diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/BeanDefinition.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/BeanDefinition.java
index c9e0db6ad8..5ba7068f41 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/BeanDefinition.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/BeanDefinition.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ public interface BeanDefinition extends AttributeAccessor, BeanMetadataElement {
 	/**
 	 * Return whether this a <b>Prototype</b>, with an independent instance
 	 * returned for each call.
+	 * @since 3.0
 	 * @see #SCOPE_PROTOTYPE
 	 */
 	boolean isPrototype();
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/AbstractBeanFactory.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/AbstractBeanFactory.java
index 4c93eae615..2bc2f7f89b 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/AbstractBeanFactory.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/AbstractBeanFactory.java
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractBeanFactory extends FactoryBeanRegistrySupport imp
 		}
 
 		// Check if required type matches the type of the actual bean instance.
-		if (requiredType != null && bean != null && !requiredType.isAssignableFrom(bean.getClass())) {
+		if (requiredType != null && bean != null && !requiredType.isInstance(bean)) {
 			try {
 				return getTypeConverter().convertIfNecessary(bean, requiredType);
 			}
diff --git a/spring-messaging/src/main/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/invocation/AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java b/spring-messaging/src/main/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/invocation/AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
index a7f7cf9f56..0103450e52 100644
--- a/spring-messaging/src/main/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/invocation/AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
+++ b/spring-messaging/src/main/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/invocation/AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2016 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@ public abstract class AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver {
 				result.add((Class<? extends Throwable>) paramType);
 			}
 		}
-		Assert.notEmpty(result, "No exception types mapped to {" + method + "}");
+		if (result.isEmpty()) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("No exception types mapped to " + method);
+		}
 		return result;
 	}
 
@@ -75,7 +77,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractExceptionHandlerMethodResolver {
 	 * Whether the contained type has any exception mappings.
 	 */
 	public boolean hasExceptionMappings() {
-		return (this.mappedMethods.size() > 0);
+		return !this.mappedMethods.isEmpty();
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/spring-messaging/src/test/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/annotation/support/AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java b/spring-messaging/src/test/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/annotation/support/AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
index 2966a290c6..e28577c875 100644
--- a/spring-messaging/src/test/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/annotation/support/AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
+++ b/spring-messaging/src/test/java/org/springframework/messaging/handler/annotation/support/AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2016 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ public class AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests {
 		new AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolver(AmbiguousController.class);
 	}
 
-	@Test(expected = IllegalArgumentException.class)
+	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
 	public void noExceptionMapping() {
 		new AnnotationExceptionHandlerMethodResolver(NoExceptionController.class);
 	}
diff --git a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/bind/WebDataBinder.java b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/bind/WebDataBinder.java
index 48756e854a..9d5b598e48 100644
--- a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/bind/WebDataBinder.java
+++ b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/bind/WebDataBinder.java
@@ -201,8 +201,8 @@ public class WebDataBinder extends DataBinder {
 	 * @see #getFieldDefaultPrefix
 	 */
 	protected void checkFieldDefaults(MutablePropertyValues mpvs) {
-		if (getFieldDefaultPrefix() != null) {
-			String fieldDefaultPrefix = getFieldDefaultPrefix();
+		String fieldDefaultPrefix = getFieldDefaultPrefix();
+		if (fieldDefaultPrefix != null) {
 			PropertyValue[] pvArray = mpvs.getPropertyValues();
 			for (PropertyValue pv : pvArray) {
 				if (pv.getName().startsWith(fieldDefaultPrefix)) {
@@ -228,8 +228,8 @@ public class WebDataBinder extends DataBinder {
 	 * @see #getEmptyValue(String, Class)
 	 */
 	protected void checkFieldMarkers(MutablePropertyValues mpvs) {
-		if (getFieldMarkerPrefix() != null) {
-			String fieldMarkerPrefix = getFieldMarkerPrefix();
+		String fieldMarkerPrefix = getFieldMarkerPrefix();
+		if (fieldMarkerPrefix != null) {
 			PropertyValue[] pvArray = mpvs.getPropertyValues();
 			for (PropertyValue pv : pvArray) {
 				if (pv.getName().startsWith(fieldMarkerPrefix)) {
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ public class WebDataBinder extends DataBinder {
 
 	/**
 	 * Determine an empty value for the specified field.
-	 * <p>Default implementation returns:
+	 * <p>The default implementation returns:
 	 * <ul>
 	 * <li>{@code Boolean.FALSE} for boolean fields
 	 * <li>an empty array for array types
@@ -275,17 +275,20 @@ public class WebDataBinder extends DataBinder {
 				else if (Map.class.isAssignableFrom(fieldType)) {
 					return CollectionFactory.createMap(fieldType, 0);
 				}
-			} catch (IllegalArgumentException exc) {
-				return null;
+			}
+			catch (IllegalArgumentException ex) {
+				if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
+					logger.debug("Failed to create default value - falling back to null: " + ex.getMessage());
+				}
 			}
 		}
-		// Default value: try null.
+		// Default value: null.
 		return null;
 	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Bind all multipart files contained in the given request, if any
-	 * (in case of a multipart request).
+	 * (in case of a multipart request). To be called by subclasses.
 	 * <p>Multipart files will only be added to the property values if they
 	 * are not empty or if we're configured to bind empty multipart files too.
 	 * @param multipartFiles Map of field name String to MultipartFile object
diff --git a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/context/request/async/CallableProcessingInterceptor.java b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/context/request/async/CallableProcessingInterceptor.java
index e180931685..a96c3538de 100644
--- a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/context/request/async/CallableProcessingInterceptor.java
+++ b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/context/request/async/CallableProcessingInterceptor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2015 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import org.springframework.web.context.request.NativeWebRequest;
  * the Exception instance as the concurrent result. Such exceptions will then
  * be processed through the {@code HandlerExceptionResolver} mechanism.
  *
- * <p>The {@link #handleTimeout(NativeWebRequest, Callable) afterTimeout} method
+ * <p>The {@link #handleTimeout(NativeWebRequest, Callable) handleTimeout} method
  * can select a value to be used to resume processing.
  *
  * @author Rossen Stoyanchev
@@ -45,9 +45,20 @@ import org.springframework.web.context.request.NativeWebRequest;
  */
 public interface CallableProcessingInterceptor {
 
-	static final Object RESULT_NONE = new Object();
+	/**
+	 * Constant indicating that no result has been determined by this
+	 * interceptor, giving subsequent interceptors a chance.
+	 * @see #handleTimeout
+	 */
+	Object RESULT_NONE = new Object();
+
+	/**
+	 * Constant indicating that the response has been handled by this interceptor
+	 * without a result and that no further interceptors are to be invoked.
+	 * @see #handleTimeout
+	 */
+	Object RESPONSE_HANDLED = new Object();
 
-	static final Object RESPONSE_HANDLED = new Object();
 
 	/**
 	 * Invoked <em>before</em> the start of concurrent handling in the original
diff --git a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
index c121f575bf..ac2ca82de6 100644
--- a/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
+++ b/spring-web/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2016 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -94,7 +94,9 @@ public class ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver {
 				}
 			}
 		}
-		Assert.notEmpty(result, "No exception types mapped to {" + method + "}");
+		if (result.isEmpty()) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("No exception types mapped to " + method);
+		}
 		return result;
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-web/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java b/spring-web/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
index 999178f6fa..98032176eb 100644
--- a/spring-web/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
+++ b/spring-web/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/method/annotation/ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -88,11 +88,12 @@ public class ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests {
 		new ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver(AmbiguousController.class);
 	}
 
-	@Test(expected = IllegalArgumentException.class)
+	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
 	public void noExceptionMapping() {
 		new ExceptionHandlerMethodResolver(NoExceptionController.class);
 	}
 
+
 	@Controller
 	static class ExceptionController {
 
@@ -111,6 +112,7 @@ public class ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests {
 		}
 	}
 
+
 	@Controller
 	static class InheritedController extends ExceptionController {
 
@@ -119,6 +121,7 @@ public class ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests {
 		}
 	}
 
+
 	@Controller
 	static class AmbiguousController {
 
@@ -136,6 +139,7 @@ public class ExceptionHandlerMethodResolverTests {
 		}
 	}
 
+
 	@Controller
 	static class NoExceptionController {