MapInfo and GeoServer WFS-T - duplicated namespace declaration in XML prevents editing

Question

Environment

• MapInfo version 15.0 Release Build 18
• GeoServer version 2.11.1
• QGIS version 2.1.7

Problem

I am publishing a PostGIS layer via WFS from GeoServer. Editing this layer in MapInfo causes the following error:

ERROR [geoserver.ows] - org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserException: duplicated namespace declaration for 'wfs' prefix

Baseline Diagnosis - MapInfo is not playing nicely with others

• I can edit and save records in this WFS layer using QGIS - no problem.
• I can open, query and view the WFS layer in MapInfo - including refreshes to see changes made in QGIS - no problem.

On that basis, I am convinced that I have configured all of the moving parts more or less correctly, and that MapInfo seem to be the problem piece in the stack.

Discovery and Debugging - MapInfo XML

Digging further into the GeoServer logs, I can see the raw XML which MapInfo is sending to GeoServer to effect the update transaction. Note the two starred lines (**) which are, in fact, duplicates, as the error message suggests:

2017-09-15 10:43:14,999 DEBUG [geoserver.ows] - Raw XML request starts with: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<wfs:Transaction
version="1.0.0" 
service="WFS"
**  xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"
xmlns:geostore_DEV="http://noidea.at.all"
xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"
xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc"
**  xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs ../wfs/1.0.0/WFS-basic.xsd"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<wfs:Update xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" typeName="geostore_DEV:Nat_BND_EXCHBDY"><wfs:Property><wfs:Name>geostore_DEV:SP_GEOMETRY</wfs:Name><wfs:Value><gml:MultiPolygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml" srsName="EPSG:4283"><gml:polygonMember><gml:Polygon><gml:outerBoundaryIs><gml:LinearRing><gml:coordinates>152.902784,-27.958194 152.898579,-27.964123 152.908369,-27.969225 152.916021,-27.965465 152.902784,-27.958194</gml:coordinates></gml:LinearRing></gml:outerBoundaryIs></gml:Polygon></gml:polygonMember></gml:MultiPolygon></wfs:Value></wfs:Property><ogc:Filter xmlns:ogc="http://www.op...
2017-09-15 10:43:14,999 ERROR [geoserver.ows] - 
org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserException: duplicated namespace declaration for 'wfs' prefix (position: START_DOCUMENT seen ...http://www.opengis.net/ogc"\nxmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"... @9:39) 
    at org.xmlpull.mxp1.MXParser.parseAttribute(MXParser.java:2132)

Teasing this out a bit further, I can construct the transaction statement fully (and a bit more legibly) as follows:

<wfs:Transaction
version="1.0.0" 
service="WFS" 
xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"
xmlns:geostore_DEV="http://noidea.at.all"
xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"
xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc"
xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs ../wfs/1.0.0/WFS-basic.xsd"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<wfs:Update xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" typeName="geostore_DEV:Nat_BND_EXCHBDY">
    <wfs:Property>
        <wfs:Name>geostore_DEV:SP_GEOMETRY</wfs:Name>
        <wfs:Value>
            <gml:MultiPolygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml" srsName="EPSG:4283">
                <gml:polygonMember>
                    <gml:Polygon>
                        <gml:outerBoundaryIs>
                            <gml:LinearRing>
                                <gml:coordinates>152.902784,-27.958194 152.898579,-27.964123 152.908369,-27.969225 152.916021,-27.965465 152.902784,-27.958194</gml:coordinates>
                            </gml:LinearRing>
                        </gml:outerBoundaryIs>
                    </gml:Polygon>
                </gml:polygonMember>
            </gml:MultiPolygon>
        </wfs:Value>
    </wfs:Property> 
    <ogc:Filter xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc">
      <ogc:FeatureId fid="Nat_BND_EXCHBDY.5071" />
    </ogc:Filter>   
</wfs:Update>
</wfs:Transaction>

Discovery and Debugging - XML error is reproducible (and fixable) in GeoServer test console

Using the "TestServlet" on GeoServer "Demo requests" page, I ran the XML requests directly on the server.

• When I copy-and-paste the formatted XML, above, directly into the TestServlet, I get the same error as the MapInfo "save" command
• When I delete one of the duplicated "xmlns:wfs" lines from the XML and rerun it, the command executes correctly, the data is updated correctly, and everybody is happy!

Desperation!

Can somebody please suggest a workaround / configuration change which will address this problem? I'm at my wit's end!

I have only "black box" testing and workaround options available - no code changes possible. I have tried to identify how the MapInfo XML request is being assembled - it looks like partly from the GeoServer WFS information and partly .... hard-coded?

Somehow I need to tweak the existing environment to enable MapInfo to edit this GeoServer data. (Otherwise ... we're looking at an Enterprise changeover to QGIS!)

Answer 1

We found a workaround. In the XML file that exists with a WFS-table created by MapInfo Pro, you need to make this small change:

Replace this string:

xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"

with this:

xmlns:ns="http://www.opengis.net/wfs"

This fix has already been implemented in the patches for MapInfo Pro 16.0