Feature Request - Support like Matcher with Predefined Java Objects like in Pact-JS

[lislon]

Firstly, I want to express my admiration for the work you've done with Pact-JVM.

I'm reaching out to inquire about a feature in Pact-JVM that mirrors the functionality available in Pact-JS. Specifically, I'm interested in the ability to use the like matcher in a way that leverages predefined Java objects.

In our project, we extensively use integration tests with predefined data in the form of Java objects. Simple example (in real project we have ~100 fields):

{
  "customer": {
    "name": "Test user",
    "address": [{"street": "Test street"}]
  }
}

We are looking for a way to utilize the like matcher in Pact-JVM that can automatically infer and check against types based on the object provided (By using reflection I suppose), similar to how it's done in Pact-JS.

I recently came across a video https://youtu.be/oPuHb9Rl8Zo?si=dmeDGDjvZA0S1blb&t=544 that demonstrates this functionality in Pact-JS. This got me wondering if there's an existing or planned feature in Pact-JVM that can achieve similar behavior. I.e (pseudocode)

    @Pact(....)
    public RequestResponsePact createFetchCUstomerPact(PactDslWithProvider builder) {
        MyCustomerObject expected = new My CustomerObject();
        expected.setName("test user");
        expected.setAddress(List.of(new Address("Test street")));
        return builder.given("has customer")
                .uponReceiving("request of customer")
                .path("/")
                .method("POST")
                .willRespondWith()
                .status(200)
                .body(PactDslJsonRootValue.like(expected) // <-- will do type matching, ignoring value
                .toPact();
    }

Thank you

[rholshausen]

Have a look at https://github.com/sngular/pact-annotation-processor