DynamoDB Annotations deserialize Document JSON with mixed type list?

Question

We have a project using DynamoDB. Currently, it uses the Java AWS SDK to do operations on tables and insert/retrieve items. We'd like to move over to using the DynamoDB annotations and mapper.

However, we have a problem. Some tables are using the new "Document" json feature, and even have lists with mixed types. Currently, that's fine because a retrieved item has a list of AttributeValues which we can iterate through.

However when using annotations, you need to define the structure of the document to be deserialized. Considering the list is of mixed types, this is impossible to do!

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to proceed? I was hoping we could map the Document to a map of generics or something, using a Converter class/annotation, but I haven't had luck (I don't think the converter works on collections?)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Use the Document SDK, part of the AWS SDK for Java. You can retrieve arbitrary lists of objects and subtrees with the Table and Item classes. You do not need to define or any classes a priori.