Java Hibernate json infinite recursion with self referencing class -

class employee:

@entity @table(name = "employee") public class employee {      @id     @generatedvalue(strategy = generationtype.auto)     @column(name = "employeeid")     private int employeeid;      @column(name = "managerid")     private integer managerid;      @manytoone(cascade={cascadetype.all})     @joincolumn(name="managerid", insertable = false, updatable = false)     @jsonbackreference     private employee manager;      @onetomany(mappedby="manager")     @jsonmanagedreference     private set<employee> employees;      @manytoone(cascade={cascadetype.all})     @joincolumn(name = "departmentid")     private department department;      @manytoone(cascade={cascadetype.all})     @joincolumn(name = "salarytypeid")     private salarytype salarytype;      @column(name = "name")     private string name;     //setters , getters here, wont posting them } 

whenever create instance of employee infinite json error:

severe: servlet.service() servlet [springmvc] in context path  [/springmvc] threw exception [handler processing failed; nested exception  java.lang.stackoverflowerror] root cause java.lang.stackoverflowerror @ java.nio.charbuffer.<init>(unknown source) @ java.nio.heapcharbuffer.<init>(unknown source) @ java.nio.charbuffer.wrap(unknown source) @ sun.nio.cs.streamencoder.implwrite(unknown source) @ sun.nio.cs.streamencoder.write(unknown source) @ sun.nio.cs.streamencoder.write(unknown source) @ java.io.outputstreamwriter.write(unknown source) @ java.io.writer.write(unknown source) @ com.google.gson.stream.jsonwriter.string(jsonwriter.java:534) @ com.google.gson.stream.jsonwriter.writedeferredname(jsonwriter.java:402) @ com.google.gson.stream.jsonwriter.value(jsonwriter.java:495) 

(and keeps going)

since self referencing manager employee in employee class, how can fix this?

there bunch of options depends on requirement:

1) @jsonignore can used avoid serialization of field.

@onetomany(mappedby="manager") @jsonignore private set<employee> employees; 

2) @jsonview can hide 1 part of relationship internal view (but appear if write json object internal view):

@onetomany(mappedby="manager") @jsonview(views.internal.class) private set<employee> employees;  @manytoone(cascade={cascadetype.all}) @joincolumn(name = "departmentid") @jsonview(views.public.class) private department department; 

3) using custom serialiazer can determine rules of building json object yourself.

4) using @jsonidentityinfo on classes (to indicate properties of type should have feature enabled) on individual properties (to support cases type can not annotated; or use different id generation sequence).

example 1 @jsonidentityinfo

example 2 @jsonidentityinfo