Initial version of QProcessPayload - like QRecordEntity, but for process values. refactoring of QRecordEntity to share logic

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/actions/processes/QProcessPayload.java

@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+/*
+ * QQQ - Low-code Application Framework for Engineers.
+ * Copyright (C) 2021-2025.  Kingsrook, LLC
+ * 651 N Broad St Ste 205 # 6917 | Middletown DE 19709 | United States
+ * contact@kingsrook.com
+ * https://github.com/Kingsrook/
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+package com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.actions.processes;
+
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.Set;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.exceptions.QException;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.exceptions.QRuntimeException;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.logging.QLogger;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data.QRecordEntityField;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ListingHash;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils;
+
+
+/*******************************************************************************
+ ** base-class for bean-like classes to represent the fields of a process.
+ ** similar in spirit to QRecordEntity, but for processes.
+ *******************************************************************************/
+public class QProcessPayload
+{
+   private static final QLogger LOG = QLogger.getLogger(QProcessPayload.class);
+
+   private static final ListingHash<Class<? extends QProcessPayload>, QRecordEntityField> fieldMapping = new ListingHash<>();
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Build an entity of this QRecord type from a QRecord
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static <T extends QProcessPayload> T fromProcessState(Class<T> c, ProcessState processState) throws QException
+   {
+      try
+      {
+         T entity = c.getConstructor().newInstance();
+         entity.populateFromProcessState(processState);
+         return (entity);
+      }
+      catch(Exception e)
+      {
+         throw (new QException("Error building process payload from state.", e));
+      }
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    **
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   protected void populateFromProcessState(ProcessState processState)
+   {
+      try
+      {
+         List<QRecordEntityField> fieldList = getFieldList(this.getClass());
+         // originalRecordValues = new HashMap<>();
+
+         for(QRecordEntityField qRecordEntityField : fieldList)
+         {
+            Serializable value      = processState.getValues().get(qRecordEntityField.getFieldName());
+            Object       typedValue = qRecordEntityField.convertValueType(value);
+            qRecordEntityField.getSetter().invoke(this, typedValue);
+            // originalRecordValues.put(qRecordEntityField.getFieldName(), value);
+         }
+
+         // for(QRecordEntityAssociation qRecordEntityAssociation : getAssociationList(this.getClass()))
+         // {
+         //    List<QRecord> associatedRecords = qRecord.getAssociatedRecords().get(qRecordEntityAssociation.getAssociationAnnotation().name());
+         //    if(associatedRecords == null)
+         //    {
+         //       qRecordEntityAssociation.getSetter().invoke(this, (Object) null);
+         //    }
+         //    else
+         //    {
+         //       List<QRecordEntity> associatedEntityList = new ArrayList<>();
+         //       for(QRecord associatedRecord : CollectionUtils.nonNullList(associatedRecords))
+         //       {
+         //          associatedEntityList.add(QRecordEntity.fromQRecord(qRecordEntityAssociation.getAssociatedType(), associatedRecord));
+         //       }
+         //       qRecordEntityAssociation.getSetter().invoke(this, associatedEntityList);
+         //    }
+         // }
+
+         // for(QRecordEntityAssociation qRecordEntityAssociation : getAssociationList(this.getClass()))
+         // {
+         //    List<QRecord> associatedRecords = qRecord.getAssociatedRecords().get(qRecordEntityAssociation.getAssociationAnnotation().name());
+         //    if(associatedRecords == null)
+         //    {
+         //       qRecordEntityAssociation.getSetter().invoke(this, (Object) null);
+         //    }
+         //    else
+         //    {
+         //       List<QRecordEntity> associatedEntityList = new ArrayList<>();
+         //       for(QRecord associatedRecord : CollectionUtils.nonNullList(associatedRecords))
+         //       {
+         //          associatedEntityList.add(QRecordEntity.fromQRecord(qRecordEntityAssociation.getAssociatedType(), associatedRecord));
+         //       }
+         //       qRecordEntityAssociation.getSetter().invoke(this, associatedEntityList);
+         //    }
+         // }
+      }
+      catch(Exception e)
+      {
+         throw (new QRuntimeException("Error building process payload from process state.", e));
+      }
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    ** Copy the values from this payload into the given process state.
+    ** ALL fields in the entity will be set in the process state.
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public void toProcessState(ProcessState processState) throws QRuntimeException
+   {
+      try
+      {
+         for(QRecordEntityField qRecordEntityField : getFieldList(this.getClass()))
+         {
+            processState.getValues().put(qRecordEntityField.getFieldName(), (Serializable) qRecordEntityField.getGetter().invoke(this));
+         }
+      }
+      catch(Exception e)
+      {
+         throw (new QRuntimeException("Error populating process state from process payload.", e));
+      }
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    *
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   public static Set<Class<?>> allowedFieldTypes()
+   {
+      HashSet<Class<?>> classes = new HashSet<>(ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.defaultAllowedTypes());
+      classes.add(Map.class);
+      classes.add(List.class);
+      return (classes);
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static List<QRecordEntityField> getFieldList(Class<? extends QProcessPayload> c)
+   {
+      if(!fieldMapping.containsKey(c))
+      {
+         List<QRecordEntityField> fieldList = new ArrayList<>();
+         for(Method possibleGetter : c.getMethods())
+         {
+            if(ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.isGetter(possibleGetter, false, allowedFieldTypes()))
+            {
+               Optional<Method> setter = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getSetterForGetter(c, possibleGetter);
+
+               if(setter.isPresent())
+               {
+                  String fieldName = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getFieldNameFromGetter(possibleGetter);
+                  fieldList.add(new QRecordEntityField(fieldName, possibleGetter, setter.get(), possibleGetter.getReturnType(), null));
+               }
+               else
+               {
+                  LOG.debug("Getter method [" + possibleGetter.getName() + "] does not have a corresponding setter.");
+               }
+            }
+         }
+         fieldMapping.put(c, fieldList);
+      }
+      return (fieldMapping.get(c));
+   }
+
+}

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/actions/processes/RunBackendStepInput.java

@@ -628,4 +628,15 @@ public class RunBackendStepInput extends AbstractActionInput
    {
       return (QContext.getQInstance().getProcess(getProcessName()));
    }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    ** return a QProcessPayload subclass instance, with values populated from
+    ** the current process state.
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   public <T extends QProcessPayload> T getProcessPayload(Class<T> payloadClass) throws QException
+   {
+      return QProcessPayload.fromProcessState(payloadClass, getProcessState());
+   }
 }

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/actions/processes/RunBackendStepOutput.java

@@ -445,4 +445,14 @@ public class RunBackendStepOutput extends AbstractActionOutput implements Serial
       this.processState.setProcessMetaDataAdjustment(processMetaDataAdjustment);
    }
 
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    ** Update the process state with values from the input processPayload
+    ** subclass instance.
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   public void setProcessPayload(QProcessPayload processPayload)
+   {
+      processPayload.toProcessState(getProcessState());
+   }
 }

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/data/QRecordEntity.java

@@ -24,20 +24,11 @@ package com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.lang.annotation.Annotation;
-import java.lang.reflect.AnnotatedParameterizedType;
-import java.lang.reflect.AnnotatedType;
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.lang.reflect.Method;
-import java.lang.reflect.Type;
-import java.math.BigDecimal;
-import java.time.Instant;
-import java.time.LocalDate;
-import java.time.LocalTime;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -49,6 +40,7 @@ import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.tables.QTableMetaData;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.CollectionUtils;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ListingHash;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ObjectUtils;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils;
 import static com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.logging.LogUtils.logPair;
 
 
@@ -325,13 +317,13 @@ public abstract class QRecordEntity
          List<QRecordEntityField> fieldList = new ArrayList<>();
          for(Method possibleGetter : c.getMethods())
          {
-            if(isGetter(possibleGetter))
+            if(ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.isGetter(possibleGetter, true))
             {
-               Optional<Method> setter = getSetterForGetter(c, possibleGetter);
+               Optional<Method> setter = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getSetterForGetter(c, possibleGetter);
 
                if(setter.isPresent())
                {
-                  String           fieldName       = getFieldNameFromGetter(possibleGetter);
+                  String           fieldName       = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getFieldNameFromGetter(possibleGetter);
                   Optional<QField> fieldAnnotation = getQFieldAnnotation(c, fieldName);
 
                   if(fieldAnnotation.isPresent())
@@ -378,19 +370,19 @@ public abstract class QRecordEntity
          List<QRecordEntityAssociation> associationList = new ArrayList<>();
          for(Method possibleGetter : c.getMethods())
          {
-            if(isGetter(possibleGetter))
+            if(ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.isGetter(possibleGetter, true))
             {
-               Optional<Method> setter = getSetterForGetter(c, possibleGetter);
+               Optional<Method> setter = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getSetterForGetter(c, possibleGetter);
 
                if(setter.isPresent())
                {
-                  String                 fieldName             = getFieldNameFromGetter(possibleGetter);
+                  String                 fieldName             = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getFieldNameFromGetter(possibleGetter);
                   Optional<QAssociation> associationAnnotation = getQAssociationAnnotation(c, fieldName);
 
                   if(associationAnnotation.isPresent())
                   {
                      @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-                     Class<? extends QRecordEntity> listTypeParam = (Class<? extends QRecordEntity>) getListTypeParam(possibleGetter.getReturnType(), possibleGetter.getAnnotatedReturnType());
+                     Class<? extends QRecordEntity> listTypeParam = (Class<? extends QRecordEntity>) ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getListTypeParam(possibleGetter.getReturnType(), possibleGetter.getAnnotatedReturnType());
                      associationList.add(new QRecordEntityAssociation(fieldName, possibleGetter, setter.get(), listTypeParam, associationAnnotation.orElse(null)));
                   }
                }
@@ -457,130 +449,4 @@ public abstract class QRecordEntity
    }
 
 
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   public static String getFieldNameFromGetter(Method getter)
-   {
-      String nameWithoutGet = getter.getName().replaceFirst("^get", "");
-      if(nameWithoutGet.length() == 1)
-      {
-         return (nameWithoutGet.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT));
-      }
-      return (nameWithoutGet.substring(0, 1).toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT) + nameWithoutGet.substring(1));
-   }
-
-
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   private static boolean isGetter(Method method)
-   {
-      if(method.getParameterTypes().length == 0 && method.getName().matches("^get[A-Z].*"))
-      {
-         if(isSupportedFieldType(method.getReturnType()) || isSupportedAssociation(method.getReturnType(), method.getAnnotatedReturnType()))
-         {
-            return (true);
-         }
-         else
-         {
-            if(!method.getName().equals("getClass") && method.getAnnotation(QIgnore.class) == null)
-            {
-               LOG.debug("Method [" + method.getName() + "] in [" + method.getDeclaringClass().getSimpleName() + "] looks like a getter, but its return type, [" + method.getReturnType().getSimpleName() + "], isn't supported.");
-            }
-         }
-      }
-      return (false);
-   }
-
-
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   private static Optional<Method> getSetterForGetter(Class<? extends QRecordEntity> c, Method getter)
-   {
-      String setterName = getter.getName().replaceFirst("^get", "set");
-      for(Method method : c.getMethods())
-      {
-         if(method.getName().equals(setterName))
-         {
-            if(method.getParameterTypes().length == 1 && method.getParameterTypes()[0].equals(getter.getReturnType()))
-            {
-               return (Optional.of(method));
-            }
-            else
-            {
-               LOG.info("Method [" + method.getName() + "] looks like a setter for [" + getter.getName() + "], but its parameters, [" + Arrays.toString(method.getParameterTypes()) + "], don't match the getter's return type [" + getter.getReturnType() + "]");
-            }
-         }
-      }
-      return (Optional.empty());
-   }
-
-
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   private static boolean isSupportedFieldType(Class<?> returnType)
-   {
-      // todo - more types!!
-      return (returnType.equals(String.class)
-              || returnType.equals(Integer.class)
-              || returnType.equals(Long.class)
-              || returnType.equals(int.class)
-              || returnType.equals(Boolean.class)
-              || returnType.equals(boolean.class)
-              || returnType.equals(BigDecimal.class)
-              || returnType.equals(Instant.class)
-              || returnType.equals(LocalDate.class)
-              || returnType.equals(LocalTime.class)
-              || returnType.equals(byte[].class));
-      /////////////////////////////////////////////
-      // note - this list has implications upon: //
-      // - QFieldType.fromClass                  //
-      // - QRecordEntityField.convertValueType   //
-      /////////////////////////////////////////////
-   }
-
-
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   private static boolean isSupportedAssociation(Class<?> returnType, AnnotatedType annotatedType)
-   {
-      Class<?> listTypeParam = getListTypeParam(returnType, annotatedType);
-      return (listTypeParam != null && QRecordEntity.class.isAssignableFrom(listTypeParam));
-   }
-
-
-
-   /*******************************************************************************
-    **
-    *******************************************************************************/
-   private static Class<?> getListTypeParam(Class<?> listType, AnnotatedType annotatedType)
-   {
-      if(listType.equals(List.class))
-      {
-         if(annotatedType instanceof AnnotatedParameterizedType apt)
-         {
-            AnnotatedType[] annotatedActualTypeArguments = apt.getAnnotatedActualTypeArguments();
-            for(AnnotatedType annotatedActualTypeArgument : annotatedActualTypeArguments)
-            {
-               Type type = annotatedActualTypeArgument.getType();
-               if(type instanceof Class<?> c)
-               {
-                  return (c);
-               }
-            }
-         }
-      }
-
-      return (null);
-   }
-
 }

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/data/QRecordEntityField.java

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.time.Instant;
 import java.time.LocalDate;
 import java.time.LocalTime;
+import java.util.Map;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.exceptions.QValueException;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ValueUtils;
 
@@ -170,6 +171,11 @@ public class QRecordEntityField
          {
             return (ValueUtils.getValueAsByteArray(value));
          }
+
+         if(type.equals(Map.class))
+         {
+            return (ValueUtils.getValueAsMap(value));
+         }
       }
       catch(Exception e)
       {

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/model/metadata/fields/QFieldMetaData.java

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.help.QHelpContent;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.possiblevalues.QPossibleValueSource;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.metadata.security.FieldSecurityLock;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.CollectionUtils;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.StringUtils;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils.ValueUtils;
 import static com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.logging.LogUtils.logPair;
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ public class QFieldMetaData implements Cloneable, QMetaDataObject
    {
       try
       {
-         this.name = QRecordEntity.getFieldNameFromGetter(getter);
+         this.name = ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.getFieldNameFromGetter(getter);
          this.type = QFieldType.fromClass(getter.getReturnType());
 
          @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/utils/ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.java

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+/*
+ * QQQ - Low-code Application Framework for Engineers.
+ * Copyright (C) 2021-2025.  Kingsrook, LLC
+ * 651 N Broad St Ste 205 # 6917 | Middletown DE 19709 | United States
+ * contact@kingsrook.com
+ * https://github.com/Kingsrook/
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+package com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils;
+
+
+import java.lang.reflect.AnnotatedParameterizedType;
+import java.lang.reflect.AnnotatedType;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
+import java.lang.reflect.Type;
+import java.math.BigDecimal;
+import java.time.Instant;
+import java.time.LocalDate;
+import java.time.LocalTime;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.Set;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.logging.QLogger;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data.QIgnore;
+import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.model.data.QRecordEntity;
+
+
+/*******************************************************************************
+ ** Utilities for bean-like classes (e.g., QRecordEntity, QProcessPayload) that
+ ** use reflection to understand their bean-fields
+ *******************************************************************************/
+public class ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils
+{
+   private static final QLogger LOG = QLogger.getLogger(ReflectiveBeanLikeClassUtils.class);
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static String getFieldNameFromGetter(Method getter)
+   {
+      String nameWithoutGet = getter.getName().replaceFirst("^get", "");
+      if(nameWithoutGet.length() == 1)
+      {
+         return (nameWithoutGet.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT));
+      }
+      return (nameWithoutGet.substring(0, 1).toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT) + nameWithoutGet.substring(1));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static boolean isGetter(Method method, boolean allowAssociations)
+   {
+      return isGetter(method, allowAssociations, defaultAllowedTypes());
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static boolean isGetter(Method method, boolean allowAssociations, Collection<Class<?>> allowedTypes)
+   {
+      if(method.getParameterTypes().length == 0 && method.getName().matches("^get[A-Z].*"))
+      {
+         if(allowedTypes.contains(method.getReturnType()) || (allowAssociations && isSupportedAssociation(method.getReturnType(), method.getAnnotatedReturnType())))
+         {
+            return (true);
+         }
+         else
+         {
+            if(!method.getName().equals("getClass") && method.getAnnotation(QIgnore.class) == null)
+            {
+               LOG.debug("Method [" + method.getName() + "] in [" + method.getDeclaringClass().getSimpleName() + "] looks like a getter, but its return type, [" + method.getReturnType().getSimpleName() + "], isn't supported.");
+            }
+         }
+      }
+      return (false);
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static Optional<Method> getSetterForGetter(Class<?> c, Method getter)
+   {
+      String setterName = getter.getName().replaceFirst("^get", "set");
+      for(Method method : c.getMethods())
+      {
+         if(method.getName().equals(setterName))
+         {
+            if(method.getParameterTypes().length == 1 && method.getParameterTypes()[0].equals(getter.getReturnType()))
+            {
+               return (Optional.of(method));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+               LOG.info("Method [" + method.getName() + "] looks like a setter for [" + getter.getName() + "], but its parameters, [" + Arrays.toString(method.getParameterTypes()) + "], don't match the getter's return type [" + getter.getReturnType() + "]");
+            }
+         }
+      }
+      return (Optional.empty());
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    **
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   public static Collection<Class<?>> defaultAllowedTypes()
+   {
+      /////////////////////////////////////////////
+      // note - this list has implications upon: //
+      // - QFieldType.fromClass                  //
+      // - QRecordEntityField.convertValueType   //
+      /////////////////////////////////////////////
+      return (Set.of(String.class,
+         Integer.class,
+         Long.class,
+         int.class,
+         Boolean.class,
+         boolean.class,
+         BigDecimal.class,
+         Instant.class,
+         LocalDate.class,
+         LocalTime.class,
+         byte[].class));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   private static boolean isSupportedAssociation(Class<?> returnType, AnnotatedType annotatedType)
+   {
+      Class<?> listTypeParam = getListTypeParam(returnType, annotatedType);
+      return (listTypeParam != null && QRecordEntity.class.isAssignableFrom(listTypeParam));
+   }
+
+
+
+   /*******************************************************************************
+    **
+    *******************************************************************************/
+   public static Class<?> getListTypeParam(Class<?> listType, AnnotatedType annotatedType)
+   {
+      if(listType.equals(List.class))
+      {
+         if(annotatedType instanceof AnnotatedParameterizedType apt)
+         {
+            AnnotatedType[] annotatedActualTypeArguments = apt.getAnnotatedActualTypeArguments();
+            for(AnnotatedType annotatedActualTypeArgument : annotatedActualTypeArguments)
+            {
+               Type type = annotatedActualTypeArgument.getType();
+               if(type instanceof Class<?> c)
+               {
+                  return (c);
+               }
+            }
+         }
+      }
+
+      return (null);
+   }
+
+}

qqq-backend-core/src/main/java/com/kingsrook/qqq/backend/core/utils/ValueUtils.java

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 package com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.utils;
 
 
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ import java.time.temporal.ChronoField;
 import java.time.temporal.ChronoUnit;
 import java.util.Calendar;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.TimeZone;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.context.QContext;
 import com.kingsrook.qqq.backend.core.exceptions.QValueException;
@@ -1012,4 +1014,37 @@ public class ValueUtils
 
       return defaultIfCannotInfer;
    }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    **
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   public static Map getValueAsMap(Serializable value)
+   {
+      if(value == null)
+      {
+         return (null);
+      }
+      else if(value instanceof Map<?, ?> map)
+      {
+         return (map);
+      }
+      else if(value instanceof String string && string.startsWith("{") && string.endsWith("}"))
+      {
+         try
+         {
+            Map map = JsonUtils.toObject(string, Map.class);
+            return (map);
+         }
+         catch(IOException e)
+         {
+            throw new QValueException("Error parsing string to map", e);
+         }
+      }
+      else
+      {
+         throw new QValueException("Unrecognized object type in getValueAsMap: " + value.getClass().getSimpleName());
+      }
+   }
 }