createUserValues factory method to Binder

org.springframework.context/src/main/java/org/springframework/ui/binding/Binder.java

@@ -74,8 +74,19 @@ public interface Binder<M> {
 
 	/**
 	 * Bind values in the map to the properties of the model object.
+	 * TODO consider returning BindingResults object that makes it easier to query/introspect results
 	 * @param userValues user-entered values to bind
 	 */
 	List<BindingResult> bind(List<UserValue> userValues);
+	
+	/**
+	 * Creates a {@link UserValue} list from a Map of user-submitted fields.
+	 * The Binder may apply transformations as part of the creation process.
+	 * For example, a Binder might insert empty or default values for fields that are not present.
+	 * As another example, a Binder might collapse multiple fields into a single {@link UserValue} object.
+	 * @param userMap the map of user-submitted fields
+	 * @return the UserValue list that can be passed to {@link #bind(List)}.
+	 */
+	List<UserValue> createUserValues(Map<String, ? extends Object> userMap);
 
 }

org.springframework.context/src/main/java/org/springframework/ui/binding/support/GenericBinder.java

@@ -109,6 +109,10 @@ public class GenericBinder<M> implements Binder<M> {
 		typeConverter = new DefaultTypeConverter();
 	}
 
+	public M getModel() {
+		return model;
+	}
+
 	public void setStrict(boolean strict) {
 		this.strict = strict;
 	}
@@ -136,10 +140,6 @@ public class GenericBinder<M> implements Binder<M> {
 		annotationFormatters.put(getAnnotationType(factory), factory);
 	}
 
-	public M getModel() {
-		return model;
-	}
-
 	public Binding getBinding(String property) {
 		Binding binding = bindings.get(property);
 		if (binding == null && !strict) {
@@ -158,6 +158,14 @@ public class GenericBinder<M> implements Binder<M> {
 		return results;
 	}
 	
+	public List<UserValue> createUserValues(Map<String, ? extends Object> userMap) {
+		List<UserValue> values = new ArrayList<UserValue>();
+		for (Map.Entry<String, ? extends Object> entry : userMap.entrySet()) {
+			values.add(new UserValue(entry.getKey(), entry.getValue()));
+		}
+		return values;
+	}
+
 	// internal helpers
 
 	class BindingImpl implements Binding {

org.springframework.context/src/test/java/org/springframework/ui/binding/support/GenericBinderTests.java

@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@ import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.text.ParseException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Date;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import junit.framework.Assert;
 
@@ -24,7 +26,6 @@ import org.springframework.ui.binding.Binding;
 import org.springframework.ui.binding.BindingConfiguration;
 import org.springframework.ui.binding.BindingResult;
 import org.springframework.ui.binding.UserValue;
-import org.springframework.ui.binding.support.GenericBinder;
 import org.springframework.ui.format.date.DateFormatter;
 import org.springframework.ui.format.number.CurrencyAnnotationFormatterFactory;
 import org.springframework.ui.format.number.CurrencyFormat;
@@ -135,6 +136,21 @@ public class GenericBinderTests {
 		assertEquals("propertyNotFound", results.get(0).getErrorCode());
 	}
 	
+	@Test
+	public void bindUserValuesCreatedFromUserMap() {
+		Binder<TestBean> binder = new GenericBinder<TestBean>(new TestBean());
+		Map<String, String> userMap = new LinkedHashMap<String, String>();
+		userMap.put("string", "test");
+		userMap.put("integer", "3");
+		List<UserValue> values = binder.createUserValues(userMap);
+		List<BindingResult> results = binder.bind(values);
+		assertEquals(2, results.size());
+		assertEquals("test", results.get(0).getUserValue());
+		assertEquals("3", results.get(1).getUserValue());
+		assertEquals("test", binder.getModel().getString());
+		assertEquals(3, binder.getModel().getInteger());		
+	}
+	
 	@Test
 	public void getBindingOptimistic() {
 		Binder<TestBean> binder = new GenericBinder<TestBean>(new TestBean());