Refactor author/authors serialization for Component

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/generators/AbstractBomGenerator.java

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import org.cyclonedx.Format;
 import org.cyclonedx.Version;
 import org.cyclonedx.model.Bom;
+import org.cyclonedx.util.serializer.AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier;
 import org.cyclonedx.util.serializer.CustomSerializerModifier;
 import org.cyclonedx.util.serializer.EvidenceSerializer;
 import org.cyclonedx.util.serializer.ExternalReferenceSerializer;
@@ -93,6 +94,10 @@ protected void setupObjectMapper(boolean isXml) {
     hash1Module.addSerializer(new HashSerializer(version));
     mapper.registerModule(hash1Module);
 
+    SimpleModule authorsModule = new SimpleModule();
+    authorsModule.setSerializerModifier(new AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier(version));
+    mapper.registerModule(authorsModule);
+
     SimpleModule propertiesModule = new SimpleModule();
     propertiesModule.setSerializerModifier(new CustomSerializerModifier(isXml, version));
     mapper.registerModule(propertiesModule);

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/model/Component.java

@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonGetter;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonSetter;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonUnwrapped;
 import org.cyclonedx.Version;
 import org.cyclonedx.model.component.ModelCard;
@@ -223,7 +225,6 @@ public String getScopeName() {
     private Tags tags;
 
     @VersionFilter(Version.VERSION_16)
-    @JsonProperty("authors")
     private List<OrganizationalContact> authors;
 
     @VersionFilter(Version.VERSION_16)
@@ -258,10 +259,26 @@ public void setSupplier(OrganizationalEntity supplier) {
         this.supplier = supplier;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets the deprecated author field as a string.
+     * @return the author name as a string
+     * @deprecated since version 1.6, use {@link #getAuthors()} instead
+     */
+    @Deprecated
+    @JsonGetter("author")
+    @JacksonXmlProperty(localName = "author")
     public String getAuthor() {
         return author;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets the deprecated author field as a string.
+     * @param author the author name as a string
+     * @deprecated since version 1.6, use {@link #setAuthors(List)} instead
+     */
+    @Deprecated
+    @JsonSetter("author")
+    @JacksonXmlProperty(localName = "author")
     public void setAuthor(String author) {
         this.author = author;
     }
@@ -556,10 +573,24 @@ public void setTags(final Tags tags) {
         this.tags = tags;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets the component authors as a list of contacts.
+     * This replaces the deprecated string-based author field.
+     * @return the list of authors, or null if not set
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+    @JsonGetter("authors")
     public List<OrganizationalContact> getAuthors() {
         return authors;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets the component authors as a list of contacts.
+     * This replaces the deprecated string-based author field.
+     * @param authors the list of authors
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+    @JsonSetter("authors")
     public void setAuthors(final List<OrganizationalContact> authors) {
         this.authors = authors;
     }

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/model/OrganizationalContact.java

@@ -24,10 +24,12 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonPropertyOrder;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat.xml.annotation.JacksonXmlProperty;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat.xml.annotation.JacksonXmlRootElement;
 import org.cyclonedx.Version;
 
 import java.util.Objects;
 
+@JacksonXmlRootElement(localName = "author")
 @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
 @JsonInclude(Include.NON_EMPTY)
 @JsonPropertyOrder({"name", "email", "phone"})

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/util/introspector/VersionJsonAnnotationIntrospector.java

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ public boolean hasIgnoreMarker(final AnnotatedMember m) {
 
         // Check if the field has the XmlOnly annotation
         if (m.hasAnnotation(XmlOnly.class)) {
-            // If true, the field should be ignored for XML serialization
+            // If true, the field should be ignored for JSON serialization
             return true;
         }
 

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/util/serializer/AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier.java

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of CycloneDX Core (Java).
+ *
+ * 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.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ * Copyright (c) OWASP Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
+ */
+package org.cyclonedx.util.serializer;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.BeanDescription;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonSerializer;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.SerializationConfig;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.BeanPropertyWriter;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.BeanSerializerModifier;
+import org.cyclonedx.Version;
+import org.cyclonedx.model.Component;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+/**
+ * Bean serializer modifier for Component.authors field.
+ * Applies the AuthorsSerializer only to the authors field in Component class.
+ */
+public class AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier extends BeanSerializerModifier {
+    private final Version version;
+
+    public AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier(Version version) {
+        this.version = version;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<BeanPropertyWriter> changeProperties(
+            SerializationConfig config,
+            BeanDescription beanDesc,
+            List<BeanPropertyWriter> beanProperties) {
+
+        // Only modify Component class
+        if (Component.class.isAssignableFrom(beanDesc.getBeanClass())) {
+            java.util.Iterator<BeanPropertyWriter> iterator = beanProperties.iterator();
+            while (iterator.hasNext()) {
+                BeanPropertyWriter writer = iterator.next();
+                // Find the authors property
+                if ("authors".equals(writer.getName())) {
+                    // Check if the current version supports the authors field (v1.6+)
+                    if (version.getVersion() < Version.VERSION_16.getVersion()) {
+                        // Remove the property for versions earlier than 1.6
+                        iterator.remove();
+                    } else {
+                        // Assign the custom serializer for v1.6+
+                        JsonSerializer<?> serializer = new AuthorsSerializer();
+                        writer.assignSerializer((JsonSerializer<Object>) serializer);
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return beanProperties;
+    }
+}

src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/util/serializer/AuthorsSerializer.java

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of CycloneDX Core (Java).
+ *
+ * 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.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ * Copyright (c) OWASP Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
+ */
+package org.cyclonedx.util.serializer;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonGenerator;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.SerializerProvider;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.std.StdSerializer;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat.xml.ser.ToXmlGenerator;
+import org.cyclonedx.model.OrganizationalContact;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.List;
+
+/**
+ * Custom serializer for the Component.authors field to handle XML element naming.
+ * This serializer ensures that:
+ * - JSON: serializes as "authors": [...]
+ * - XML: serializes as authors-author
+ * This is necessary because the deprecated "author" field also uses author element,
+ * creating a naming conflict that standard Jackson annotations cannot resolve.
+ * Version filtering is handled by AuthorsBeanSerializerModifier, which removes this
+ * property entirely for versions prior to 1.6.
+ */
+public class AuthorsSerializer extends StdSerializer<List<OrganizationalContact>> {
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public AuthorsSerializer() {
+        super((Class<List<OrganizationalContact>>) (Class<?>) List.class);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void serialize(List<OrganizationalContact> authors, JsonGenerator gen, SerializerProvider serializers)
+            throws IOException {
+
+        if (authors == null || authors.isEmpty()) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Check if we're serializing to XML
+        if (gen instanceof ToXmlGenerator) {
+            ToXmlGenerator xmlGen = (ToXmlGenerator) gen;
+
+            // For XML: The property name "authors" creates the wrapper <authors>
+            // We need to write the array structure, and each item gets its own <author> tag
+            xmlGen.writeStartArray();
+            for (OrganizationalContact contact : authors) {
+                // Set the element name for this array item to "author"
+                xmlGen.setNextName(new javax.xml.namespace.QName("author"));
+                serializers.defaultSerializeValue(contact, xmlGen);
+            }
+            xmlGen.writeEndArray();
+        } else {
+            // For JSON, write as a standard array
+            gen.writeStartArray();
+            for (OrganizationalContact contact : authors) {
+                serializers.defaultSerializeValue(contact, gen);
+            }
+            gen.writeEndArray();
+        }
+    }
+}