We Keep Coding

How to audit methods in Java Spring Boot

I am writing a Spring Boot Application. I want to audit methods with my annotation #AuditMetod: For example I have method foo() with the annotation:
#AuditMetod(name = "SomeValue")
foo() {...}
I want to handle and audit such methods like this (the simplest example):
auditMethod(Method method) {
if (method.hasAnnotation(AuditMethod.class)) {
System.out.println (method.getName() + " was called at " + new Date())
}
}
upd
Thanks to #Karthikeyan #Swapnil Khante and #misha2048 I understood, that I need to use AOP. But I have 2 problems:
The only method in Aspect class in not being called and I don't see the inscription "----------ASPECT METHOD IS CALLED-----------" in log
How can I check in aspect method what method it is intercepting. To get an instance of Method class.
Now I have the following code:
Controller:
#PostMapping
#LoggingRest(executor = "USER", method = "CREATE", model = "SUBSCRIPTION")
public ResponseEntity<?> create(#Valid #RequestBody SubscriptionRequestDto dto) {
...
}
Aspect:
`#Aspect
#Slf4j
#Component
public class AuditAspect {
#Pointcut(value = "#annotation(com.aspect.annotations.LoggingRest)")
public void auditMethod(ProceedingJoinPoint proceedingJoinPoint) {
log.info("----------ASPECT METHOD IS CALLED------------");
}`
And annotation:
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
#Target(ElementType.METHOD)
public #interface LoggingRest {
String executor() default "SYSTEM";
String method() default "";
String model() default "";
}

Auditing is a cross-cutting concern and can be handled using AOP.
Another solution would be to use a low-level solution by writing a custom annotation and using a Spring interceptorto write your business logic.
To use the Spring interceptor you will need to implement the HandlerInterceptor interface
Example of the annotation
#Target(ElementType.METHOD)
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public #interface Audit {
boolean active() default true;
}
Interceptor example
#Component
public class AuditInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {
#Override
public void afterCompletion(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Object handler, Exception ex)
throws Exception {
if (handler instanceof HandlerMethod) {
HandlerMethod handlerMethod = (HandlerMethod) handler;
Audit annotation = handlerMethod.getMethodAnnotation(Audit.class);
if (annotation != null && annotation.active()) {
// your business logic
}
}
HandlerInterceptor.super.afterCompletion(request, response, handler, ex);
}
check this interceptor example

I think one of the solutions here, as #Karthikeyan mentioned, is to use Spring AOP.
If you are not aware a brief introduction - spring-aop module implements the aspect oriented programming paradigm. We extract some common functionality, that we generally want to apply to some subset of functions/methods, to an entity called Aspect (see class annotated with #Aspect). This class will contain out cross-cutting functionality - such as auditing, for instance we want to audit the methods execution time, lets say. We just put the code to be executed, the condition, which tell the spring what exact beans methods should be affect by this aspect, see below.
For example, if I can audit the method execution duration with the following very simple example (in my case I said that any public method, returning void inside the Class com.example.stackoverflow.BusinessLogicClass must be inspected by this Aspect):
#SpringBootApplication
#EnableAspectJAutoProxy
public class StackoverflowApplication implements ApplicationRunner {
#Autowired
private BusinessLogicClass businessLogicClass;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(StackoverflowApplication.class, args);
}
#Override
public void run(ApplicationArguments args) throws Exception {
businessLogicClass.test();
}
}
#Aspect
#Component
class MyAspectLogicClass {
#Around("execution(public void com.example.stackoverflow.BusinessLogicClass.*(..))")
public Object hangAround(ProceedingJoinPoint proceedingJoinPoint) throws Throwable {
long before = System.currentTimeMillis();
Object returnedValue = proceedingJoinPoint.proceed();
long after = System.currentTimeMillis();
System.out.printf("Retruned in '%s' ms %n", (after - before));
return returnedValue;
}
}
#Component
class BusinessLogicClass {
public void test() {
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
In my case, I will get the time before method execution, then by the means of
proceedingJoinPoint.proceed() call I delegate the execution to the real method, and then, once I get the response back, I will get the current system time and calculate the execution time, fairly simple.
I hope I have at least directed you somewhere, if you are looking for documentation, this are the resources I suggest you should look for:
https://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/2.5.x/reference/aop.html offical spring doc (stale a bit, but there are some valuable things to learn)
https://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/4.3.15.RELEASE/spring-framework-reference/html/aop.html is more fresh doc
Hope it helped :)

The problem was in right annotation. In Aspect class I tried #Around and everything works as I need.
#Aspect
#Slf4j
#Component
public class AuditAspect {
#Around(value = "#annotation(com.aspect.annotations.LoggingRest)")
public void auditMethod(ProceedingJoinPoint proceedingJoinPoint) {
var method = ((MethodSignature) proceedingJoinPoint.getSignature()).getMethod();
log.info("----------ASPECT METHOD IS CALLED------------");
}
}
For getting a Method instance I use fallowing code
Method method = ((MethodSignature) proceedingJoinPoint.getSignature()).getMethod();

AOP and annotation 'inheritance'

let's consider the following situation.
#interface LoggedMethodInvocation{}
#LoggedMethodInvocation
#interface MonitoredMethodInvocation{}
I would like the #MonitoredMethodInvocation annotation implying the #LoggedMethodInvocation annotation.
class LoggingAOPConfig {
#Pointcut("#annotation(LoggedMethodInvocation)")
public void servicePointcut() {
}
#Around("servicePointcut()")
public Object logMethodInvocation(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
// log the method invocation...
}
}
class MonitoringAOPConfig {
#Pointcut("#annotation(MonitoredMethodInvocation)")
public void servicePointcut() {
}
#Around("servicePointcut()")
public Object monitorResponseTime(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
// add some meters to the method invocation
}
}
Now I would like to introduce some method, which shall be both monitored and logged. And I would like to annotate the method only with one annotation, namely #MonitoredMethodInvocation.
class SomeService {
#MonitoredMethodInvocation
Object someMethod(Object requestPayload) {
// ...
return responsePayload;
}
}
However it doesn't play, the logging aspect is not taken into the account.
There is spring's AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation which offers the needed functionality (of recognizing, whether the #LoggedMethodInvocation shall be considered). However, I don't know how to put this into the pointcut configuration.
How shall I modify the logging AOP config so it will recognize the logging annotation even if it is hidden behind the #MonitoredMethodInvocation?

Not throwing exception from a #Service's methods

I have a notification service(I have control of this class).
If there is any unchecked exception, then I do not want to throw it. But instead want to log it in a specific manner.
I can directly have try catch block in each method's implementation but I am in search of some magic here 😄
Is there a common way that this can be handled through Spring?
Update:
AOP is also a way to do it. For example: https://dzone.com/articles/handling-exceptions-using-springs-aop
Any other direct implementation for this?
This was my requirement but I was not able to find anything with respect to this.

I faced similar issues when dealing with calling multiple apis from rest service, where i was suppose to provide a fallback implementation when error occured. My Aspect was more than what i am giving example here.
Service
#Service
public class SuspiciousService {
final Random random = new Random();
public String beSuspicious() {
final boolean value = random.nextBoolean();
if (value) {
throw new IllegalStateException("Exception occured for: " + value);
}
return "I am not suspicious";
}
}
Sample service which randomly throws an error.
Controller
#RestController
#RequestMapping("/is-suspicious")
#AllArgsConstructor
public class SampleController {
private final SuspiciousService suspiciousService;
#GetMapping
public Map<String, String> get() {
return Map.of("isSuspicious", suspiciousService.beSuspicious());
}
}
Controller which invokes this service.
Finally, Around Aspect catches this exception and provides the sample response.
#Aspect
#Component
#Order(2)
public class AspectAroundSuspiciousService {
#Around("execution(* in.silentsudo.sprintbootresttemplate.SuspiciousService.beSuspicious(..))")
public Object parallelExecuteBeforeAndAfterCompose(ProceedingJoinPoint point) throws Throwable {
try {
return point.proceed();
} catch (RuntimeException re) {
return "Yes, I am suspicious";
}
}
}
The other approach is if you are using ByteBuddy, you can add annotation to the method throwing exception
#Advice.OnMethodExit(onThrowable = RuntimeException.class)
and have an ExceptionHandler to cath this
#ExceptionHandler
private String suspiciousRuntimeException(RuntimeException exception) {
return "Yes, I am suspicious from ex handler, error: " + exception.getMessage();
}
I choose aspect over bytebuddy for simple reason as i was handling ladder of api exception, where as this implementation will catch in general RuntimeException happenning from service#method

Java Spring AOP: Can I ignore Xlint:invalidAbsoluteTypeName error which caused by pointcuts to classes which I don't use?

I have an issue concerning a generic component and one (of a dozen) application(s). My component has point cuts to many annotations, which could be used within classes and methods in my apps. When all annotations are present on the classpath, everything works fine. But not in all my apps I have these dependencies. The quick fix is, of course, add them, but that gives my app a lot of code which I don't need in that app. I'm searching for a way to ignore the Xlint:invalidAbsoluteTypeName error as stated here: Xlint:invalidAbsoluteTypeName
So what I have:
I have many apps with Soap/JMS connections, and all are annotated with the #Annotation org.springframework.ws.server.endpoint.annotation.Endpoint.
I have my pointcut in my generic component (jar):
#Around("within(#org.springframework.ws.server.endpoint.annotation.Endpoint *)")
And the result is:
All apps having the Spring WS dependency along with my generic component have no issues
Apps which don't have the annotation, cannot start due to java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: warning no match for this type name: org.springframework.ws.server.endpoint.annotation.Endpoint [Xlint:invalidAbsoluteTypeName] (which is obvious, see the link)
So the problem looks like Xlint:invalidAbsoluteTypeName BUT I don't want to add Spring dependencies which I'm not using. I just want this AOP pointcut ignored. Other workarounds like splitting up the pointcuts to different jars imho give too much overhead. Is there any way to have Spring AOP just ignore this pointcut, or e.g. set the pointcut to st like if-exists(class)?
To show why I think separating is causing way too much overhead have a look at my aspect structure:
#Aspect
public class PerformanceLoggingAspect {
private LogWriter logWriter;
#Inject
public PerformanceLoggingAspect(LogWriter logWriter) {
this.logWriter = logWriter;
}
#Around("within(#org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController *)")
public Object withinARestController(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
return proceedWithLogging(pjp, MetingType.REST);
}
#Around("within(#org.springframework.ws.server.endpoint.annotation.Endpoint *)")
public Object withinAnEndpoint(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
return proceedWithLogging(pjp, MetingType.BERICHT);
}
#Around("within(#javax.inject.Named *)")
public Object withinAService(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
return proceedWithLogging(pjp, MetingType.SERVICE);
}
private Object proceedWithLogging(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp, String metingType) throws Throwable {
(... Working code (performance logging) if the annotation is on the classpath...)
}
}
Update: I tried creating a #NeedsClass("any.package.Class") which is a #Conditional annotation from spring-context. The condition class is a ClasspathCondition which checked if the classloader could load that given class. But the error occurs before the condition gets evaluated so I'm afraid this is a dead end. But if you're curious:
The #NeedsClass annotation I tried
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
#Target({ElementType.TYPE, ElementType.METHOD})
#Documented
#Conditional(ClasspathCondition.class)
public #interface NeedsClass {
String[] value();
}
The Condition implementation. I had logging here, which never got written
public class ClasspathCondition implements Condition {
#Override
public boolean matches(ConditionContext context, AnnotatedTypeMetadata metadata) {
try {
String[] classes = (String[]) metadata.getAnnotationAttributes(NeedsClass.class.getName()).get("classes");
for (String clazz : classes) {
ClassUtils.resolveClassName(clazz, context.getClassLoader());
}
return true;
} catch (Throwable t) { /* noOp() */}
return false;
}
}

For now I have a workaround:
I created a superclass with the method:
protected Object proceedWithLogging(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp, String metingType) throws Throwable {
(... code which adds performance logging ...)
}
I created 4 subclasses with each the #Aspect annotation, and 1 method calling the super. For example this one targets JMS:
#Aspect
public class JmsPerformanceLogger extends PerformanceLoggingAspect {
#Inject
private LogWriter logWriter;
#Around("within(#org.springframework.ws.server.endpoint.annotation.Endpoint *)")
public Object withinAnEndpoint(ProceedingJoinPoint pjp) throws Throwable {
return proceedWithLogging(pjp, MetingType.BERICHT);
}
}
As a downside I have to configure all different beans which I need within my app, and I cannot add one simple configuration file as shown below, with all beans preconfigured:
#Configuration
public class PerformanceloggingConfig {
#Bean
public LogWriter performanceLogWriter(){
return new DefaultLogWriter();
}
#Bean
public JmsPerformanceLogger jmsPerformanceLogger(){
return new JmsPerformanceLogger();
}
#Bean
public RestPerformanceLogger restPerformanceLogger(){
return new RestPerformanceLogger();
}
#Bean
public ServicesPerformanceLogger servicesPerformanceLogger(){
return new ServicesPerformanceLogger();
}
#Bean
public DaoPerformanceLogger daoPerformanceLogger(){
return new DaoPerformanceLogger();
}
}
And therefore also not the handy annotation to autoconfig the class:
#Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
#Target(ElementType.TYPE)
#Import(PerformanceloggingConfig.class)
public #interface EnablePerformanceLogging {
}
But for now adding these 4 beans when I need them, makes it possible to differentiate per app. But of course this is still a workaround, as I want to use #EnablePerformanceLogging and be done with it. If anyone has a better answer, pls tell me

How to declare excpected exception on EJB 3.0?

I've created my own exception class:
public class ValidationException extends RuntimeException { ... }
I've declared it in EJB interface method:
public interface MyApi {
void save(MyDTO dto) throws ValidationException;
}
Now I've used it in the implementation:
#Stateless
#Local(MyApi.class)
public class MyService implements MyApi {
public void save(MyDTO dto) throws ValidationException {
...
throw ValidationException(errorMessages);
}
}
However, when I call that method:
#Path("/my")
#Stateless
public class MyChannel {
#Inject private MyApi myApi;
public void save(MyDTO dto) {
try{
myApi.save(dto);
} catch (ValidationException ex) {
// do sth with the exception
}
}
}
Instead of expected ValidationException, the EJBException is thrown with the following message:
0000167f BusinessExcep E CNTR0020E: EJB threw an unexpected (non-declared) exception during invocation of method "save" on bean
It surprised me, because the exception is declared in the interface and in the implementation. How else can I declare the exception, in order to be able to use it to communicate errors to the caller?
The whole mayhem happens on the WebSphere 8.5. I'm using EJB 3.0 and WebSphere libraries. The channel is JSON REST channel in the WAR module, which is wrapped in EAR module.

I believe the root of your problem lies in choosing to have your custom ValidationException extend RuntimeException. Within Java, RuntimeException or any subclass of RuntimeException does not have to be declared using a throws clause on a method signature. The intent of RuntimeException is that it is generally used in unrecoverable bug scenarios that are the result of something done incorrectly by the method caller, such as attempting to traverse beyond the end of an array (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException) or passing an invalid parameter (IllegalArgumentException).
Given that you would like to make your ValidationException part of the method signature and thereby require the calling client to handle the exception, I suggest the following change:
//Modify your exception so that it
//subclasses Exception (not RuntimeException):
public class ValidationException extends Exception { ... }
You will not have to modify the MyService interface, because the save method already declares that it throws the exception. But this small change will shift the way Java handles ValidationException so that when the exception is thrown, it will behave in the way you expect (and without the extraneous noise about an "undeclared" exception).

Use the #ApplicationException annotation. For example
#ApplicationException
public class ValidationException extends RuntimeException {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 7797343376699439504L;
}
You can use it with RuntimeException so you don't have to use throws declarations.