broke out collection to string converter logic from collection to object

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/ArrayToStringConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.util.ObjectUtils;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from an array to a String.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class ArrayToStringConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private final CollectionToStringConverter helperConverter;
+
+	public ArrayToStringConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.helperConverter = new CollectionToStringConverter(conversionService);
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(Object[].class, String.class));
+	}
+	
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.helperConverter.matches(sourceType, targetType);
+	}
+
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.helperConverter.convert(Arrays.asList(ObjectUtils.toObjectArray(source)), sourceType, targetType);
+	}
+
+}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/CollectionToObjectConverter.java

@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 
 package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
 
-import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.getElementType;
 import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.invokeConverter;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
@@ -36,8 +35,6 @@ import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
  */
 final class CollectionToObjectConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 
-	private static final String DELIMITER = ",";
-
 	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
 
 	public CollectionToObjectConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
@@ -58,60 +55,21 @@ final class CollectionToObjectConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 		}
 		Collection<?> sourceCollection = (Collection<?>) source;
 		if (sourceCollection.size() == 0) {
-			if (targetType.typeEquals(String.class)) {
-				return "";
-			} else {
-				return null;
-			}
+			return null;
 		} else {
-			if (targetType.typeEquals(String.class)) {
-				TypeDescriptor sourceElementType = sourceType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
-				if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL) {
-					sourceElementType = getElementType(sourceCollection);
-				}
-				if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceElementType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
-					StringBuilder string = new StringBuilder();
-					int i = 0;
-					for (Object element : sourceCollection) {
-						if (i > 0) {
-							string.append(DELIMITER);
-						}
-						string.append(element);
-						i++;
-					}
-					return string.toString();
-				} else {
-					GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceElementType, targetType);
-					if (converter == null) {
-						throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceElementType, targetType);
-					}
-					StringBuilder string = new StringBuilder();
-					int i = 0;
-					for (Object sourceElement : sourceCollection) {
-						if (i > 0) {
-							string.append(DELIMITER);
-						}
-						Object targetElement = invokeConverter(converter, sourceElement, sourceElementType, targetType);
-						string.append(targetElement);
-						i++;
-					}
-					return string.toString();
-				}
+			Object firstElement = sourceCollection.iterator().next();
+			TypeDescriptor sourceElementType = sourceType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
+			if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL && firstElement != null) {
+				sourceElementType = TypeDescriptor.valueOf(firstElement.getClass());
+			}
+			if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceElementType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
+				return firstElement;
 			} else {
-				Object firstElement = sourceCollection.iterator().next();
-				TypeDescriptor sourceElementType = sourceType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
-				if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL && firstElement != null) {
-					sourceElementType = TypeDescriptor.valueOf(firstElement.getClass());
-				}
-				if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceElementType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
-					return firstElement;
-				} else {
-					GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceElementType, targetType);
-					if (converter == null) {
-						throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceElementType, targetType);
-					}
-					return invokeConverter(converter, firstElement, sourceElementType, targetType);
+				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceElementType, targetType);
+				if (converter == null) {
+					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceElementType, targetType);
 				}
+				return invokeConverter(converter, firstElement, sourceElementType, targetType);
 			}
 		}
 	}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/CollectionToStringConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.getElementType;
+import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.invokeConverter;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from a Collection to a String.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class CollectionToStringConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private static final String DELIMITER = ",";
+
+	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
+
+	public CollectionToStringConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.conversionService = conversionService;
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(Collection.class, String.class));
+	}
+
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType.getElementTypeDescriptor(), targetType);
+	}
+
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		if (source == null) {
+			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
+		}
+		Collection<?> sourceCollection = (Collection<?>) source;
+		if (sourceCollection.size() == 0) {
+			return "";
+		} else {
+			TypeDescriptor sourceElementType = sourceType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
+			if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL) {
+				sourceElementType = getElementType(sourceCollection);
+			}
+			if (sourceElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceElementType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
+				StringBuilder string = new StringBuilder();
+				int i = 0;
+				for (Object element : sourceCollection) {
+					if (i > 0) {
+						string.append(DELIMITER);
+					}
+					string.append(element);
+					i++;
+				}
+				return string.toString();
+			} else {
+				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceElementType, targetType);
+				if (converter == null) {
+					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceElementType, targetType);
+				}
+				StringBuilder string = new StringBuilder();
+				int i = 0;
+				for (Object sourceElement : sourceCollection) {
+					if (i > 0) {
+						string.append(DELIMITER);
+					}
+					Object targetElement = invokeConverter(converter, sourceElement, sourceElementType, targetType);
+					string.append(targetElement);
+					i++;
+				}
+				return string.toString();
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/ConversionServiceFactory.java

@@ -49,27 +49,33 @@ public abstract class ConversionServiceFactory {
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ArrayToArrayConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ArrayToCollectionConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ArrayToMapConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ArrayToStringConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ArrayToObjectConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new CollectionToCollectionConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new CollectionToArrayConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new CollectionToMapConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new CollectionToStringConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new CollectionToObjectConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new MapToMapConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new MapToArrayConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new MapToCollectionConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new MapToStringConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new MapToObjectConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new StringToArrayConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new StringToCollectionConverter(conversionService));
+		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new StringToMapConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ObjectToArrayConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ObjectToCollectionConverter(conversionService));
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ObjectToMapConverter(conversionService));
-		conversionService.addConverter(new ObjectToStringConverter());
+		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new CharacterToNumberFactory());
+		conversionService.addConverter(new NumberToCharacterConverter());
+		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new NumberToNumberConverterFactory());
 		conversionService.addConverter(new StringToBooleanConverter());
 		conversionService.addConverter(new StringToCharacterConverter());
-		conversionService.addConverter(new StringToLocaleConverter());
-		conversionService.addConverter(new NumberToCharacterConverter());
-		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new StringToNumberConverterFactory());
 		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new StringToEnumConverterFactory());
-		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new NumberToNumberConverterFactory());
-		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new CharacterToNumberFactory());
+		conversionService.addConverter(new StringToLocaleConverter());
+		conversionService.addConverterFactory(new StringToNumberConverterFactory());	
+		conversionService.addConverter(new ObjectToStringConverter());
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new ObjectToObjectGenericConverter());
 		conversionService.addGenericConverter(new IdToEntityConverter(conversionService));
 	}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/MapToStringConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.getMapEntryTypes;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Properties;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from a Map to a String.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class MapToStringConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
+
+	public MapToStringConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.conversionService = conversionService;
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(Map.class, String.class));
+	}
+
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor(), targetType)
+				&& this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor(), targetType);
+	}
+
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		if (source == null) {
+			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
+		}
+		Map<?, ?> sourceMap = (Map<?, ?>) source;
+		if (sourceMap.size() == 0) {
+			return "";
+		} else {
+			TypeDescriptor sourceKeyType = sourceType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor();
+			TypeDescriptor sourceValueType = sourceType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor();
+			if (sourceKeyType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceValueType == TypeDescriptor.NULL) {
+				TypeDescriptor[] sourceEntryTypes = getMapEntryTypes(sourceMap);
+				sourceKeyType = sourceEntryTypes[0];
+				sourceValueType = sourceEntryTypes[1];
+			}
+			boolean keysCompatible = false;
+			if (sourceKeyType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceKeyType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
+				keysCompatible = true;
+			}
+			boolean valuesCompatible = false;
+			if (sourceValueType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceValueType.isAssignableTo(targetType)) {
+				valuesCompatible = true;
+			}
+			Properties props = new Properties();
+			if (keysCompatible && valuesCompatible) {
+				for (Object entry : sourceMap.entrySet()) {
+					Map.Entry<?, ?> mapEntry = (Map.Entry<?, ?>) entry;
+					props.setProperty((String) mapEntry.getKey(), (String) mapEntry.getValue());
+				}
+				return store(props);
+			} else {
+				MapEntryConverter converter = new MapEntryConverter(sourceKeyType, sourceValueType, targetType,
+						targetType, keysCompatible, valuesCompatible, this.conversionService);
+				for (Object entry : sourceMap.entrySet()) {
+					Map.Entry<?, ?> mapEntry = (Map.Entry<?, ?>) entry;
+					Object key = converter.convertKey(mapEntry.getKey());
+					Object value = converter.convertValue(mapEntry.getValue());
+					props.setProperty((String) key, (String) value);
+				}
+				return store(props);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	private String store(Properties props) {
+		try {
+			ByteArrayOutputStream os = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+			props.store(os, null);
+			return os.toString("ISO-8859-1");
+		} catch (IOException e) {
+			// Should never happen.
+			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Failed to store [" + props + "] into String", e);
+		}
+	}
+
+}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/ObjectToArrayConverter.java

@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
-import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 
 /**
  * Converts from a single Object to an array.
@@ -53,40 +52,19 @@ final class ObjectToArrayConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
 		if (source == null) {
 			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
-		}		
+		}
 		TypeDescriptor targetElementType = targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
-		if (sourceType.typeEquals(String.class)) {
-			String string = (String) source;
-			String[] fields = StringUtils.commaDelimitedListToStringArray(string);
-			if (sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
-				return fields;
-			}
-			else {
-				Object target = Array.newInstance(targetElementType.getType(), fields.length);
-				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				if (converter == null) {
-					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				}
-				for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
-					Array.set(target, i, invokeConverter(converter, fields[i], sourceType, targetElementType));
-				}
-				return target;
+		Object target = Array.newInstance(targetElementType.getType(), 1);
+		if (sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
+			Array.set(target, 0, source);
+		} else {
+			GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			if (converter == null) {
+				throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
 			}
+			Array.set(target, 0, invokeConverter(converter, source, sourceType, targetElementType));
 		}
-		else {
-			Object target = Array.newInstance(targetElementType.getType(), 1);
-			if (sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
-				Array.set(target, 0, source);
-			}
-			else {
-				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				if (converter == null) {
-					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				}
-				Array.set(target, 0, invokeConverter(converter, source, sourceType, targetElementType));
-			}
-			return target;
-		}
+		return target;
 	}
 
 }

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/ObjectToCollectionConverter.java

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
 import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
-import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 
 /**
  * Converts from a single Object to a Collection.
@@ -52,48 +51,22 @@ final class ObjectToCollectionConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 	}
 
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {		
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
 		if (source == null) {
 			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
 		}
+		Collection target = CollectionFactory.createCollection(targetType.getType(), 1);
 		TypeDescriptor targetElementType = targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
-		if (sourceType.typeEquals(String.class)) {
-			String string = (String) source;
-			String[] fields = StringUtils.commaDelimitedListToStringArray(string);
-			Collection target = CollectionFactory.createCollection(targetType.getType(), fields.length);
-			if (targetElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
-				for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
-					target.add(fields[i]);				
-				}
+		if (targetElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
+			target.add(source);
+		} else {
+			GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			if (converter == null) {
+				throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
 			}
-			else {
-				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				if (converter == null) {
-					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				}
-				for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
-					String sourceElement = fields[i];
-					Object targetElement = invokeConverter(converter, sourceElement, sourceType, targetElementType);
-					target.add(targetElement);				
-				}
-			}
-			return target;
-
-		}
-		else {
-			Collection target = CollectionFactory.createCollection(targetType.getType(), 1);			
-			if (targetElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
-				target.add(source);
-			}
-			else {
-				GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				if (converter == null) {
-					throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
-				}
-				target.add(invokeConverter(converter, source, sourceType, targetElementType));
-			}
-			return target;
+			target.add(invokeConverter(converter, source, sourceType, targetElementType));
 		}
+		return target;
 	}
 
 }

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/ObjectToMapConverter.java

@@ -16,10 +16,8 @@
 
 package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
 
-import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Properties;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.springframework.core.CollectionFactory;
@@ -45,8 +43,8 @@ final class ObjectToMapConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 	}
 
 	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
-		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor()) &&
-			this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor());
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor())
+				&& this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor());
 	}
 
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
@@ -54,44 +52,27 @@ final class ObjectToMapConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
 		if (source == null) {
 			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
 		}
-		if (sourceType.typeEquals(String.class)) {
-			String string = (String) source;
-			return this.conversionService.convert(loadProperties(string), TypeDescriptor.valueOf(Properties.class), targetType);
+		Map target = CollectionFactory.createMap(targetType.getType(), 1);
+		TypeDescriptor targetKeyType = targetType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor();
+		TypeDescriptor targetValueType = targetType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor();
+		boolean keysCompatible = false;
+		if (sourceType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetKeyType)) {
+			keysCompatible = true;
+		}
+		boolean valuesCompatible = false;
+		if (sourceType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetValueType)) {
+			valuesCompatible = true;
+		}
+		if (keysCompatible && valuesCompatible) {
+			target.put(source, source);
 		} else {
-			Map target = CollectionFactory.createMap(targetType.getType(), 1);
-			TypeDescriptor targetKeyType = targetType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor();
-			TypeDescriptor targetValueType = targetType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor();
-			boolean keysCompatible = false;
-			if (sourceType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetKeyType)) {
-				keysCompatible = true;
-			}
-			boolean valuesCompatible = false;
-			if (sourceType != TypeDescriptor.NULL && sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetValueType)) {
-				valuesCompatible = true;
-			}
-			if (keysCompatible && valuesCompatible) {
-				target.put(source, source);
-			} else {
-				MapEntryConverter converter = new MapEntryConverter(sourceType, sourceType, targetKeyType,
-						targetValueType, keysCompatible, valuesCompatible, this.conversionService);
-				Object key = converter.convertKey(source);
-				Object value = converter.convertValue(source);
-				target.put(key, value);
-			}
-			return target;
-		}
-	}
-
-	private Properties loadProperties(String string) {
-		try {
-			Properties props = new Properties();
-			// Must use the ISO-8859-1 encoding because Properties.load(stream) expects it.
-			props.load(new ByteArrayInputStream(string.getBytes("ISO-8859-1")));
-			return props;
-		} catch (Exception e) {
-			// Should never happen.
-			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Failed to parse [" + string + "] into Properties", e);
+			MapEntryConverter converter = new MapEntryConverter(sourceType, sourceType, targetKeyType, targetValueType,
+					keysCompatible, valuesCompatible, this.conversionService);
+			Object key = converter.convertKey(source);
+			Object value = converter.convertValue(source);
+			target.put(key, value);
 		}
+		return target;
 	}
 
 }

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/StringToArrayConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.invokeConverter;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.Array;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from a delimited String to an array.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class StringToArrayConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
+
+	public StringToArrayConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.conversionService = conversionService;
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(String.class, Object[].class));
+	}
+
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor());
+	}
+
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		if (source == null) {
+			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
+		}		
+		String string = (String) source;
+		String[] fields = StringUtils.commaDelimitedListToStringArray(string);
+		TypeDescriptor targetElementType = targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
+		if (sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
+			return fields;
+		}
+		else {
+			Object target = Array.newInstance(targetElementType.getType(), fields.length);
+			GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			if (converter == null) {
+				throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			}
+			for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
+				Array.set(target, i, invokeConverter(converter, fields[i], sourceType, targetElementType));
+			}
+			return target;
+		}
+	}
+
+}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/StringToCollectionConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import static org.springframework.core.convert.support.ConversionUtils.invokeConverter;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.CollectionFactory;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.ConverterNotFoundException;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.GenericConverter;
+import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from a String to a Collection.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class StringToCollectionConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
+
+	public StringToCollectionConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.conversionService = conversionService;
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(String.class, Collection.class));
+	}
+
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor());
+	}
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {		
+		if (source == null) {
+			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
+		}
+		String string = (String) source;
+		String[] fields = StringUtils.commaDelimitedListToStringArray(string);
+		Collection target = CollectionFactory.createCollection(targetType.getType(), fields.length);
+		TypeDescriptor targetElementType = targetType.getElementTypeDescriptor();
+		if (targetElementType == TypeDescriptor.NULL || sourceType.isAssignableTo(targetElementType)) {
+			for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
+				target.add(fields[i]);				
+			}
+		}
+		else {
+			GenericConverter converter = this.conversionService.getConverter(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			if (converter == null) {
+				throw new ConverterNotFoundException(sourceType, targetElementType);
+			}
+			for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
+				String sourceElement = fields[i];
+				Object targetElement = invokeConverter(converter, sourceElement, sourceType, targetElementType);
+				target.add(targetElement);				
+			}
+		}
+		return target;
+	}
+
+}

org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/convert/support/StringToMapConverter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 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.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.core.convert.support;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Properties;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.ConditionalGenericConverter;
+
+/**
+ * Converts from a String to a Map.
+ *
+ * @author Keith Donald
+ * @since 3.0
+ */
+final class StringToMapConverter implements ConditionalGenericConverter {
+
+	private final GenericConversionService conversionService;
+
+	public StringToMapConverter(GenericConversionService conversionService) {
+		this.conversionService = conversionService;
+	}
+
+	public Set<ConvertiblePair> getConvertibleTypes() {
+		return Collections.singleton(new ConvertiblePair(String.class, Map.class));
+	}
+
+	public boolean matches(TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		return this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapKeyTypeDescriptor()) &&
+			this.conversionService.canConvert(sourceType, targetType.getMapValueTypeDescriptor());
+	}
+
+	public Object convert(Object source, TypeDescriptor sourceType, TypeDescriptor targetType) {
+		if (source == null) {
+			return this.conversionService.convertNullSource(sourceType, targetType);
+		}
+		String string = (String) source;
+		return this.conversionService.convert(loadProperties(string), TypeDescriptor.valueOf(Properties.class), targetType);
+	}
+
+	private Properties loadProperties(String string) {
+		try {
+			Properties props = new Properties();
+			// Must use the ISO-8859-1 encoding because Properties.load(stream) expects it.
+			props.load(new ByteArrayInputStream(string.getBytes("ISO-8859-1")));
+			return props;
+		} catch (Exception e) {
+			// Should never happen.
+			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Failed to parse [" + string + "] into Properties", e);
+		}
+	}
+
+}