XML Schemas
This part of the appendix lists XML schemas related to the core container.
The util
Schema
As the name implies, the util
tags deal with common, utility configuration
issues, such as configuring collections, referencing constants, and so forth.
To use the tags in the util
schema, you need to have the following preamble at the top
of your Spring XML configuration file (the text in the snippet references the
correct schema so that the tags in the util
namespace are available to you):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:util="http://www.springframework.org/schema/util"
xsi:schemaLocation="
http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
http://www.springframework.org/schema/util https://www.springframework.org/schema/util/spring-util.xsd">
<!-- bean definitions here -->
</beans>
Using <util:constant/>
Consider the following bean definition:
<bean id="..." class="...">
<property name="isolation">
<bean id="java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.FieldRetrievingFactoryBean" />
</property>
</bean>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
FieldRetrievingFactoryBean
) to set the value of the isolation
property on a bean
to the value of the java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE
constant. This is
all well and good, but it is verbose and (unnecessarily) exposes Spring’s internal
plumbing to the end user.
The following XML Schema-based version is more concise, clearly expresses the developer’s intent (“inject this constant value”), and it reads better:
<bean id="..." class="...">
<property name="isolation">
<util:constant static-field="java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE"/>
</property>
</bean>
Setting a Bean Property or Constructor Argument from a Field Value
FieldRetrievingFactoryBean
is a FactoryBean
that retrieves a static
or non-static field value. It is typically
used for retrieving public
static
final
constants, which may then be used to set a
property value or constructor argument for another bean.
The following example shows how a static
field is exposed, by using the
staticField
property:
<bean id="myField"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.FieldRetrievingFactoryBean">
<property name="staticField" value="java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE"/>
</bean>
There is also a convenience usage form where the static
field is specified as the bean
name, as the following example shows:
<bean id="java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.FieldRetrievingFactoryBean"/>
This does mean that there is no longer any choice in what the bean id
is (so any other
bean that refers to it also has to use this longer name), but this form is very
concise to define and very convenient to use as an inner bean since the id
does not have
to be specified for the bean reference, as the following example shows:
<bean id="..." class="...">
<property name="isolation">
<bean id="java.sql.Connection.TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.FieldRetrievingFactoryBean" />
</property>
</bean>
You can also access a non-static (instance) field of another bean, as
described in the API documentation for the
FieldRetrievingFactoryBean
class.
Injecting enumeration values into beans as either property or constructor arguments is
easy to do in Spring. You do not actually have to do anything or know anything about
the Spring internals (or even about classes such as the FieldRetrievingFactoryBean
).
The following example enumeration shows how easy injecting an enum value is:
-
Java
-
Kotlin
package jakarta.persistence;
public enum PersistenceContextType {
TRANSACTION,
EXTENDED
}
package jakarta.persistence
enum class PersistenceContextType {
TRANSACTION,
EXTENDED
}
Now consider the following setter of type PersistenceContextType
and the corresponding bean definition:
-
Java
-
Kotlin
package example;
public class Client {
private PersistenceContextType persistenceContextType;
public void setPersistenceContextType(PersistenceContextType type) {
this.persistenceContextType = type;
}
}
package example
class Client {
lateinit var persistenceContextType: PersistenceContextType
}
<bean class="example.Client">
<property name="persistenceContextType" value="TRANSACTION"/>
</bean>
Using <util:property-path/>
Consider the following example:
<!-- target bean to be referenced by name -->
<bean id="testBean" class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean" scope="prototype">
<property name="age" value="10"/>
<property name="spouse">
<bean class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean">
<property name="age" value="11"/>
</bean>
</property>
</bean>
<!-- results in 10, which is the value of property 'age' of bean 'testBean' -->
<bean id="testBean.age" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPathFactoryBean"/>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
PropertyPathFactoryBean
) to create a bean (of type int
) called testBean.age
that
has a value equal to the age
property of the testBean
bean.
Now consider the following example, which adds a <util:property-path/>
element:
<!-- target bean to be referenced by name -->
<bean id="testBean" class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean" scope="prototype">
<property name="age" value="10"/>
<property name="spouse">
<bean class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean">
<property name="age" value="11"/>
</bean>
</property>
</bean>
<!-- results in 10, which is the value of property 'age' of bean 'testBean' -->
<util:property-path id="name" path="testBean.age"/>
The value of the path
attribute of the <property-path/>
element follows the form of
beanName.beanProperty
. In this case, it picks up the age
property of the bean named
testBean
. The value of that age
property is 10
.
Using <util:property-path/>
to Set a Bean Property or Constructor Argument
PropertyPathFactoryBean
is a FactoryBean
that evaluates a property path on a given
target object. The target object can be specified directly or by a bean name. You can then use this
value in another bean definition as a property value or constructor
argument.
The following example shows a path being used against another bean, by name:
<!-- target bean to be referenced by name -->
<bean id="person" class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean" scope="prototype">
<property name="age" value="10"/>
<property name="spouse">
<bean class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean">
<property name="age" value="11"/>
</bean>
</property>
</bean>
<!-- results in 11, which is the value of property 'spouse.age' of bean 'person' -->
<bean id="theAge"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPathFactoryBean">
<property name="targetBeanName" value="person"/>
<property name="propertyPath" value="spouse.age"/>
</bean>
In the following example, a path is evaluated against an inner bean:
<!-- results in 12, which is the value of property 'age' of the inner bean -->
<bean id="theAge"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPathFactoryBean">
<property name="targetObject">
<bean class="org.springframework.beans.TestBean">
<property name="age" value="12"/>
</bean>
</property>
<property name="propertyPath" value="age"/>
</bean>
There is also a shortcut form, where the bean name is the property path. The following example shows the shortcut form:
<!-- results in 10, which is the value of property 'age' of bean 'person' -->
<bean id="person.age"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPathFactoryBean"/>
This form does mean that there is no choice in the name of the bean. Any reference to it
also has to use the same id
, which is the path. If used as an inner
bean, there is no need to refer to it at all, as the following example shows:
<bean id="..." class="...">
<property name="age">
<bean id="person.age"
class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPathFactoryBean"/>
</property>
</bean>
You can specifically set the result type in the actual definition. This is not necessary for most use cases, but it can sometimes be useful. See the javadoc for more info on this feature.
Using <util:properties/>
Consider the following example:
<!-- creates a java.util.Properties instance with values loaded from the supplied location -->
<bean id="jdbcConfiguration" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertiesFactoryBean">
<property name="location" value="classpath:com/foo/jdbc-production.properties"/>
</bean>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
PropertiesFactoryBean
) to instantiate a java.util.Properties
instance with values
loaded from the supplied Resource
location).
The following example uses a util:properties
element to make a more concise representation:
<!-- creates a java.util.Properties instance with values loaded from the supplied location -->
<util:properties id="jdbcConfiguration" location="classpath:com/foo/jdbc-production.properties"/>
Using <util:list/>
Consider the following example:
<!-- creates a java.util.List instance with values loaded from the supplied 'sourceList' -->
<bean id="emails" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.ListFactoryBean">
<property name="sourceList">
<list>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
</list>
</property>
</bean>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
ListFactoryBean
) to create a java.util.List
instance and initialize it with values taken
from the supplied sourceList
.
The following example uses a <util:list/>
element to make a more concise representation:
<!-- creates a java.util.List instance with the supplied values -->
<util:list id="emails">
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
</util:list>
You can also explicitly control the exact type of List
that is instantiated and
populated by using the list-class
attribute on the <util:list/>
element. For
example, if we really need a java.util.LinkedList
to be instantiated, we could use the
following configuration:
<util:list id="emails" list-class="java.util.LinkedList">
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>d'[email protected]</value>
</util:list>
If no list-class
attribute is supplied, the container chooses a List
implementation.
Using <util:map/>
Consider the following example:
<!-- creates a java.util.Map instance with values loaded from the supplied 'sourceMap' -->
<bean id="emails" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.MapFactoryBean">
<property name="sourceMap">
<map>
<entry key="pechorin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="raskolnikov" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="stavrogin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="porfiry" value="[email protected]"/>
</map>
</property>
</bean>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
MapFactoryBean
) to create a java.util.Map
instance initialized with key-value pairs
taken from the supplied 'sourceMap'
.
The following example uses a <util:map/>
element to make a more concise representation:
<!-- creates a java.util.Map instance with the supplied key-value pairs -->
<util:map id="emails">
<entry key="pechorin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="raskolnikov" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="stavrogin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="porfiry" value="[email protected]"/>
</util:map>
You can also explicitly control the exact type of Map
that is instantiated and
populated by using the 'map-class'
attribute on the <util:map/>
element. For
example, if we really need a java.util.TreeMap
to be instantiated, we could use the
following configuration:
<util:map id="emails" map-class="java.util.TreeMap">
<entry key="pechorin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="raskolnikov" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="stavrogin" value="[email protected]"/>
<entry key="porfiry" value="[email protected]"/>
</util:map>
If no 'map-class'
attribute is supplied, the container chooses a Map
implementation.
Using <util:set/>
Consider the following example:
<!-- creates a java.util.Set instance with values loaded from the supplied 'sourceSet' -->
<bean id="emails" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.SetFactoryBean">
<property name="sourceSet">
<set>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
</set>
</property>
</bean>
The preceding configuration uses a Spring FactoryBean
implementation (the
SetFactoryBean
) to create a java.util.Set
instance initialized with values taken
from the supplied sourceSet
.
The following example uses a <util:set/>
element to make a more concise representation:
<!-- creates a java.util.Set instance with the supplied values -->
<util:set id="emails">
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
</util:set>
You can also explicitly control the exact type of Set
that is instantiated and
populated by using the set-class
attribute on the <util:set/>
element. For
example, if we really need a java.util.TreeSet
to be instantiated, we could use the
following configuration:
<util:set id="emails" set-class="java.util.TreeSet">
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
<value>[email protected]</value>
</util:set>
If no set-class
attribute is supplied, the container chooses a Set
implementation.
The aop
Schema
The aop
tags deal with configuring all things AOP in Spring, including Spring’s
own proxy-based AOP framework and Spring’s integration with the AspectJ AOP framework.
These tags are comprehensively covered in the chapter entitled Aspect Oriented Programming with Spring
.
In the interest of completeness, to use the tags in the aop
schema, you need to have
the following preamble at the top of your Spring XML configuration file (the text in the
snippet references the correct schema so that the tags in the aop
namespace
are available to you):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:aop="http://www.springframework.org/schema/aop"
xsi:schemaLocation="
http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
http://www.springframework.org/schema/aop https://www.springframework.org/schema/aop/spring-aop.xsd">
<!-- bean definitions here -->
</beans>
The context
Schema
The context
tags deal with ApplicationContext
configuration that relates to plumbing — that is, not usually beans that are important to an end-user but rather beans that do
a lot of the “grunt” work in Spring, such as BeanfactoryPostProcessors
. The following
snippet references the correct schema so that the elements in the context
namespace are
available to you:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
xsi:schemaLocation="
http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
http://www.springframework.org/schema/context https://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context.xsd">
<!-- bean definitions here -->
</beans>
Using <property-placeholder/>
This element activates the replacement of ${…}
placeholders, which are resolved against a
specified properties file (as a Spring resource location). This element
is a convenience mechanism that sets up a PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer
for you. If you need more control over the specific
PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer
setup, you can explicitly define it as a bean yourself.
Only one such element should be defined for a given application with the properties
that it needs. Several property placeholders can be configured as long as they have distinct
placeholder syntax ( If you need to modularize the source of properties used for the replacement, you should
not create multiple properties placeholders. Rather, each module should contribute a
|
Using <annotation-config/>
This element activates the Spring infrastructure to detect annotations in bean classes:
-
Spring’s
@Configuration
model -
@Autowired
/@Inject
,@Value
, and@Lookup
-
JSR-250’s
@Resource
,@PostConstruct
, and@PreDestroy
(if available) -
JAX-WS’s
@WebServiceRef
and EJB 3’s@EJB
(if available) -
JPA’s
@PersistenceContext
and@PersistenceUnit
(if available) -
Spring’s
@EventListener
Alternatively, you can choose to explicitly activate the individual BeanPostProcessors
for those annotations.
This element does not activate processing of Spring’s
@Transactional annotation;
you can use the <tx:annotation-driven/>
element for that purpose. Similarly, Spring’s
caching annotations need to be explicitly
enabled as well.
|
Using <component-scan/>
This element is detailed in the section on annotation-based container configuration .
Using <load-time-weaver/>
This element is detailed in the section on load-time weaving with AspectJ in the Spring Framework .
Using <spring-configured/>
This element is detailed in the section on using AspectJ to dependency inject domain objects with Spring .
Using <mbean-export/>
This element is detailed in the section on configuring annotation-based MBean export .
The Beans Schema
Last but not least, we have the elements in the beans
schema. These elements
have been in Spring since the very dawn of the framework. Examples of the various elements
in the beans
schema are not shown here because they are quite comprehensively covered
in dependencies and configuration in detail
(and, indeed, in that entire chapter).
Note that you can add zero or more key-value pairs to <bean/>
XML definitions.
What, if anything, is done with this extra metadata is totally up to your own custom
logic (and so is typically only of use if you write your own custom elements as described
in the appendix entitled XML Schema Authoring).
The following example shows the <meta/>
element in the context of a surrounding <bean/>
(note that, without any logic to interpret it, the metadata is effectively useless
as it stands).
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="
http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd">
<bean id="foo" class="x.y.Foo">
<meta key="cacheName" value="foo"/> (1)
<property name="name" value="Rick"/>
</bean>
</beans>
1 | This is the example meta element |
In the case of the preceding example, you could assume that there is some logic that consumes the bean definition and sets up some caching infrastructure that uses the supplied metadata.