Maven Troubleshooting Guide

"java.lang.NoSuchMethodError" on Maven Install or Application Startup

Sample error message:

java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: 'org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils$MethodFilter org.
springframework.util.ReflectionUtils$MethodFilter.and(org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils$
MethodFilter)'

If errors occur with the install or startup of the application that are due to missing methods from Spring Framework, one cause could be a scenario where multiple copies of Spring Framework libraries exist on the classpath.

Maven Dependency Resolution Conflict

Example graph with conflict

To address this issue, first, use the Maven dependency plugin to look at the dependency graph and what packages are being used by the third-party libraries.

./mvnw dependency:tree
[INFO] --- dependency:3.3.0:tree (default-cli) @ sample-test ---
[INFO] com.example:sample-test:jar:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT
[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.apache.struts:struts2-spring-plugin:jar:2.5.33-struts2-2.5.34:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-beans:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-core:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | | \- commons-logging:commons-logging:jar:1.2:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-context:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.springframework:spring-aop:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.springframework:spring-expression:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-web:jar:4.3.26.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | +- org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:jar:3.12.0:compile
[INFO] | \- com.herodevs.nes.apache.struts:struts2-core:jar:2.5.33-struts2-2.5.34:compile
[INFO] | +- org.freemarker:freemarker:jar:2.3.32:compile
[INFO] | +- ognl:ognl:jar:3.1.29:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.javassist:javassist:jar:3.20.0-GA:compile
[INFO] | +- org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api:jar:2.17.2:compile
[INFO] | +- commons-fileupload:commons-fileupload:jar:1.4:compile
[INFO] | \- commons-io:commons-io:jar:2.6:compile
[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure:jar:2.7.18-spring-boot-2.7.19:compile
[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.springframework:spring-core:jar:5.3.39-spring-framework-5.3.40:compile

In this case, the struts2-spring-plugin is also pulling in "org.springframework:spring-beans", "org.springframework:spring-core", etc. but also a copy of "com.herodevs.nes.springframework:spring-core" also exists in the dependency list. One way to address this issue is to use an exclusion configuration for the struts2-spring-plugin dependency.

_The artifactId in the exclude tag can be a full artifact ID like spring-core or a wildcard "*".

Example:

<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.herodevs.nes.apache.struts</groupId>
    <artifactId>struts2-spring-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.5.33-struts2-2.5.34</version>
    <exclusions>
      <exclusion>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>*</artifactId>
      </exclusion>
    </exclusions>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.herodevs.nes.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-autoconfigure</artifactId>
    <version>2.7.18-spring-boot-2.7.19</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.herodevs.nes.springframework</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-core</artifactId>
    <version>5.3.39-spring-framework-5.3.40</version>
  </dependency>
</dependencies>

Run the the command to display the dependency tree again and verify your configuration.

./mvnw dependency:tree
[INFO] --- dependency:3.3.0:tree (default-cli) @ sample-test ---
[INFO] com.example:sample-test:jar:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.apache.struts:struts2-spring-plugin:jar:2.5.33-struts2-2.5.34:compile
[INFO] | +- org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:jar:3.12.0:compile
[INFO] | \- com.herodevs.nes.apache.struts:struts2-core:jar:2.5.33-struts2-2.5.34:compile
[INFO] | +- org.freemarker:freemarker:jar:2.3.32:compile
[INFO] | +- ognl:ognl:jar:3.1.29:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.javassist:javassist:jar:3.20.0-GA:compile
[INFO] | +- org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api:jar:2.17.2:compile
[INFO] | +- commons-fileupload:commons-fileupload:jar:1.4:compile
[INFO] | \- commons-io:commons-io:jar:2.6:compile
[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure:jar:2.7.18-spring-boot-2.7.19:compile
[INFO] +- com.herodevs.nes.springframework:spring-core:jar:5.3.39-spring-framework-5.3.40:compile

Verify that the application builds successfully

./mvnw install