IBM Support

WebSphere Process Server (WPS) java.lang.RunTimeException: An invalid XML character (Unicode: 0x1A) was found in the element content

Troubleshooting


Problem

A database is configured as back-end database for WebSphere Process Server. The data within the database is not escaped and text (variable chararacters/varchar or string) data might contain control characters. When fetching this data with the WebSphere Adapter for JDBC, a runtime exception is thrown because of invalid XML characters.

Symptom

When data is retrieved data from the database, a runtime exception is created and the log file, which is the profileName/logs/serverName/logs/SystemOut.log file, contains the following message:


[2/23/12 12:25:36:330 EST] 00000011 MessageLogger E
CWSXM3154E: Mediation primitive  java.lang.RuntimeException: Error serializing BO BusinessObject: @29152915 ....

Additonally, a FFDC file is generated, containing the following errors:
[2/23/12 12:25:36:174 EST]     FFDC Exception:java.lang.RuntimeException SourceId:com.ibm.ws.uow.UOWManagerImpl.runUnderCurrentUOW ProbeId:1130 Reporter:com.ibm.ws.uow.UOWManagerImpl@76d476d4
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error serializing BO BusinessObject: @29152915
    ...
at com.ibm.ws.bo.service.BOXMLSerializerImpl.save
      (BOXMLSerializerImpl.java:559)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.service.BOXMLSerializerImpl.writeDataObject
      (BOXMLSerializerImpl.java:208)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.delegate.BOXMLSerializerDelegate.writeDataObject
      (BOXMLSerializerDelegate.java:110)
at com.ibm.ws.sibx.smobo.util.XMLSerialisationHelper.writeOutputStream
      (XMLSerialisationHelper.java:288)
at com.ibm.ws.sibx.smobo.util.XMLSerialisationHelper.writeString
      (XMLSerialisationHelper.java:202)
at com.ibm.ws.sibx.mediation.primitives.logger.MessageLoggerMediation.
       storeMessage(MessageLoggerMediation.java:1376)

       .....


Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: An invalid XML character (Unicode:  
   0x1A) was found in the element 
<<< THE DATA CONTAINING THE INVALID CHARACTER >>>
at org.eclipse.emf.ecore.xmi.impl.XMLSaveImpl$Escape.convertText
      (XMLSaveImpl.java:3181)
at org.eclipse.emf.ecore.xmi.impl.XMLSaveImpl.getDatatypeValue
      (XMLSaveImpl.java:2758)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.bomodel.util.BOXMLSaveImpl.getDatatypeValue
      (BOXMLSaveImpl.java:254)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.bomodel.util.BOXMLSaveImpl.getTrueType
      (BOXMLSaveImpl.java:597)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.bomodel.util.BOXMLSaveImpl.saveElement
      (BOXMLSaveImpl.java:273)
at com.ibm.ws.bo.bomodel.util.BOXMLSaveImpl.saveDataTypeElementSingle
      (BOXMLSaveImpl.java:261)

Cause

According to the XML specification, there are several characters (especially the ASCII control characters from ASCII 0x0 to 0x1F) that cannot be represented in XML files and are forbidden.
The WebSphere Adapter for JDBC fetches the data containing the invalid characters from the database and creates business objects. The business objects are represented in XML Therefore, a business objects serialization error of the business objects is issued when the data contains invalid control characters.

Resolving The Problem

There are several possibilities to avoid these errors:

  • Avoid control characters in the database or escape invalid characters.

  • Change the database design. For example, change the varchar/string to the BLOB data type.

  • Create a custom data handler for the JDBC binding and remove control characters there.

  • Upgrade to WebSphere Process Server Version 7.0.0 Fix Pack 4, use the WebSphere Adapter for JDBC version 7 and configure the handling of invalid XML characters. More information is available in the Setting deployment properties and generating the service topic within the product documentation.
[{"Product":{"code":"SSQH9M","label":"WebSphere Process Server"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"Adapter Component","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"7.0;6.2.0.3;6.2.0.2;6.2.0.1;6.2","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}},{"Product":{"code":"SSMKUK","label":"WebSphere Adapters Family"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"Adapter for JDBC","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"},{"code":"PF035","label":"z\/OS"},{"code":"","label":"Linux zSeries"}],"Version":"6.2","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"","label":""}}]

Document Information

More support for:
WebSphere Process Server

Software version:
7.0, 6.2.0.3, 6.2.0.2, 6.2.0.1, 6.2

Operating system(s):
AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows

Document number:
199443

Modified date:
15 June 2018

UID

swg21580533

Manage My Notification Subscriptions

Page Feedback