potentially shared between sessions)? — biziclop, Jul 14 '14 at 17:33
By the way, serialization can DEFINITELY deal with circular references, otherwise it'd fail on a simple doubly-linked list. — biziclop, Jul 14 '14 at 17:36
@biziclop A doubly linked list like java.util.LinkedList does not contain a reference to a List or any other circular reference (unless you wantonly insert a List into itself(!)), so your argument isn't conclusive. Read the code of java.util.LinkedList.writeObject. (That's not saying that you couldn't program bad code into a writeObject method...) — laune, Jul 14 '14 at 18:16
@laurie A doubly linked list that you implement yourself will have circular references, as indeed will any tree implementation that contains parent references and so on. It was just an example to show you a serialization framework that couldn't handle reference cycles would be utterly useless. Thankfully Java's serialization framework does handle them without a problem. You can even put a `LinkedList` into itself, just try it. — biziclop, Jul 14 '14 at 19:09
And `LinkedList` only has custom serialization for performance reasons, not because it wouldn't work otherwise. — biziclop, Jul 14 '14 at 19:19
OK, I've indeed found code where the default serialization keeps track of serialized objects and does not serialize them again. However, I don't see (yet) how this would happen if there are any specific writeObject methods in a class. -- Thanks for the stack dump. Did you notice that this loops through a HashMap? Does this ring a bell? — laune, Jul 15 '14 at 09:46
Thanks Laune for your comments and investigation so far. The stack trace doesn't unfortunately give me much to go on. Yes there are hashmaps contained in the model and they would contain many objects. it would be nice to know exactly which objects in my model were trying to be serialised. — Andrew Fielden, Jul 15 '14 at 10:21
I've been experimenting with making various properties of the model transient, to try and narrow this down. There's one particular ArrayList which I know has a lot of objects. If I make it transient the problem does not happen. However, unsure about the consequences of doing this. — Andrew Fielden, Jul 15 '14 at 10:43

Page serialisation causes stackOverflow exception

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