Maven 3 build issue with Spring Framework 4 - NoSuchMethodError - spring

Question

I was using Spring 4 and Maven 3 for my new project. However I got the following error. I tried removing all cached libraries from ~/.m2/repository/ but it didn't help.
Here is the exception when running mvn clean install:
Apr 29, 2014 4:41:21 PM org.springframework.test.context.TestContextManager prepareTestInstance
SEVERE: Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [org.springframework.test.context.support.DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener#53ce669e] to prepare test instance [com.xxx.SmokeTest#13b33a0e]
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Failed to load ApplicationContext
at org.springframework.test.context.CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.loadContext(CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.java:99)
at org.springframework.test.context.DefaultTestContext.getApplicationContext(DefaultTestContext.java:101)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener.injectDependencies(DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener.java:109)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener.prepareTestInstance(DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener.java:75)
at org.springframework.test.context.TestContextManager.prepareTestInstance(TestContextManager.java:319)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.createTest(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:212)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner$1.runReflectiveCall(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:289)
at org.junit.internal.runners.model.ReflectiveCallable.run(ReflectiveCallable.java:15)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.methodBlock(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:291)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.runChild(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:232)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.runChild(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:89)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner$3.run(ParentRunner.java:193)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner$1.schedule(ParentRunner.java:52)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner.runChildren(ParentRunner.java:191)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner.access$000(ParentRunner.java:42)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner$2.evaluate(ParentRunner.java:184)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.statements.RunBeforeTestClassCallbacks.evaluate(RunBeforeTestClassCallbacks.java:61)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.statements.RunAfterTestClassCallbacks.evaluate(RunAfterTestClassCallbacks.java:71)
at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner.run(ParentRunner.java:236)
at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.run(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:175)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.junit4.JUnit4TestSet.execute(JUnit4TestSet.java:53)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.junit4.JUnit4Provider.executeTestSet(JUnit4Provider.java:123)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.junit4.JUnit4Provider.invoke(JUnit4Provider.java:104)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.util.ReflectionUtils.invokeMethodWithArray(ReflectionUtils.java:164)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.booter.ProviderFactory$ProviderProxy.invoke(ProviderFactory.java:110)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.booter.SurefireStarter.invokeProvider(SurefireStarter.java:175)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.booter.SurefireStarter.runSuitesInProcessWhenForked(SurefireStarter.java:107)
at org.apache.maven.surefire.booter.ForkedBooter.main(ForkedBooter.java:68)
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanDefinitionStoreException: Unexpected exception parsing XML document from URL [file:src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/applicationContext.xml]; nested exception is java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.getDependencyComparator()Ljava/util/Comparator;
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader.doLoadBeanDefinitions(XmlBeanDefinitionReader.java:412)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(XmlBeanDefinitionReader.java:334)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(XmlBeanDefinitionReader.java:302)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.java:174)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.java:209)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.java:180)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.loadBeanDefinitions(AbstractBeanDefinitionReader.java:243)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.AbstractGenericContextLoader.loadBeanDefinitions(AbstractGenericContextLoader.java:235)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.AbstractGenericContextLoader.loadContext(AbstractGenericContextLoader.java:118)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.AbstractGenericContextLoader.loadContext(AbstractGenericContextLoader.java:60)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.AbstractDelegatingSmartContextLoader.delegateLoading(AbstractDelegatingSmartContextLoader.java:100)
at org.springframework.test.context.support.AbstractDelegatingSmartContextLoader.loadContext(AbstractDelegatingSmartContextLoader.java:250)
at org.springframework.test.context.CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.loadContextInternal(CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.java:64)
at org.springframework.test.context.CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.loadContext(CacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.java:91)
... 31 more
Caused by: java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.getDependencyComparator()Ljava/util/Comparator;
at org.springframework.context.annotation.AnnotationConfigUtils.registerAnnotationConfigProcessors(AnnotationConfigUtils.java:190)
at org.springframework.context.annotation.AnnotationConfigBeanDefinitionParser.parse(AnnotationConfigBeanDefinitionParser.java:47)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.NamespaceHandlerSupport.parse(NamespaceHandlerSupport.java:73)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.parseCustomElement(BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java:1438)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.parseCustomElement(BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java:1428)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.parseBeanDefinitions(DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.java:185)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.doRegisterBeanDefinitions(DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.java:139)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.registerBeanDefinitions(DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader.java:108)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader.registerBeanDefinitions(XmlBeanDefinitionReader.java:493)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader.doLoadBeanDefinitions(XmlBeanDefinitionReader.java:390)
... 44 more
Tests run: 1, Failures: 0, Errors: 1, Skipped: 0, Time elapsed: 0.621 sec <<< FAILURE!
Here is the maven repo settings and dependencies:
<properties>
<project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
<spring.version>4.0.3.RELEASE</spring.version>
<spring.oauth2.version>1.0.5.RELEASE</spring.oauth2.version>
<spring.security.version>3.2.3.RELEASE</spring.security.version>
<spring.jaxws.version>1.9</spring.jaxws.version>
<jax-ws.version>2.2.9-b14002</jax-ws.version>
<jee.servlet.version>2.5</jee.servlet.version>
<junit.version>4.7</junit.version>
<commons-lang.version>2.4</commons-lang.version>
<commons-io.version>2.0.1</commons-io.version>
<gson.version>1.6</gson.version>
<maven-compiler-plugin.version>1.6</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
<maven-j2ee-plugin.version>1.5.1</maven-j2ee-plugin.version>
<mockito.version>1.8.5</mockito.version>
</properties>
<dependencies>
<!-- Spring framework -->
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-core</artifactId>
<version>${spring.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
<version>${spring.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-web</artifactId>
<version>${spring.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-aop</artifactId>
<version>${spring.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-test</artifactId>
<version>${spring.version}</version>
<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>com.sun.xml.ws</groupId>
<artifactId>jaxws-rt</artifactId>
<version>${jax-ws.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
<artifactId>guava</artifactId>
<version>17.0</version>
</dependency>
<!--dependency>
<groupId>org.apache.geronimo.configs</groupId>
<artifactId>aspectj</artifactId>
<version>2.2.1</version>
</dependency-->
<dependency>
<groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
<artifactId>aspectjrt</artifactId>
<version>1.8.0</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
<artifactId>aspectjweaver</artifactId>
<version>1.8.0</version>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<build>
<pluginManagement>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.3.2</version>
<configuration>
<source>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</source>
<target>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</pluginManagement>
</build>
<pluginRepositories>
<pluginRepository>
<id>central</id>
<name>Maven Plugin Repository</name>
<url>http://repo1.maven.org/maven3</url>
<layout>default</layout>
<snapshots>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</snapshots>
<releases>
<updatePolicy>never</updatePolicy>
</releases>
</pluginRepository>
<pluginRepository>
<id>xx_local</id>
<name>xx Local</name>
<url>http://maven.xx.com:80/nexus/content/groups/public</url>
<layout>default</layout>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
<releases>
<updatePolicy>never</updatePolicy>
</releases>
</pluginRepository>
<pluginRepository>
<id>apache-snapshots</id>
<name>Apache Snapshot Repository</name>
<url>https://repository.apache.org/content/groups/staging/</url>
<releases>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</releases>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
</pluginRepository>
<pluginRepository>
<id>codehaus.snapshots</id>
<url>http://snapshots.repository.codehaus.org</url>
<releases>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</releases>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
</pluginRepository>
</pluginRepositories>
<repositories>
<repository>
<id>XX</id>
<name>XX Maven Repository</name>
<url>http://maven.xx.com:80/nexus/content/groups/public</url>
<layout>default</layout>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
<updatePolicy>daily</updatePolicy>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>gson</id>
<url>http://google-gson.googlecode.com/svn/mavenrepo</url>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
<releases>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</releases>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>tokyotyrant-java</id>
<url>http://tokyotyrant-java.googlecode.com/svn/maven/repository</url>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>mockito-all</id>
<url>http://repo2.maven.org/maven2/org/mockito/mockito-all</url>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>http-client</id>
<url>http://mirrors.ibiblio.org/pub/mirrors/maven2/</url>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>repository.springframework.maven.milestone</id>
<name>Spring Framework Maven Milestone Repository</name>
<url>http://maven.springframework.org/milestone</url>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
<updatePolicy>never</updatePolicy>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>plexus snapshots</id>
<url>https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/plexus-snapshots/</url>
<releases>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</releases>
<snapshots>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>maven central</id>
<url>repo1.maven.org/maven2/</url>
<releases>
<enabled>true</enabled>
</releases>
<snapshots>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>repository.jboss.org</id>
<url>https://repository.jboss.org/nexus/content/repositories/releases/</url>
<snapshots>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>couch base</id>
<url>http://files.couchbase.com/maven2/</url>
<snapshots>
<enabled>false</enabled>
</snapshots>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>java.net</id>
<url>http://download.java.net/maven/2</url>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>spring-milestone</id>
<name>Spring Framework Milestone Repository</name>
<url>http://maven.springframework.org/milestone</url>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>spring-release</id>
<name>Spring Framework Release Repository</name>
<url>http://maven.springframework.org/release</url>
</repository>
<repository>
<id>spring-snnapshot</id>
<name>Spring Maven SNAPSHOT Repository</name>
<url>http://maven.springframework.org/snapshot</url>
</repository>
</repositories>
<distributionManagement>
<repository>
<id>xx_local</id>
<url>http://maven.xx.com:80/nexus/content/repositories/releases</url>
</repository>
<snapshotRepository>
<id>xx_local</id>
<url>http://maven.xx.com:80/nexus/content/repositories/snapshots</url>
<uniqueVersion>false</uniqueVersion>
</snapshotRepository>
</distributionManagement>
I intentionally changed some business names in the config and URLs for privacy considerations.

Answer 1

Yes it turned out to be due to conflict jars buried in some spring dependencies. Spring-security-oauth2 1.0.5 relies on spring-asm and spring-context-support 3.1.3 which are in conflict with Spring 4 libs. After excluding them problem is fixed.

Answer 2

This may be a long shot but from personal experience last time i had this error it was due to the key point:
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Failed to load ApplicationContext
I had a test case that didn't have ApplicationContext in it and thus was causing the compilation to fail with that above.
Check if you have any test classes that are missing a ApplicationContext (as i said long shot).
If they are the add it otherwise we will need to dig more into this problem.
Good luck