How to pass argument to JPA when using Postgres LTREE? - postgresql

Question

I have a Spring Boot app that is using JPA and a Postgres table with ltree data structure.
It works when I query using sql statement but not when I pass an argument.
Controller
#GetMapping("/path")
ResponseEntity<?> findAllByPath() {
List<Tree> allByPath = treeRepository.findAllByPath("A");
return ResponseEntity.ok().body(allByPath);
}
Working Code in Repository
#Query(value = "SELECT * FROM Tree WHERE path <# 'A'", nativeQuery = true)
List<Tree> findAllByPath(#Param("pathToSearch") String pathToSearch);
*Not Working Code in Repository
#Query(value = "SELECT * FROM Tree WHERE path <# '" + ":pathToSearch" +"'", nativeQuery = true)
List<Tree> findAllByPath(#Param("pathToSearch") String pathToSearch);
Error
Whitelabel Error Page
This application has no explicit mapping for /error, so you are seeing this as a fallback.
Fri Jan 04 17:41:43 CET 2019
There was an unexpected error (type=Internal Server Error, status=500). could not extract ResultSet; SQL [n/a]; nested exception is org.hibernate.exception.SQLGrammarException: could not extract ResultSet
Stacktrace
2019-01-04 17:41:43.357 DEBUG 33826 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] org.hibernate.SQL :
SELECT
*
FROM
Tree
WHERE
path <# ':pathToSearch'
Hibernate:
SELECT
*
FROM
Tree
WHERE
path <# ':pathToSearch'
2019-01-04 17:41:43.362 WARN 33826 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper : SQL Error: 0, SQLState: 42601
2019-01-04 17:41:43.363 ERROR 33826 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper : ERROR: syntax error at position 0
Position: 34
2019-01-04 17:41:43.381 ERROR 33826 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.a.c.c.C.[.[.[/].[dispatcherServlet] : Servlet.service() for servlet [dispatcherServlet] in context with path [] threw exception [Request processing failed; nested exception is org.springframework.dao.InvalidDataAccessResourceUsageException: could not extract ResultSet; SQL [n/a]; nested exception is org.hibernate.exception.SQLGrammarException: could not extract ResultSet] with root cause
org.postgresql.util.PSQLException: ERROR: syntax error at position 0
Position: 34
at org.postgresql.core.v3.QueryExecutorImpl.receiveErrorResponse(QueryExecutorImpl.java:2440) ~[postgresql-42.2.5.jar:42.2.5]
EDIT:
When I try removing the quotes in the Query, it fails with another error.
#Query(value = "SELECT * FROM Tree WHERE path <# :pathToSearch", nativeQuery = true)
List<Tree> findAllByPath(#Param("pathToSearch") String pathToSearch);
2019-01-08 12:52:25.213 DEBUG 18840 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] org.hibernate.SQL :
SELECT
*
FROM
Tree
WHERE
path <# ?
Hibernate:
SELECT
*
FROM
Tree
WHERE
path <# ?
2019-01-08 12:52:25.222 TRACE 18840 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.h.type.descriptor.sql.BasicBinder : binding parameter [1] as [VARCHAR] - [A]
2019-01-08 12:52:25.240 WARN 18840 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper : SQL Error: 0, SQLState: 42883
2019-01-08 12:52:25.240 ERROR 18840 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper : ERROR: operator does not exist: ltree <# character varying
Hint: No operator matches the given name and argument types. You might need to add explicit type casts.
Position: 31
2019-01-08 12:52:25.266 ERROR 18840 --- [nio-8080-exec-1] o.a.c.c.C.[.[.[/].[dispatcherServlet] : Servlet.service() for servlet [dispatcherServlet] in context with path [] threw exception [Request processing failed; nested exception is org.springframework.dao.InvalidDataAccessResourceUsageException: could not extract ResultSet; SQL [n/a]; nested exception is org.hibernate.exception.SQLGrammarException: could not extract ResultSet] with root cause
org.postgresql.util.PSQLException: ERROR: operator does not exist: ltree <# character varying
Hint: No operator matches the given name and argument types. You might need to add explicit type casts.
Position: 31

Answer 1

I fixed it by casting the parameter to ltree.
The modified method and query in the Repository is:
#Query(value = "SELECT * FROM Tree WHERE path <# CAST(:pathToSearch AS ltree)", nativeQuery = true)
List<Tree> findAllByPath(#Param("pathToSearch") String pathToSearch);