Converting a Map to a Spring MultiValueMap

Omozegie AziegbeJuly 10th, 2024Last Updated: July 10th, 2024

0 818 2 minutes read

In Spring, a MultiValueMap is a structure for storing multiple values for a single key. This can be useful in scenarios such as HTTP parameters or headers where we might have multiple values for a single parameter. This article will explore the process of converting a Map to a Spring MultiValueMap using different methods.

1. What is a MultiValueMap?

A MultiValueMap is an interface provided by the Spring framework that allows a key to be associated with multiple values which is not possible with a standard Map implementation where each key is associated with a single value. The interface extends the Map<K, List<V>> interface.

2. Example Scenario

Suppose we have a Map<String, String[]> with parameters and their respective values. Our goal is to convert this Map<String, String[]> into a MultiValueMap<String, String>.

2.1 Add Spring Framework Dependency

Add the Spring framework dependency to the project. If you’re using Maven, add the following to your pom.xml:

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-core</artifactId>
            <version>6.1.10</version>
        </dependency>

3. Methods to Convert Map to MultiValueMap

3.1 Using Spring’s MultiValueMap and LinkedMultiValueMap

The LinkedMultiValueMap class from the Spring framework provides a convenient implementation of the MultiValueMap interface.

public class MapToMultiValueMapExample1 {

    public static MultiValueMap<String, String> convert(Map<String, String[]> map) {
        MultiValueMap<String, String> multiValueMap = new LinkedMultiValueMap<>();

        for (Map.Entry<String, String[]> entry : map.entrySet()) {
            multiValueMap.put(entry.getKey(), Arrays.asList(entry.getValue()));
        }

        return multiValueMap;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Map<String, String[]> carPreferences = Map.of(
                "Toyota", new String[]{"Camry", "Corolla", "Prius"},
                "Ford", new String[]{"Mustang", "Fiesta", "Focus"},
                "BMW", new String[]{"X5", "X3", "i8"}
        );

        MultiValueMap<String, String> multiValueMap = convert(carPreferences);

        System.out.println(multiValueMap);
    }
}

The above code snippet iterates through each entry (Map.Entry<String, String[]> entry) in the input map. For each entry, it retrieves the key (entry.getKey()) and the corresponding array of strings (entry.getValue()). It converts the array of strings into a List<String> using Arrays.asList(entry.getValue()). Finally, it stores this key-value pair (entry.getKey() as the key and Arrays.asList(entry.getValue()) as the value) into the multiValueMap using the put method.

Running the main method will produce the following output:

Figure 1: Output from Java Convert Map to Spring MultiValueMap - Example 1

3.2 Using Java Streams

The Java 8 Stream API, offering a functional approach to handling collections, can be utilized to convert a Map<String, String[]> into a MultiValueMap<String, String>.

public class MapToMultiValueMapExample2 {

    public static MultiValueMap<String, String> convertUsingStreams(Map<String, String[]> map) {
        return map.entrySet().stream()
                .collect(Collectors.toMap(
                        Map.Entry::getKey,
                        entry -> Arrays.asList(entry.getValue()),
                        (oldValue, newValue) -> {
                            oldValue.addAll(newValue);
                            return oldValue;
                        },
                        LinkedMultiValueMap::new
                ));
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Map<String, String[]> carPreferences = Map.of(
                "Toyota", new String[]{"Camry", "Corolla", "Prius"},
                "Ford", new String[]{"Mustang", "Fiesta", "Focus"},
                "BMW", new String[]{"X5", "X3", "i8"}
        );

        MultiValueMap<String, String> multiValueMap = convertUsingStreams(carPreferences);

        System.out.println(multiValueMap);
    }
}

In the code snippet above:

We use the stream method to create a stream of the map’s entries.
The Collectors.toMap method collects these entries into a new map.
Map.Entry::getKey and entry -> Arrays.asList(entry.getValue()) extract the key and convert the array to a list, respectively.
(oldValue, newValue) -> { oldValue.addAll(newValue); return oldValue; } merges lists in case of key collisions.
LinkedMultiValueMap::new creates a new instance of LinkedMultiValueMap.

Output is:

{Toyota=[Camry, Corolla, Prius], Ford=[Mustang, Fiesta, Focus], BMW=[X5, X3, i8]}

4. Conclusion

In this article, we explored various methods to convert a Map<String, String[]> to a MultiValueMap<String, String> in Java. We discussed using Spring’s LinkedMultiValueMap for straightforward implementation and leveraging Java 8’s Stream API for a functional approach.