SpannerIO - Do not use .get() on ValueProvider during pipeline creation

[bvolpato]

Fixes issue https://github.com/apache/beam/issues/22146 (also reported on StackOverflow).

ValueProvider can be used to pass runtime parameters not available during pipeline creation (which is heavily used by Dataflow Templates).

In case a RuntimeValueProvider is being used, using .get() will throw the following exception:

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalStateException: Value only available at runtime, but accessed from a non-runtime context: RuntimeValueProvider{propertyName=spannerInstanceId, default=defaultinstanceid}
        at org.apache.beam.sdk.options.ValueProvider$RuntimeValueProvider.get(ValueProvider.java:254)
        at org.apache.beam.sdk.io.gcp.spanner.SpannerConfig.withInstanceId(SpannerConfig.java:165)
        at .... my code constructing SpannerConfig ...

So my changes adjust that behavior, to validate only if there is a reference to a provider, but not trying to use the value. Ideally those can be validated elsewhere when not using the ValueProvider (the other entry methods do not specify @Nullable, so that should be handled already).

---

Thank you for your contribution! Follow this checklist to help us incorporate your contribution quickly and easily:

• [x] Choose reviewer(s) and mention them in a comment (R: @username).
• [x] Mention the appropriate issue in your description (for example: addresses #123), if applicable. This will automatically add a link to the pull request in the issue. If you would like the issue to automatically close on merging the pull request, comment fixes #<ISSUE NUMBER> instead.
• [x] ~Update CHANGES.md with noteworthy changes.~
• [x] ~If this contribution is large, please file an Apache Individual Contributor License Agreement.~

See the Contributor Guide for more tips on how to make review process smoother.

To check the build health, please visit https://github.com/apache/beam/blob/master/.test-infra/BUILD_STATUS.md

GitHub Actions Tests Status (on master branch)

See CI.md for more information about GitHub Actions CI.

[bvolpato]

Run Java PreCommit

[github-actions[bot]]

Assigning reviewers. If you would like to opt out of this review, comment assign to next reviewer:

R: @kileys for label java. R: @chamikaramj for label io.

Available commands:

• stop reviewer notifications - opt out of the automated review tooling
• remind me after tests pass - tag the comment author after tests pass
• waiting on author - shift the attention set back to the author (any comment or push by the author will return the attention set to the reviewers)

The PR bot will only process comments in the main thread (not review comments).

[bvolpato]

Run Java PreCommit

[bvolpato]

Thanks, LGTM. It would be great to update CHANGES.md to make this fix more visible in release notes.

Done, thank you. Please merge it if you agree with the CHANGES entry.

Also, I was wondering why it was not caught by Spanner integration tests but, iinm, they are not running periodically on Jenkins like others. So, it would be great to add this as a separate issue/PR.

From what I checked all tests are using the .withXyz(String), which end up instantiating .withXyz(StaticValueProvider), and then it works fine.

I think that the usage of .get() on a ValueProvider doesn't make sense as it kills the purpose of using providers. Maybe that could be enforced automatically (e.g., block any ValueProvider.get() outside a DoFn/PTransform) or at least pushed back on code review, but I am not sure how to proceed to improve the process here.

[bvolpato]

Run Java PreCommit