Customizing Group Validation Order

By default, constraint groups are validated in no particular order. There are some cases where some groups should be validated before others. For example, in a particular class basic data should be validated before more advanced data.

To set the validation order for a group, add a javax.validation.GroupSequence annotation on the interface definition, listing the order in which the validation should occur.

@GroupSequence({Default.class, ExpensiveValidationGroup.class})
public interface FullValidationGroup {}

When validating FullValidationGroup, first the Default group is validated. If all the data passes validation, then the ExpensiveValidationGroup group is validated. If a constraint is part of part of both the Default and ExpensiveValidationGroup groups, the constraint is validated as part of the Default group, and will not be validated on the subsequent ExpensiveValidationGroup pass.