Aspectj BootstrapMethodError when using Java 8 stream API

Question

so here i am - running a spring application with spring roo behind.

i use to cut my controllers into aspects, so my main controller will look like this:

@Controller
@RequestMapping("/apples")
@SessionAttributes(types = {Apple.class})
public class AppleController {
}

and other aspects extend its functionality like:

privileged aspect AppleController_Basics {

    @RequestMapping(value = "/allApples", produces = "text/html", method=RequestMethod.GET)
    public String AppleController.allApples(Model model) {
       ...
       return "apples/list";
    }
}

Now when i try to use Java 8 stream API within the aspect like:

apples.stream().filter(a -> a.isSweet()).collect(Collectors.toList());

i am facing the following exception:

org.springframework.web.util.NestedServletException: Handler processing failed; nested exception is java.lang.BootstrapMethodError: java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: com.apple.web.AppleController.lambda$0(Lcom/apple/model/Apple;)Z

when i use stream API for another entity than Apple itself, i get a slight different exception:

org.springframework.web.util.NestedServletException: Handler processing failed; nested exception is java.lang.BootstrapMethodError: java.lang.IllegalAccessError: tried to access method com.apple.web.AppleController.lambda$0(Lcom/apple/security/AppleEater;)Z from class com.apple.web.aspects.AppleController_Basics

when using forEach i get OutOfMemoryError::

apples.forEach(System.out::println);

org.springframework.web.util.NestedServletException: Handler processing failed; nested exception is java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

when i use those expressions in the main class, everything works fine.

the plugin looks like this:

<plugin>
   <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
   <artifactId>aspectj-maven-plugin</artifactId>
   <version>1.9</version>
   <dependencies>
      <dependency>
         <groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
         <artifactId>aspectjrt</artifactId>
         <version>1.8.10</version>
      </dependency>
      <dependency>
          <groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
          <artifactId>aspectjtools</artifactId>
          <version>1.8.10</version>
      </dependency>
   </dependencies>
   <executions>
      <execution>
         <phase>process-sources</phase>
         <goals>
            <goal>compile</goal>
         </goals>
      </execution>
   </executions>
   <configuration>
      <complianceLevel>1.8</complianceLevel>
      <outxml>true</outxml>
      <aspectLibraries>
         <aspectLibrary>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-aspects</artifactId>
         </aspectLibrary>
      </aspectLibraries>
      <source>1.8</source>
      <target>1.8</target>
      <showWeaveInfo>true</showWeaveInfo>
      <weaveWithAspectsInMainSourceFolder>false</weaveWithAspectsInMainSourceFolder>
   </configuration>
</plugin>

i tried diffrent things to change my aspectj plugin configuration in order to make it work - without success. i appreciate any hint or help as i am really confused right now, pls dont hate <3

javap -c -p AppleController.class

public java.lang.String allApples(org.springframework.ui.Model);
Code:
  0: aload_0
  1: aload_1
  2: invokestatic  #528                // Method com/apple/web/aspects/AppleController_Basics.ajc$interMethod$com_apple_web_aspects_AppleController_Basics$com_apple_web_AppleController$allApples:(Lcom/apple/web/AppleController;Lorg/springframework/ui/Model;)Ljava/lang/String;
  5: areturn

Before we do anything else and analyse any deeper, could you please use AspectJ Maven 1.9 and AspectJ 1.8.10? AspectJ minor releases often fix Java8-releated issues. — kriegaex, Mar 11 '17 at 10:41
ty for the hint, i updated to 1.9 and 1.8.10 (edit question) - but without success. — user1386375, Mar 12 '17 at 07:26

kriegaex · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-12T14:53:43.033

This is obviously an AspectJ compiler bug or shortcoming. I have created a bug ticket for it.

Here is the (non-Spring) test case I have extracted from your code:

package de.scrum_master.app;

public class Apple {
  private String type;
  private boolean sweet;

  public Apple(String type, boolean sweet) {
    this.type = type;
    this.sweet = sweet;
  }

  public String getType() {
    return type;
  }

  public boolean isSweet() {
    return sweet;
  }
}

package de.scrum_master.app;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

public class AppleController {
  private static final List<Apple> APPLES =
    Arrays.asList(new Apple("Granny Smith", false), new Apple("Golden Delicious", true));

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    AppleController appleController = new AppleController();
    System.out.println("Named: " + appleController.namedApples(APPLES, "Smith"));
    System.out.println("Sweet: " + appleController.sweetApples(APPLES));
    System.out.println("Sour:  " + appleController.sourApples(APPLES));
  }
}

package de.scrum_master.aspect;

import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

import java.util.function.Predicate;
import de.scrum_master.app.Apple;
import de.scrum_master.app.AppleController;

public privileged aspect AppleControllerITDAspect {
  public List<Apple> AppleController.namedApples(List<Apple> apples, String subString) {
    // Anonymous subclass works
    return apples.stream().filter(new Predicate<Apple>() {
      @Override
      public boolean test(Apple a) {
        return a.getType().contains(subString);
      }
    }).collect(Collectors.toList());
  }

  public List<Apple> AppleController.sweetApples(List<Apple> apples) {
    // Method reference works
    return apples.stream().filter(Apple::isSweet).collect(Collectors.toList());
  }

  public List<Apple> AppleController.sourApples(List<Apple> apples) {
    // Lambda causes IllegalAccessError
    return apples.stream().filter(a -> !a.isSweet()).collect(Collectors.toList());
  }
}

The console log looks like this:

Named: [de.scrum_master.app.Apple@6f496d9f]
Sweet: [de.scrum_master.app.Apple@4e50df2e]
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.BootstrapMethodError: java.lang.IllegalAccessError: tried to access method de.scrum_master.app.AppleController.lambda$0(Lde/scrum_master/app/Apple;)Z from class de.scrum_master.aspect.AppleControllerITDAspect
    at de.scrum_master.aspect.AppleControllerITDAspect.ajc$interMethod$de_scrum_master_aspect_AppleControllerITDAspect$de_scrum_master_app_AppleController$sourApples(AppleControllerITDAspect.aj:28)
    at de.scrum_master.app.AppleController.sourApples(AppleController.java:1)
    at de.scrum_master.aspect.AppleControllerITDAspect.ajc$interMethodDispatch1$de_scrum_master_aspect_AppleControllerITDAspect$de_scrum_master_app_AppleController$sourApples(AppleControllerITDAspect.aj)
    at de.scrum_master.app.AppleController.main(AppleController.java:14)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalAccessError: tried to access method de.scrum_master.app.AppleController.lambda$0(Lde/scrum_master/app/Apple;)Z from class de.scrum_master.aspect.AppleControllerITDAspect
    at java.lang.invoke.MethodHandleNatives.resolve(Native Method)
    at java.lang.invoke.MemberName$Factory.resolve(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.invoke.MemberName$Factory.resolveOrFail(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles$Lookup.resolveOrFail(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles$Lookup.linkMethodHandleConstant(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.invoke.MethodHandleNatives.linkMethodHandleConstant(Unknown Source)
    ... 4 more

In the aspect above you can also see a temporary workaround: use a method reference or a classical anonymous subclass instead of a lambda.

Background info: The AspectJ compiler AJC is a regularly updated fork of the Eclipse Java compiler ECJ (AspectJ is also an official Eclipse project, BTW). So maybe the bug is in ECJ, but probably rather in AJC.

thank you for making this clear. i will accept your answer as tested and confirmed, thank you for taking time, notice and for opening up a ticket. kudos — user1386375, Mar 12 '17 at 13:17

Eugene · Answer 2 · 2017-03-11T10:55:18.083

Now that method:

lambda$0(Lcom/apple/model/Apple;)Z

is actually the de-sugar of your lambda a -> a.isSweet(), which will look like this:

private static boolean lambda$0(Apple s){
    return s.isSweet(); 
}

This method is generated by the compiler. Unless you are using some weird compiler, this would have to be a bug in aspectj.

You can check that the method is there in AppleController by invoking the command to decompile your .class file:

 javap -c -p AppleController.class

where the output should be something like this:

 private static boolean lambda$0(com.model.apple.Apple);
Code:
   0: aload_0
   1: invokevirtual #9 // Method isSweet:()Z
   4: ireturn

If this method is indeed there (the javac did his job correctly), you theoretically can not get a java.lang.NoSuchMethodError, which means that aspectj is doing something very funny in the version that you are using.

I highly doubt this last paragraph, but just in case... On the other hand if you de-compile (javap command) and you do not see the lambda$0 method, but one called lambda$main$0 for example, it means you are compiling with jdk-9 or some non-obvious Eclipse compiler.

i ran javap -c -p AppleController.class, looks good - i added result to the question — user1386375, Mar 12 '17 at 07:28
@user1386375 I am not entirely sure how aspects work, but do you have a file `AppleController_Basics.class`? — Eugene, Mar 12 '17 at 11:19

Aspectj BootstrapMethodError when using Java 8 stream API

2 Answers2