Spring framework #Configurable vs #Configuration - spring

I seems have problem understanding these 2 annotation. I have try to read the javadocs but still cannot figure out. Can anyone help to explain with simple code about these 2 ?
Thank so much in advance.

You use #Configuration as a replacement to the XML based configuration for configuring spring beans. So instead of an xml file we write a class and annotate that with #Configuration and define the beans in it using #Bean annotation on the methods.
And finally you use AnnotationConfigApplicationContext to register this #Configuration class and thus spring manages the beans defined. Small example you can find at Spring Configuration Documentaion.
Quoting from the above link
It is just another way of configuration Indicates that a class declares
one or more #Bean methods and may be processed by the Spring container
to generate bean definitions and service requests for those beans at
runtime.
And #Configurable is an annotation that injects dependencies into objects that are not managed by Spring using aspectj libraries. i.e., you still use old way of instantiation with plain new operator to create objects but the spring will take care of injecting the dependencies into that object automatically for you.

#Configuration is the heart of the Java-based configuration mechanism and provides an alternative to XML-based configuration.
#Configuration classes are just like regular #Components classes, except that methods annotated with #Bean are used to factory beans.

Related

What class implements the spring framework Autowired

I downloaded the spring-framework project, because I want to see how #Autowired is implemented.
So, I got to this file, which is an interface.
But when I want in Intellij to go to its implementation, no implementations are found.
So is this interface not implemented?
Then where is the code for #Autowired?
Well, this is not an interface it is actually an annotation.
In java #inteface is used to create an annotation.
Once the annotation is created, you can use that annotation on fields, classes, methods (based on what is specified in #Target of the annotation definition.
Spring does package scanning and finds all the things which are using a particular annotation and does the required processing.
Use this article to undestand more in How an annotation is created, used and the how the annotation processor finds and processes the annotation.
#Autowired doesn't really have much code, so to speak. It's just an annotation which is a Java type of interface that provides instructions to other parts of the codebase.
#Autowired is only an annotation or you can say a "marker". Spring use reflection to identify annotation and do something about that annotated thing. For example with #Autowired, when spring found it, spring will inject the annotated property with eligible bean.

How SpringBoot dependency injection works with different type of annotations

I recently started exploring Spring Boot. I see that there are 2 ways to define Beans in Spring Boot.
Define #Bean in the class annotated with #SprinBootApplication
Define #Bean in a class annotated with #Configuration
I am also confused about stereo-type annotation #Repository #Service #Controller etc.
Can someone please explain how dependency-injection works with these annotations?
Yes it is possible.
Either you use #Bean in any of your #Configuration or #SpringBootApplication class or mark the bean classes explicitly with annotations like #Service, #Component #Repository etc.
#Service or #Component
When you mark a class with #Service or #Compoenent and if spring's annotation scanning scope allows it to reach to the package, spring will register the instances of those classes as spring beans.
You can provide the packages to be included/excluded during scan with #ComponentScan
#Bean
#Beans are marked on factory methods which can create an instance of a particular class.
#Bean
public Account getAccount(){
return new DailyAccount();
}
Now in you application you can simply #Autowire Account and spring will internally call its factory method getAccount, which in turn returns an instance of DailyAccount.
There is a simple difference of using #Bean vs #Service or #Compoenent.
The first one makes your beans loosely coupled to each other.
In the #Bean, you have flexibility to change the account implementation without even changing any of the account classes.
Consider if your classes instantiation is a multi-step operation like read properties values etc then you can easily do it in your #Bean method.
#Bean also helps if you don't have source code access to the class you are trying to instantiate.
Spring Boot auto-configuration attempts to automatically configure your Spring application based on the jar dependencies that you have added.
You need to opt-in to auto-configuration by adding the #EnableAutoConfiguration or #SpringBootApplication annotations to one of your #Configuration classes.
You are free to use any of the standard Spring Framework techniques to define your beans and their injected dependencies. For simplicity, we often find that using #ComponentScan (to find your beans) and using #Autowired (to do constructor injection) works well.
One way is to define #Bean in the class annotated with
#SprinBootApplication
If you see #SprinBootApplication it is combination of many annotation, and one of them is #Configuration. So when you define #Bean in the Main class, it means it's inside #Configuration class.
According to Configuration docs :
Indicates that a class declares one or more #Bean methods and may be
processed by the Spring container to generate bean definitions and
service requests for those beans at runtime.
class annotated with #Configuration
When you define #Bean is a class annotated with #Configuration class, it means it is the part of spring configuration all the Beans define in it all available for Dependency-Injection.
I have also seen some code where neither of the 2 above approaches
have been used and yet dependency injection works fine. I have tried
to research a lot on this but could not find any concrete answer to
this. Is this possible?
I am assuming you are talking about Sterio-type annotation. Every sterio type annotation has #Component, according to docs :
Indicates that an annotated class is a "component". Such classes are
considered as candidates for auto-detection when using
annotation-based configuration and classpath scanning.

Purpose of using #Configuration annotation

I have created a spring mvc based application but I didn't use this #Configuration annotation. What is the purpose of using #Configuration annotation? By using this, what are we communicating to springMVC container?
Assuming your application is using xml configuration rather than AnnotationConfig so it is not loaded to ApplicationContext at all.
#Configuration is used when ApplicationContext has been initialized and bean registration.
#Configuration annotation is a core Spring annotation, and not Spring MVC. It is a core entry point to configuring Spring-based application using Java config instead of XML config.
Please, use Spring Documentation more often because it is a place where you will find answers to most of your questions. Like this one:
Indicates that a class declares one or more Bean #Bean methods and may
be processed by the Spring container to generate bean definitions and
service requests for those beans at runtime

Possible to autowire imported utility classes in Spring?

I want to use data mappers, logger, transfromers, etc. in my Spring web projects. Is it possible to autowire an imported (jar) utility dependency, without wrapping it in some #Component or #Service class? Do we even want to do it that way, or should we just use a static reference?
If your utils, are based on not static methods, then this is simple:
If you use java based configuration, then just declare that util in an #Bean annotated method.
#Configuration
public class YourConfig {
#Bean
public YourUtil util(){
return new YourUtil ();
}
}
in xml it could been as simple as:
<bean id="util" class="org.example.YourUtil" />
The following is true, but it is not what was asked for:
There are at least two other ways to inject beans in instances that are not created (managed) by Spring:
(1) add #Configurable annotation to this class - this requires real AspectJ (compile-time or load-time -weaving)
#see Spring Reference Chapter 7.8.1 Using AspectJ to dependency inject domain objects with Spring
#see this answer of mine https://stackoverflow.com/a/7007572/280244 for a quick "guide" to enable the #Configurable support
(2) invoke SpringBeanAutowiringSupport.processInjectionBasedOnCurrentContext(this);
#see this question and its (two highes voted answers) for some ideas how to use
You can only #Autowire a bean managed by Spring. So you have to declare your instance through some configuration : a bean in an xml file, or a #Bean method in a java configuration.
#Component are just automatically discovered and registered in the spring context.

create beans with annotation spring

In struts2 i almost did not use any xml configs and used much of annotations for MVC. I build a small application in that way using struts2. Now i want to develop same project using spring 3.2. Now i want to use annotation to create beans and request mapping (this i used). I want a clear example of using bean annotations and is it possible to set properties using annotations. I am getting confused because the documentation is too large, and many annotations. providing a simple list of annotations and their usage with simple example will be a great help.
Iam doing sample project on Spring 3.1.
I have used some annotations to create beans.Below are the annotations i have used.
#Component - Annotation used to create a bean given by Spring
#Resource,#Bean
JSR Annotations: #Controller,#Repository, #Service
If you are annotating your class with above annotations Spring Container will create beans for you.
Your properties will be set with help of #Autowired annotation.

Resources