Fix 16133: Unset default nullable domain property passes validation but fails at the database

[matrei]

Closes #16133

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 90.00000% with 1 line in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 52.6495%. Comparing base (fa1e147) to head (07a30bb).
⚠️ Report is 6 commits behind head on 8.0.x.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
.../grails/web/databinding/GrailsWebDataBinder.groovy	0.0000%	0 Missing and 1 partial ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@                Coverage Diff                 @@
##                8.0.x     #16136        +/-   ##
==================================================
+ Coverage     52.5503%   52.6495%   +0.0992%     
- Complexity      18391      18442        +51     
==================================================
  Files            2037       2037                
  Lines           96498      96508        +10     
  Branches        16860      16862         +2     
==================================================
+ Hits            50710      50811       +101     
+ Misses          38353      38268        -85     
+ Partials         7435       7429         -6     

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
...ore/mapping/config/AbstractGormMappingFactory.java	90.3614% <100.0000%> (+0.8878%)	⬆️
...atastore/mapping/model/AbstractMappingContext.java	67.4312% <100.0000%> (+0.1501%)	⬆️
.../grails/web/databinding/GrailsWebDataBinder.groovy	31.9261% <0.0000%> (ø)

... and 16 files with indirect coverage changes

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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR addresses #16133 by aligning GORM/Hibernate schema mapping nullability with Grails 8’s “nullable-by-default” validation behavior, preventing cases where validation passes but the database rejects inserts due to NOT NULL columns.

Changes:

• Plumb grails.gorm.default.nullable (via ConnectionSourceSettings.DefaultSettings.nullable) into Hibernate mapping so generated column nullability matches the configured validation default.
• Add an integration reproducer/spec for saving a domain instance with an unset unconstrained property.
• Update multiple test/example domain classes and GraphQL-related tests to make requiredness explicit with nullable: false.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 15 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
grails-test-examples/hibernate5/grails-hibernate/src/integration-test/groovy/functional/tests/OrganizationValidationSpec.groovy	Adds an integration spec reproducing the nullable-by-default vs DB mismatch scenario.
grails-test-examples/hibernate5/grails-hibernate/grails-app/domain/functional/tests/Organization.groovy	Adds a minimal domain used by the new integration spec.
grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/src/integration-test/groovy/grails/test/app/UserIntegrationSpec.groovy	Adjusts GraphQL integration assertions around required embedded inputs.
grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/grails-app/domain/grails/test/app/UserRole.groovy	Makes user/role required explicitly via constraints.
grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/grails-app/domain/grails/test/app/User.groovy	Makes embedded profile/address required explicitly and aligns GraphQL mapping.
grails-datastore-core/src/main/groovy/org/grails/datastore/mapping/config/AbstractGormMappingFactory.java	Introduces configurable default nullability for mapped forms.
grails-data-hibernate7/core/src/main/groovy/org/grails/orm/hibernate/cfg/HibernateMappingContext.java	Wires default.nullable into the Hibernate mapping factory (Hibernate 7).
grails-data-hibernate5/core/src/main/groovy/org/grails/orm/hibernate/cfg/HibernateMappingContext.java	Wires default.nullable into the Hibernate mapping factory (Hibernate 5).
grails-data-hibernate7/dbmigration/src/test-cli/groovy/org/apache/grails/data/hibernate7/dbmigration/cli/ApplicationContextDatabaseMigrationCommandSpec.groovy	Updates test domain constraints to be explicit about requiredness.
grails-data-hibernate5/dbmigration/src/test-cli/groovy/org/apache/grails/data/hibernate5/dbmigration/cli/ApplicationContextDatabaseMigrationCommandSpec.groovy	Updates test domain constraints to be explicit about requiredness.
grails-data-hibernate7/core/src/test/groovy/org/grails/orm/hibernate/cfg/GrailsHibernatePersistentEntitySpec.groovy	Makes embedded property required explicitly in test domain.
grails-data-hibernate7/core/src/test/groovy/org/grails/orm/hibernate/cfg/domainbinding/EnumTypeBinderSpec.groovy	Adds explicit non-null constraint for enum property in test entity.
grails-data-graphql/core/src/test/groovy/org/grails/gorm/graphql/types/input/EmbeddedInputObjectTypeBuilderSpec.groovy	Updates expectations for default nullability in GraphQL embedded input properties.
grails-data-graphql/core/src/test/groovy/org/grails/gorm/graphql/SchemaSpec.groovy	Adjusts schema assertions for input types (nullable wrapping expectations).
grails-data-graphql/core/src/test/groovy/org/grails/gorm/graphql/entity/property/impl/HibernatePersistentGraphQLPropertySpec.groovy	Updates test domain constraints/mapping to be explicit about nullability.

Suppressed comments (3)

grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/src/integration-test/groovy/grails/test/app/UserIntegrationSpec.groovy:81

• Same issue here: the test case description says the profile is missing a required field, but the assertion no longer checks that the request is rejected. This weakens coverage and can mask regressions in GraphQL input validation / domain validation.

        then:
        obj.data.userCreate != null

grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/src/integration-test/groovy/grails/test/app/UserIntegrationSpec.groovy:104

• This assertion no longer verifies the behavior implied by the test name (missing required address should fail). Please assert the mutation is rejected and that an error mentions address to keep this test meaningful.

        then:
        obj.data.userCreate != null

grails-test-examples/graphql/grails-test-app/src/integration-test/groovy/grails/test/app/UserIntegrationSpec.groovy:129

• This assertion no longer checks the expected failure when a required zip field is missing. Without asserting an error (and/or that userCreate is null), the test can pass even if validation is broken.

        then:
        obj.data.userCreate != null

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[jdaugherty]

My only concern is shouldn't the default in AbstractGormMappingFactory match the gorm default?

[testlens-app]

✅ All tests passed ✅

🏷️ Commit: 07a30bb
▶️ Tests: 68149 executed
⚪️ Checks: 77/77 completed

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[matrei]

My only concern is shouldn't the default in AbstractGormMappingFactory match the gorm default?

@jdaugherty I have changed defaultNullable in AbstractGormMappingFactory to be initialized to true.

[codeconsole]

nice fix, 2 other cases?

createMappedForm(PersistentProperty) has three return paths and the fix only touches one — the else branch where the property has no config at all. The two it misses are the common ones, and both reproduce #16133 verbatim:

1. Any property named in static constraints with a non-nullable constraint. Both the mapping and constraints closures are evaluated into the same builder
(AbstractGormMappingFactory.java:99-112), and HibernateMappingBuilder.handlePropertyInternal writes new PropertyConfig() (nullable=false) into mapping.columns unconditionally, overwriting nullable only if (namedArgs.nullable instanceof Boolean). So adding name maxSize: 255 to the PR's own new Organization fixture brings the bug straight back — validate() passes, save() throws. Most real domain classes have a constraints block.

2. A '*' wildcard. The clone path (:195-202) never applies defaultNullable either, so grails.gorm.default.mapping = { '*'(cache: true) } silently reverts every column in the app to NOT NULL. The documented legacy switch '*'(nullable: false) works through this same path — but only by accident.

Fix for both: seed the default at creation time in the builders, or track "nullable was explicitly configured" so the factory fills only the gap (which is how the validation side already reasons, via hasAppliedConstraint).

3. The upgrade guide contradicts the code. upgrading80x.adoc:1237-1238 currently states verbatim that the Grails 8 change "is a validation-layer change only. Column/DDL nullability … is unaffected." This PR makes that false, with no doc change in the diff — and the schema impact is real for dbCreate: validate/update and Liquibase gormDiff.

Also flagged: setDefaultNullable(false) has no test (NullableByDefaultSpec is the natural home), the regression spec lands only under hibernate5 while #16133 is a Hibernate 7 stack trace, the GrailsWebDataBinder guard removal widens behaviour with no coverage, and composite-id components now default to nullable — the PR's own fixtures had to add nullable: false to UserRole and Book2, which is a signal real apps will need the same edit.