Fix sonar and checkstyle issues in distribution

* Fixing all check style issues.
* Fixing all sonar issues.
* Adding maven check style plugin to fail at warning level.

Change-Id: I791b8feef39a3a0c3e1e250efea7b6e78208bf07
Issue-ID: POLICY-1035
Signed-off-by: ramverma <ram.krishna.verma@ericsson.com>

12 files changed, 486 insertions, 406 deletions

diff --git a/reception/pom.xml b/reception/pom.xml
index b0b07012..f8924036 100644
--- a/reception/pom.xml
+++ b/reception/pom.xml
@@ -44,13 +44,8 @@
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.onap.policy.common</groupId>
-            <artifactId>common-parameters</artifactId>
-            <version>1.3.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.onap.policy.common</groupId>
-            <artifactId>ONAP-Logging</artifactId>
-            <version>1.3.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+            <artifactId>utils</artifactId>
+            <version>${policy.common.version}</version>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PluginInitializationException.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PluginInitializationException.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4dd36a7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PluginInitializationException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*-
+ * ============LICENSE_START=======================================================
+ *  Copyright (C) 2018 Ericsson. All rights reserved.
+ * ================================================================================
+ * 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
+ * ============LICENSE_END=========================================================
+ */
+
+package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding;
+
+/**
+ * This exception will be called if an error occurs while initializing distribution plugins.
+ *
+ * @author Ram Krishna Verma (ram.krishna.verma@ericsson.com)
+ */
+public class PluginInitializationException extends Exception {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 3809376274411309160L;
+
+    /**
+     * Construct an instance with the given message.
+     *
+     * @param message the error message
+     */
+    public PluginInitializationException(final String message) {
+        super(message);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Construct an instance with the given message and cause.
+     *
+     * @param message the error message
+     * @param cause the cause
+     */
+    public PluginInitializationException(final String message, final Throwable cause) {
+        super(message, cause);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyDecoder.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyDecoder.java
index 8306b630..2a07ec72 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyDecoder.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyDecoder.java
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@
  * 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
  * ============LICENSE_END=========================================================
  */
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
+
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.Policy;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.PolicyInput;
 
@@ -34,15 +35,15 @@ public interface PolicyDecoder<S extends PolicyInput, T extends Policy> {
 
     /**
      * Can the decoder handle input of the specified type.
-     * 
+     *
      * @param policyInput the type
-     * @return <code>true</code if the decoder can handle the specified type
+     * @return <code>true</code> if the decoder can handle the specified type
      */
     boolean canHandle(PolicyInput policyInput);
 
     /**
-     * Decode policies from the given input
-     * 
+     * Decode policies from the given input.
+     *
      * @param input the input
      * @return the generated policies
      * @throws PolicyDecodingException if an error occurs during decoding
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandler.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandler.java
index eeb1ead1..b189a2ab 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandler.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandler.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwarder;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwardingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.Policy;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.PolicyInput;
+import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PluginInitializationException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecoder;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecodingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters.ReceptionHandlerParameters;
@@ -45,8 +46,11 @@ public abstract class AbstractReceptionHandler implements ReceptionHandler {
 
     private PluginHandler pluginHandler;
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
     @Override
-    public void initialize(final String parameterGroupName) throws PolicyDecodingException, PolicyForwardingException {
+    public void initialize(final String parameterGroupName) throws PluginInitializationException {
         final ReceptionHandlerParameters receptionHandlerParameters =
                 (ReceptionHandlerParameters) ParameterService.get(parameterGroupName);
         pluginHandler = new PluginHandler(receptionHandlerParameters.getPluginHandlerParameters().getName());
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/PluginHandler.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/PluginHandler.java
index 37638b59..eb1a33a5 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/PluginHandler.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/PluginHandler.java
@@ -28,12 +28,11 @@ import org.onap.policy.common.logging.flexlogger.FlexLogger;
 import org.onap.policy.common.logging.flexlogger.Logger;
 import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ParameterService;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwarder;
-import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwardingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.parameters.PolicyForwarderParameters;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.Policy;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.PolicyInput;
+import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PluginInitializationException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecoder;
-import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecodingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters.PluginHandlerParameters;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters.PolicyDecoderParameters;
 
@@ -51,10 +50,9 @@ public class PluginHandler {
      * Create an instance to instantiate plugins based on the given parameter group.
      *
      * @param parameterGroupName the name of the parameter group
-     * @throws PolicyDecodingException exception if it occurs
-     * @throws PolicyForwardingException exception if it occurs
+     * @throws PluginInitializationException exception if it occurs
      */
-    public PluginHandler(final String parameterGroupName) throws PolicyDecodingException, PolicyForwardingException {
+    public PluginHandler(final String parameterGroupName) throws PluginInitializationException {
         final PluginHandlerParameters params = (PluginHandlerParameters) ParameterService.get(parameterGroupName);
         initializePolicyDecoders(params.getPolicyDecoders());
         initializePolicyForwarders(params.getPolicyForwarders());
@@ -82,11 +80,11 @@ public class PluginHandler {
      * Initialize policy decoders.
      *
      * @param policyDecoderParameters exception if it occurs
-     * @throws PolicyDecodingException exception if it occurs
+     * @throws PluginInitializationException exception if it occurs
      */
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     private void initializePolicyDecoders(final Map<String, PolicyDecoderParameters> policyDecoderParameters)
-            throws PolicyDecodingException {
+            throws PluginInitializationException {
         policyDecoders = new ArrayList<>();
         for (final PolicyDecoderParameters decoderParameters : policyDecoderParameters.values()) {
             try {
@@ -97,7 +95,7 @@ public class PluginHandler {
                 policyDecoders.add(decoder);
             } catch (final ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException exp) {
                 LOGGER.error("exception occured while initializing decoders", exp);
-                throw new PolicyDecodingException(exp.getMessage(), exp.getCause());
+                throw new PluginInitializationException(exp.getMessage(), exp.getCause());
             }
         }
     }
@@ -106,11 +104,11 @@ public class PluginHandler {
      * Initialize policy forwarders.
      *
      * @param policyForwarderParameters exception if it occurs
-     * @throws PolicyForwardingException exception if it occurs
+     * @throws PluginInitializationException exception if it occurs
      */
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     private void initializePolicyForwarders(final Map<String, PolicyForwarderParameters> policyForwarderParameters)
-            throws PolicyForwardingException {
+            throws PluginInitializationException {
         policyForwarders = new ArrayList<>();
         for (final PolicyForwarderParameters forwarderParameters : policyForwarderParameters.values()) {
             try {
@@ -119,7 +117,7 @@ public class PluginHandler {
                 policyForwarders.add(policyForwarderClass.newInstance());
             } catch (final ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException exp) {
                 LOGGER.error("exception occured while initializing forwarders", exp);
-                throw new PolicyForwardingException(exp.getMessage(), exp.getCause());
+                throw new PluginInitializationException(exp.getMessage(), exp.getCause());
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/ReceptionHandler.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/ReceptionHandler.java
index 5f2e3716..5fcfb9c0 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/ReceptionHandler.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/ReceptionHandler.java
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 
 package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.handling;
 
-import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwardingException;
-import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecodingException;
+import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PluginInitializationException;
 
 /**
  * Handles input into Policy Distribution which may be decoded into a Policy.
@@ -32,10 +31,9 @@ public interface ReceptionHandler {
      * Initialize the reception handler with the given parameters.
      *
      * @param parameterGroupName the name of the parameter group containing the configuration for the reception handler
-     * @throws PolicyDecodingException exception if it occurs
-     * @throws PolicyForwardingException exception if it occurs
+     * @throws PluginInitializationException exception if it occurs
      */
-    void initialize(String parameterGroupName) throws PolicyDecodingException, PolicyForwardingException;
+    void initialize(String parameterGroupName) throws PluginInitializationException;
 
     /**
      * Destroy the reception handler, removing any subscriptions and releasing all resources.
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 529cc9e4..00000000
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,362 +0,0 @@
-/*-
- * ============LICENSE_START=======================================================
- *  Copyright (C) 2018 Intel. All rights reserved.
- * ================================================================================
- * 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
- * ============LICENSE_END=========================================================
- */
-
-package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters;
-
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.UUID;
-
-import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.GroupValidationResult;
-import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ParameterGroup;
-import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ValidationStatus;
-
-/**
- * This class handles reading, parsing and validating of the Policy SDC Service Distribution parameters from Json
- * format, which strictly adheres to the interface:IConfiguration, defined by SDC SDK.
- */
-public class PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup implements ParameterGroup {
-
-    // Policy SDC Service Distribution specified field.
-    private String name;
-
-    // Interface of IConfiguration item
-    private String asdcAddress;
-    private List<String> messageBusAddress;
-    private String user;
-    private String password;
-    private int pollingInterval;
-    private int pollingTimeout;
-    private String consumerId;
-    private List<String> artifactTypes;
-    private String consumerGroup;
-    private String environmentName;
-    private String keystorePath;
-    private String keystorePassword;
-    private boolean activeserverTlsAuth;
-    private boolean isFilterinEmptyResources;
-    private Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
-
-    /**
-     *Inner static class is to used as a Builder
-     *
-     */
-    public static class PSSDConfigurationBuilder {
-        private String asdcAddress;
-        private List<String> messageBusAddress;
-        private String user;
-        private String password;
-        private int pollingInterval;
-        private int pollingTimeout;
-        private String consumerId;
-        private List<String> artifactTypes;
-        private String consumerGroup;
-        private String environmentName;
-        private String keystorePath;
-        private String keystorePassword;
-        private boolean activeserverTlsAuth;
-        private boolean isFilterinEmptyResources;
-        private Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setAsdcAddress(String val) { 
-            asdcAddress = val;      
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setMessageBusAddress(List<String> val) { 
-            messageBusAddress = val;           
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setUser(String val) { 
-            user = val;  
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setPassword(String val) { 
-            password = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setPollingInterval(int val) { 
-            pollingInterval = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setPollingTimeout(int val) { 
-            pollingTimeout = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setConsumerId(String val) { 
-            consumerId = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setArtifactTypes(List<String>  val) { 
-            artifactTypes = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setConsumerGroup(String val) { 
-            consumerGroup = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setEnvironmentName(String val) { 
-            environmentName = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setKeystorePath(String val) { 
-            keystorePath = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setKeystorePassword(String val) { 
-            keystorePassword = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setActiveserverTlsAuth(boolean val) { 
-            activeserverTlsAuth = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setIsFilterinEmptyResources(boolean val) { 
-            isFilterinEmptyResources = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        public PSSDConfigurationBuilder setIsUseHttpsWithDmaap(Boolean val) { 
-            isUseHttpsWithDmaap = val;        
-            return this; 
-        }
-
-        /**
-         * it is to create a new PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup instance.
-         */
-        public PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup build() {
-            return new PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup(this);
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * The constructor for instantiating PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup it is a private
-     * so that it could ONLY be instantiated by PSSDConfigurationBuilder
-     *
-     * @param builder stores all the values used by PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup
-     */
-    private PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup(PSSDConfigurationBuilder builder) {
-        asdcAddress  = builder.asdcAddress;
-        messageBusAddress     = builder.messageBusAddress;
-        user     = builder.user;
-        password          = builder.password;
-        pollingInterval       = builder.pollingInterval;
-        pollingTimeout = builder.pollingTimeout;
-        consumerId = builder.consumerId;
-        artifactTypes = builder.artifactTypes;
-        consumerGroup = builder.consumerGroup;
-        environmentName = builder.environmentName;
-        keystorePath = builder.keystorePath;
-        keystorePassword = builder.keystorePassword;
-        activeserverTlsAuth = builder.activeserverTlsAuth;
-        isFilterinEmptyResources = builder.isFilterinEmptyResources;
-        isUseHttpsWithDmaap  = builder.isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
-        
-    }
-    
-    public String getAsdcAddress() {
-        return asdcAddress;
-    }
-
-    public List<String> getMsgBusAddress() {
-        return messageBusAddress;
-    }
-
-    public String getUser() {
-        return user;
-    }
-
-    public String getPassword() {
-        return password;
-    }
-
-    public int getPollingInterval() {
-        return pollingInterval;
-    }
-
-    public int getPollingTimeout() {
-        return pollingTimeout;
-    }
-
-    public String getConsumerID() {
-        return consumerId;
-    }
-
-    public List<String> getArtifactTypes() {
-        return artifactTypes;
-    }
-
-    public String getConsumerGroup() {
-        return consumerGroup;
-    }
-
-    public String getEnvironmentName() {
-        return environmentName;
-    }
-
-    public String getKeyStorePassword() {
-        return keystorePassword;
-    }
-
-    public String getKeyStorePath() {
-        return keystorePath;
-    }
-
-    public boolean activateServerTLSAuth() {
-        return activeserverTlsAuth;
-    }
-
-    public boolean isFilterInEmptyResources() {
-        return isFilterinEmptyResources;
-    }
-
-    public Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap() {
-        return isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
-    }
-    
-    /**
-     * Return a string representation of the object
-     *
-     * @return textually represents this object
-     */
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-        return "name =" + name + ",TestParameters:[asdcAddress = " + asdcAddress + ", messageBusAddress = "
-                + messageBusAddress + ", user = " + user + "]";
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Return the name of this parameter group instance
-     *
-     * @return name the parameter group name
-     */
-    @Override
-    public String getName() {
-        return name ;
-    }
-
-    /** 
-     * Validate all the int Elements 
-     *
-     */
-    private void validateIntElement(final GroupValidationResult validationResult) {
-        if (pollingInterval <= 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("pollingInterval", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "pollingInterval must be a positive integer");
-        }
-
-        if (pollingTimeout <= 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("pollingTimeout", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "pollingTimeout must be a positive integer");
-        }
-    }
-
-    /** 
-     * Validate all the String List Elements 
-     *
-     */
-    private void validateStringListElement(final GroupValidationResult validationResult) {
-        if (messageBusAddress == null) {
-            validationResult.setResult("messageBusAddress", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "messageBusAddress must be a list of non-blank string");
-        } else {
-            for (final String temp : messageBusAddress) {
-                if (temp.trim().length() == 0) {
-                    validationResult.setResult("messageBusAddress", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                            "the string of messageBusAddress must be a non-blank string");
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        if (artifactTypes == null) {
-            validationResult.setResult("artifactTypes", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "artifactTypes must be a list of non-blank string");
-        } else {
-            for (final String temp : artifactTypes) {
-                if (temp.trim().length() == 0) {
-                    validationResult.setResult("artifactTypes", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                            "the string of artifactTypes must be a non-blank string");
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Validate the parameter group
-     * @return the result of the validation
-     */
-    @Override
-    public GroupValidationResult validate() {
-        final GroupValidationResult validationResult = new GroupValidationResult(this);
-        
-        if (asdcAddress == null || asdcAddress.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("asdcAddress", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "asdcAddress must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        if (user == null || user.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("user", ValidationStatus.INVALID, "user must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        if (consumerId == null || consumerId.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("consumerId", ValidationStatus.INVALID, "consumerId must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        if (consumerGroup == null || consumerGroup.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("consumerGroup", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "consumerGroup must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        if (keystorePath == null || keystorePath.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("keystorePath", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "keystorePath must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        if (keystorePassword == null || keystorePassword.trim().length() == 0) {
-            validationResult.setResult("keystorePassword", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
-                    "keystorePassword must be a non-blank string");
-        }
-
-        validateIntElement(validationResult);
-        validateStringListElement(validationResult);
-        return validationResult;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Set the name of this group.
-     *
-     * @param name the name to set.
-     */
-    public void setName(final String name) {
-        this.name = name + "_" + UUID.randomUUID().toString();
-    }
-}
-
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PolicyDecoderParameters.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PolicyDecoderParameters.java
index 6157b8b6..2d60b85e 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PolicyDecoderParameters.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PolicyDecoderParameters.java
@@ -67,14 +67,16 @@ public class PolicyDecoderParameters implements ParameterGroup {
         return decoderClassName;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
     @Override
     public String getName() {
         return null;
     }
 
     /**
-     * Validate the policy decoder parameters.
-     *
+     * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     @Override
     public GroupValidationResult validate() {
@@ -95,7 +97,7 @@ public class PolicyDecoderParameters implements ParameterGroup {
         try {
             Class.forName(decoderClassName);
         } catch (final ClassNotFoundException exp) {
-            LOGGER.error("policy decoder class not found in classpath", exp);
+            LOGGER.trace("policy decoder class not found in classpath", exp);
             validationResult.setResult("decoderClassName", ValidationStatus.INVALID,
                     "policy decoder class not found in classpath");
         }
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PssdConfigurationParametersGroup.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PssdConfigurationParametersGroup.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..93e3f628
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/PssdConfigurationParametersGroup.java
@@ -0,0 +1,343 @@
+/*-
+ * ============LICENSE_START=======================================================
+ *  Copyright (C) 2018 Intel. All rights reserved.
+ * ================================================================================
+ * 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
+ * ============LICENSE_END=========================================================
+ */
+
+package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.UUID;
+
+import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.GroupValidationResult;
+import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ParameterGroup;
+import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ValidationStatus;
+import org.onap.policy.common.utils.validation.ParameterValidationUtils;
+
+/**
+ * This class handles reading, parsing and validating of the Policy SDC Service Distribution parameters from Json
+ * format, which strictly adheres to the interface:IConfiguration, defined by SDC SDK.
+ */
+public class PssdConfigurationParametersGroup implements ParameterGroup {
+
+    // Policy SDC Service Distribution specified field.
+    private String name;
+
+    // Interface of IConfiguration item
+    private String asdcAddress;
+    private List<String> messageBusAddress;
+    private String user;
+    private String password;
+    private int pollingInterval;
+    private int pollingTimeout;
+    private String consumerId;
+    private List<String> artifactTypes;
+    private String consumerGroup;
+    private String environmentName;
+    private String keystorePath;
+    private String keystorePassword;
+    private boolean activeserverTlsAuth;
+    private boolean isFilterinEmptyResources;
+    private Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
+
+    /**
+     * Inner static class is to used as a Builder.
+     *
+     */
+    public static class PssdConfigurationBuilder {
+        private String asdcAddress;
+        private List<String> messageBusAddress;
+        private String user;
+        private String password;
+        private int pollingInterval;
+        private int pollingTimeout;
+        private String consumerId;
+        private List<String> artifactTypes;
+        private String consumerGroup;
+        private String environmentName;
+        private String keystorePath;
+        private String keystorePassword;
+        private boolean activeserverTlsAuth;
+        private boolean isFilterinEmptyResources;
+        private Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setAsdcAddress(final String val) {
+            asdcAddress = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setMessageBusAddress(final List<String> val) {
+            messageBusAddress = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setUser(final String val) {
+            user = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setPassword(final String val) {
+            password = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setPollingInterval(final int val) {
+            pollingInterval = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setPollingTimeout(final int val) {
+            pollingTimeout = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setConsumerId(final String val) {
+            consumerId = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setArtifactTypes(final List<String> val) {
+            artifactTypes = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setConsumerGroup(final String val) {
+            consumerGroup = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setEnvironmentName(final String val) {
+            environmentName = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setKeystorePath(final String val) {
+            keystorePath = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setKeystorePassword(final String val) {
+            keystorePassword = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setActiveserverTlsAuth(final boolean val) {
+            activeserverTlsAuth = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setIsFilterinEmptyResources(final boolean val) {
+            isFilterinEmptyResources = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public PssdConfigurationBuilder setIsUseHttpsWithDmaap(final Boolean val) {
+            isUseHttpsWithDmaap = val;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Creates a new PssdConfigurationParametersGroup instance.
+         */
+        public PssdConfigurationParametersGroup build() {
+            return new PssdConfigurationParametersGroup(this);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The constructor for instantiating PssdConfigurationParametersGroup. It is kept private so that it could only be
+     * called by PssdConfigurationBuilder.
+     *
+     * @param builder stores all the values used by PssdConfigurationParametersGroup
+     */
+    private PssdConfigurationParametersGroup(final PssdConfigurationBuilder builder) {
+        asdcAddress = builder.asdcAddress;
+        messageBusAddress = builder.messageBusAddress;
+        user = builder.user;
+        password = builder.password;
+        pollingInterval = builder.pollingInterval;
+        pollingTimeout = builder.pollingTimeout;
+        consumerId = builder.consumerId;
+        artifactTypes = builder.artifactTypes;
+        consumerGroup = builder.consumerGroup;
+        environmentName = builder.environmentName;
+        keystorePath = builder.keystorePath;
+        keystorePassword = builder.keystorePassword;
+        activeserverTlsAuth = builder.activeserverTlsAuth;
+        isFilterinEmptyResources = builder.isFilterinEmptyResources;
+        isUseHttpsWithDmaap = builder.isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
+
+    }
+
+    public String getAsdcAddress() {
+        return asdcAddress;
+    }
+
+    public List<String> getMsgBusAddress() {
+        return messageBusAddress;
+    }
+
+    public String getUser() {
+        return user;
+    }
+
+    public String getPassword() {
+        return password;
+    }
+
+    public int getPollingInterval() {
+        return pollingInterval;
+    }
+
+    public int getPollingTimeout() {
+        return pollingTimeout;
+    }
+
+    public String getConsumerID() {
+        return consumerId;
+    }
+
+    public List<String> getArtifactTypes() {
+        return artifactTypes;
+    }
+
+    public String getConsumerGroup() {
+        return consumerGroup;
+    }
+
+    public String getEnvironmentName() {
+        return environmentName;
+    }
+
+    public String getKeyStorePassword() {
+        return keystorePassword;
+    }
+
+    public String getKeyStorePath() {
+        return keystorePath;
+    }
+
+    public boolean activateServerTLSAuth() {
+        return activeserverTlsAuth;
+    }
+
+    public boolean isFilterInEmptyResources() {
+        return isFilterinEmptyResources;
+    }
+
+    public Boolean isUseHttpsWithDmaap() {
+        return isUseHttpsWithDmaap;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return "name =" + name + ",TestParameters:[asdcAddress = " + asdcAddress + ", messageBusAddress = "
+                + messageBusAddress + ", user = " + user + "]";
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    @Override
+    public String getName() {
+        return name;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Set the name of this group.
+     *
+     * @param name the name to set.
+     */
+    public void setName(final String name) {
+        this.name = name + "_" + UUID.randomUUID().toString();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    @Override
+    public GroupValidationResult validate() {
+        final GroupValidationResult validationResult = new GroupValidationResult(this);
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, asdcAddress, "asdcAddress");
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, user, "user");
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, consumerId, "consumerId");
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, consumerGroup, "consumerGroup");
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, keystorePath, "keystorePath");
+        validateStringElement(validationResult, keystorePassword, "keystorePassword");
+        validateIntElement(validationResult, pollingInterval, "pollingInterval");
+        validateIntElement(validationResult, pollingTimeout, "pollingTimeout");
+        validateStringListElement(validationResult, messageBusAddress, "messageBusAddress");
+        validateStringListElement(validationResult, artifactTypes, "artifactTypes");
+        return validationResult;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Validate the integer Element.
+     *
+     * @param validationResult the result object
+     * @param element the element to validate
+     * @param elementName the element name for error message
+     */
+    private void validateIntElement(final GroupValidationResult validationResult, final int element,
+            final String elementName) {
+        if (!ParameterValidationUtils.validateIntParameter(element)) {
+            validationResult.setResult(elementName, ValidationStatus.INVALID,
+                    elementName + " must be a positive integer");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Validate the String List Element.
+     *
+     * @param validationResult the result object
+     * @param element the element to validate
+     * @param elementName the element name for error message
+     */
+    private void validateStringListElement(final GroupValidationResult validationResult, final List<String> element,
+            final String elementName) {
+        if (element == null) {
+            validationResult.setResult(elementName, ValidationStatus.INVALID,
+                    elementName + " must be a list of non-blank string");
+        } else {
+            for (final String temp : element) {
+                if (!ParameterValidationUtils.validateStringParameter(temp)) {
+                    validationResult.setResult(elementName, ValidationStatus.INVALID,
+                            "the string of " + elementName + "must be a non-blank string");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Validate the string element.
+     *
+     * @param validationResult the result object
+     * @param element the element to validate
+     * @param elementName the element name for error message
+     */
+    private void validateStringElement(final GroupValidationResult validationResult, final String element,
+            final String elementName) {
+        if (!ParameterValidationUtils.validateStringParameter(asdcAddress)) {
+            validationResult.setResult(elementName, ValidationStatus.INVALID,
+                    elementName + " must be a non-blank string");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/ReceptionHandlerParameters.java b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/ReceptionHandlerParameters.java
index 93a02b3b..6464eeb6 100644
--- a/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/ReceptionHandlerParameters.java
+++ b/reception/src/main/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/parameters/ReceptionHandlerParameters.java
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public class ReceptionHandlerParameters implements ParameterGroup {
     private String name;
     private String receptionHandlerType;
     private String receptionHandlerClassName;
-    private PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup pssdConfiguration;
+    private PssdConfigurationParametersGroup pssdConfiguration;
     private PluginHandlerParameters pluginHandlerParameters;
 
     /**
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ public class ReceptionHandlerParameters implements ParameterGroup {
      * @param pluginHandlerParameters the plugin handler parameters
      */
     public ReceptionHandlerParameters(final String receptionHandlerType, final String receptionHandlerClassName, 
-                                      final PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup pssdConfiguration, 
+                                      final PssdConfigurationParametersGroup pssdConfiguration, 
                                       final PluginHandlerParameters pluginHandlerParameters) {
         this.receptionHandlerType = receptionHandlerType;
         this.receptionHandlerClassName = receptionHandlerClassName;
@@ -76,11 +76,11 @@ public class ReceptionHandlerParameters implements ParameterGroup {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Return the PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup of this ReceptionHandlerParameters instance.
+     * Return the PssdConfigurationParametersGroup of this ReceptionHandlerParameters instance.
      *
-     * @return the PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup
+     * @return the PssdConfigurationParametersGroup
      */
-    public PSSDConfigurationParametersGroup getPSSDConfigurationParametersGroup() {
+    public PssdConfigurationParametersGroup getPssdConfigurationParametersGroup() {
         return pssdConfiguration;
     }
 
diff --git a/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyInitializationExceptionTest.java b/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyInitializationExceptionTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bf327554
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/decoding/PolicyInitializationExceptionTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*-
+ * ============LICENSE_START=======================================================
+ *  Copyright (C) 2016-2018 Ericsson. All rights reserved.
+ * ================================================================================
+ * 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
+ * ============LICENSE_END=========================================================
+ */
+
+package org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+/**
+ * Class to perform unit test of PluginInitializationException.
+ *
+ * @author Ram Krishna Verma (ram.krishna.verma@ericsson.com)
+ */
+public class PolicyInitializationExceptionTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void testPolicyInitializationExceptionString() {
+        final PluginInitializationException policyInitializationException =
+                new PluginInitializationException("error message");
+        assertEquals("error message", policyInitializationException.getMessage());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testPolicyInitializationExceptionStringThrowable() {
+        final Exception cause = new IllegalArgumentException();
+        final PluginInitializationException policyInitializationException =
+                new PluginInitializationException("error message", cause);
+        assertEquals("error message", policyInitializationException.getMessage());
+        assertEquals(cause, policyInitializationException.getCause());
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandlerTest.java b/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandlerTest.java
index bb9b542a..83fe5a45 100644
--- a/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandlerTest.java
+++ b/reception/src/test/java/org/onap/policy/distribution/reception/handling/AbstractReceptionHandlerTest.java
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ import java.util.Map;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.onap.policy.common.parameters.ParameterService;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwarder;
-import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.PolicyForwardingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.forwarding.parameters.PolicyForwarderParameters;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.Policy;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.model.PolicyInput;
+import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PluginInitializationException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecoder;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.decoding.PolicyDecodingException;
 import org.onap.policy.distribution.reception.parameters.PluginHandlerParameters;
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ public class AbstractReceptionHandlerTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testInputReceived() throws PolicyDecodingException, NoSuchFieldException, SecurityException,
-            IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PolicyForwardingException {
+            IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PluginInitializationException {
         final AbstractReceptionHandler handler = new DummyReceptionHandler();
 
         final Policy generatedPolicy1 = new DummyPolicy1();
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ public class AbstractReceptionHandlerTest {
 
     @Test(expected = PolicyDecodingException.class)
     public void testInputReceivedNoSupportingDecoder() throws PolicyDecodingException, NoSuchFieldException,
-            SecurityException, IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PolicyForwardingException {
+            SecurityException, IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PluginInitializationException {
         final AbstractReceptionHandler handler = new DummyReceptionHandler();
 
         final PolicyDecoder<PolicyInput, Policy> policyDecoder = new DummyDecoder(false, Collections.emptyList());
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public class AbstractReceptionHandlerTest {
 
     @Test(expected = PolicyDecodingException.class)
     public void testInputReceivedNoDecoder() throws PolicyDecodingException, NoSuchFieldException, SecurityException,
-            IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PolicyForwardingException {
+            IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, PluginInitializationException {
         final AbstractReceptionHandler handler = new DummyReceptionHandler();
 
         final DummyPolicyForwarder policyForwarder = new DummyPolicyForwarder();
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ public class AbstractReceptionHandlerTest {
     private void setUpPlugins(final AbstractReceptionHandler receptionHandler,
             final Collection<PolicyDecoder<PolicyInput, Policy>> decoders, final Collection<PolicyForwarder> forwarders)
             throws NoSuchFieldException, SecurityException, IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException,
-            PolicyDecodingException, PolicyForwardingException {
+            PluginInitializationException {
         final PluginHandlerParameters pluginParameters = getPluginHandlerParameters();
         pluginParameters.setName(DISTRIBUTION_GROUP);
         ParameterService.register(pluginParameters);