Functions
You can extend SpEL by registering user-defined functions that can be called within the
expression string. The function is registered through the EvaluationContext
. The
following example shows how to register a user-defined function:
-
Java
-
Kotlin
Method method = ...;
EvaluationContext context = SimpleEvaluationContext.forReadOnlyDataBinding().build();
context.setVariable("myFunction", method);
val method: Method = ...
val context = SimpleEvaluationContext.forReadOnlyDataBinding().build()
context.setVariable("myFunction", method)
For example, consider the following utility method that reverses a string:
-
Java
-
Kotlin
public abstract class StringUtils {
public static String reverseString(String input) {
StringBuilder backwards = new StringBuilder(input.length());
for (int i = 0; i < input.length(); i++) {
backwards.append(input.charAt(input.length() - 1 - i));
}
return backwards.toString();
}
}
fun reverseString(input: String): String {
val backwards = StringBuilder(input.length)
for (i in 0 until input.length) {
backwards.append(input[input.length - 1 - i])
}
return backwards.toString()
}
You can then register and use the preceding method, as the following example shows:
-
Java
-
Kotlin
ExpressionParser parser = new SpelExpressionParser();
EvaluationContext context = SimpleEvaluationContext.forReadOnlyDataBinding().build();
context.setVariable("reverseString",
StringUtils.class.getDeclaredMethod("reverseString", String.class));
String helloWorldReversed = parser.parseExpression(
"#reverseString('hello')").getValue(context, String.class);
val parser = SpelExpressionParser()
val context = SimpleEvaluationContext.forReadOnlyDataBinding().build()
context.setVariable("reverseString", ::reverseString::javaMethod)
val helloWorldReversed = parser.parseExpression(
"#reverseString('hello')").getValue(context, String::class.java)