SA-12722

Summary

An activity contains a Property-Set that generates a java.lang.NullPointerException (NPE).  Even though the step-page on the Property-Set is my_step_page, the Tracer displays the step page to be the step page of the calling activity.
For example: If Activity B is the one with the NPE, and it is called by Activity A, and the step page of the call is step_page_A, then the Tracer shows step_page_A to be the step page of the step in Activity B which experiences the error.

Here is the Tracer log with annotations explaining the issue:

Error Messages

Java Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException

Steps to Reproduce

Not Applicable

Root Cause

The root cause of this problem is a defect in custom application code/rules. The step page "my_step_Page" is actually defined on the Parameter tab of the activity as a Parameter of type Page. The failure occurs because the Parameter is not being provided when the activity is called.  There is no error status or obvious failure when the "Page-New" is executed, but no page gets created. However, for all intents and purposes, there is no step page for this activity step. The normal logic which creates a page when a property is referenced on a non-existent page is not considered because of the level of indirection provided by the parameter input.

Resolution

This issue is resolved through the following local-change:

If the step page name is provided as a Parameter, check to ensure that a name was provided before using it.