Hibernate saveOrUpdate trap for web developers and StaleStateException

Summary: Hibernate users should be aware of saveOrUpdate method if they continue to use the same persistent object even if a transaction failed at some point.

Details: Suppose you have a persistent object bound to your web(like JSF) views. Entered some data (which will lead to a db ConstraintViolationException) and tried to save it (at your DAO service) by using saveOrUpdate method. As we expected, it will throw a ConstraintViolationException and you'll rollback the transaction. Then, go back to the entry page, correct the wrong field value at the same object, and try to save it again. You'll get a StaleStateException since saveOrUpdate method assigned identifier values automatically to your new object when you attempt to save it first. Later, when the save operation failed, it didn't roll back your object's state to its initial state. The summary of the flow causing this error is as below;