Convert XML bean definition with parent to Java with annotations

Question

I have an application using a framework that provides certain Spring beans via XML files in the framework. The configuration of my application is currently done partly in XML but mostly with Spring annotations.

Some of the XML bean definitions have parents referring to beans supplied by the framework, e.g.

<bean id="MyBean" parent="FrameworkBean">
    <property name="context">
        <map merge="true">
            <entry key="SomeKey" value-ref="SomeValue" />
        </map>
    </property>
</bean>

FramwworkBean is defined in an XML file in the framework. There is a chain of bean inheritance. At each step some entries are added to the context:

<bean id="FrameworkBean" parent="AbstractBean">
   <map merge="true">...

<bean id="AbstractBean" abstract="true" class="ClassWithContext"/>

I understand the result of all this is construction of a ClassWithContext instance with a map containing all the entries up the chain. Is it possible to write Java code to do the same, without duplicating code from the framework XML files?

@Bean("MyBean") ClassWithContext myBean() {
    return ??? // code that uses "FrameworkBean" somehow
}

The XML bean definition has no dependency on the type of AbstractBean. If MyBean can be created by Java code, can that code be written to be equally type-agnostic? Or should I just leave this in XML?

Sounds like you just need to do regular inheritance, via Java code... Is this correct? (Maybe this article will help: concretepage.com/spring/…) — blurfus
– blurfus, Commented Aug 17, 2017 at 21:10
@ochi: I clarified the question. I don't want to duplicate an artifact that I do not own and that could be changed by a new framework release. — kevin cline
– kevin cline, Commented Aug 17, 2017 at 22:32

V. D. · Accepted Answer · 2017-08-17 23:06:30Z

1

If your "FrameworkBean" is not abstract bean you can try the following:

@Bean
public SomeType myBean(@Qualifier("FrameworkBean") FrameworkBeanType frameworkBean) {
    SomeType type = getSomeType();
    type.setFrameworkBean(frameworkBean);
    return type;
}

edited Aug 17, 2017 at 23:06

answered Aug 17, 2017 at 22:08

V. D.

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5 Comments

kevin cline Over a year ago

Clarified the question. This is not a good solution because it requires me to duplicate in Java the XML definition of FrameworkBean.

V. D. Over a year ago

Update the answer with closer to actual request.

rorschach Over a year ago

@kevincline, no you don't. Spring is smart enough to understand and handle both XML and Java-based configuration. If FrameworkBean has already been declared in the XML it will be autowired in Java without defining it as a separate @Bean

kevin cline Over a year ago

"FrameworkBean" is a descendant of an abstract parent.

V. D. Over a year ago

Can you simply create another instance of FrameworkBean? You might want to make it @Primary to force spring to use your instance instead of the one created by your framework.

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