Edit Fixed by changing package.
I have this configuration file for spring framework
#Configuration
public class AppConfig {
#Bean(initMethod = "populateCache")
public AccountRepository accountRepository(){
return new JdbcAccountRepository();
}
}
JdbcAccountRepository looks like this.
#Repository
public class JdbcAccountRepository implements AccountRepository {
#Override
public Account findByAccountId(long
return new SavingAccount();
}
public void populateCache() {
System.out.println("Populating Cache");
}
public void clearCache(){
System.out.println("Clearing Cache");
}
}
I'm new to spring framework and trying to use initMethod or destroyMethod. Both of these method are showing following errors.
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValidationException: Could not find an init method named 'populateCache' on bean with name 'accountRepository'
Here is my main method.
public class BeanLifeCycleDemo {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ConfigurableApplicationContext applicationContext = new
AnnotationConfigApplicationContext(AppConfig.class);
AccountRepository bean = applicationContext.getBean(AccountRepository.class);
applicationContext.close();
}
}
Edit
I was practicing from a book and had created many packages for different chapters. Error was it was importing different JdbcAccountRepository from different package that did not have that method. I fixed it and it works now. I got hinted at this from answers.
Like you said, if you are mixing configurations types, it can be confusing. Besides, even if you created a Bean of type AccountRepository, because Spring does a lot of things at runtime, it can call your initMethod, even if the compiler couldn't.
So yes, if you have many beans with the same type, Spring can be confused an know which one to call, hence your exception.
Oh and by the way, having a Configuration creating the accountRepoisitory Bean, you can remove the #Repository from your JdbcAccountRepository... It is either #Configuration + #Bean or #Component/Repository/Service + #ComponentScan.
TL;DR
Here is more information and how Spring creates your bean : What object are injected by Spring ?
#Bean(initMethod = "populateCache")
public AccountRepository accountRepository(){
return new JdbcAccountRepository();
}
With this code, Spring will :
Detect that you want to add a Bean in the application Context
The bean information are retrieved from the method signature. In your case, it will create a bean of type AccountRepository named accountRepository... That's all Spring knows, it won't look inside your method body.
Once Spring is done analysing your classpath, or scanning the bean definitions, it will start instanciating your object.
It will therefor creates your bean accountRepository of type AccountRepository.
But Spring is "clever" and nice with us. Even if you couldn't write this code without your compiler yelling at you, Spring can still call your method.
To make sure, try writing this code :
AccountRepository accountRepository = new JdbcAccountRepository();
accountRepository.populateCache(); // Compiler error => the method is not found.
But it works for Spring... Magic.
My recommandation, but you might thinking the same now: If you have classes across many packages to answer different business case, then rely on #Configuration classes. #ComponentScan is great to kickstart your development, but reach its limit when your application grows...
You mix two different ways of spring bean declaration:
Using #Configuration classes. Spring finds all beans annotated with #Configuration and uses them as a reference to what beans should be created.
So if you follow this path of configuration - don't use #Repository on beans. Spring will detect it anyway
Using #Repository - other way around - you don't need to use #Configuration in this case. If you decide to use #Repository put #PostConstruct annotation on the method and spring will call it, in this case remove #Configuration altogether (or at least remove #Bean method that creates JdbcAccountRepository)
Annotate populateCache method with #PostConstruct and remove initMethod from #Bean. It will work.
Related
In a real project, I found out that #Component may be omitted in the following code:
// no #Component !!!!!
public class MovieRecommender {
private final CustomerPreference customerPreference;
#Autowired
public MovieRecommender(CustomerPreference customerPreference) {
this.customerPreference = customerPreference;
}
// ...
}
#Component
public class CustomerPreference {...}
(The example is taken from the official Spring docs https://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/4.3.x/spring-framework-reference/htmlsingle/#beans-autowired-annotation , and the docs show no #Component at all, which may mean either that it is not needed, or that it is just not shown.)
The project where I work does not use any XML bean declarations, but it uses frameworks other than just Spring, so it is possible that something declares the class as a bean. Or it may be a feature of the version of Spring that we use, and if that feature is not documented, it may be dropped later.
Question:
Must the class that uses #Autowired be annotated with #Component (well, be a bean)? Is there any official documentation about that?
UPD Folks, there is no #Configuration and no XML configs in the project, I know that such declarations make a bean from a class, but the question is not about them. I even wrote "(well, be a bean)" in the question above to cover that. Does #Autowired work in a class that is not a bean? Or maybe it declares the class that uses it as a bean?
there are several ways to instantiate a bean in Spring.
One of them indeed is with the #Component annotations, with that, Spring will scan all the packages defined for component-scan and initialize all annotated classes (either with #Component or one of the annotations that uses it - Controller, Service, etc.).
Other way to initialise beans is using a configuration class (annotated with #Configuration) that includes methods annotated with #Bean. each of these methods will create a bean.
There's also an option to create the beans using xml configurations, but this is becoming less and less common, as the annotation-based approach is more convinient
According to https://stackoverflow.com/a/3813725/755804 , with autowireBean() it is possible to autowire a bean from a class not declared as a bean.
#Autowired
private AutowireCapableBeanFactory beanFactory;
public void sayHello(){
System.out.println("Hello World");
Bar bar = new Bar();
beanFactory.autowireBean(bar);
bar.sayHello();
}
and
package com.example.demo;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
public class Bar {
#Autowired
private Foo foo;
public void sayHello(){
System.out.println("Bar: Hello World! foo="+foo);
}
}
On the other hand, by default the latest Spring does not assume that classes that use #Autowire are #Component-s.
UPD
As to the mentioned real project, the stack trace shows that the constructor is called from createBean(). That is, the framework creates beans from classes declared in the framework's configs.
I understand that #Component annotation was introduced in spring 2.5 in order to get rid of xml bean definition by using classpath scanning.
#Bean was introduced in spring 3.0 and can be used with #Configuration in order to fully get rid of xml file and use java config instead.
Would it have been possible to re-use the #Component annotation instead of introducing #Bean annotation? My understanding is that the final goal is to create beans in both cases.
#Component
Preferable for component scanning and automatic wiring.
When should you use #Bean?
Sometimes automatic configuration is not an option. When? Let's imagine that you want to wire components from 3rd-party libraries (you don't have the source code so you can't annotate its classes with #Component), so automatic configuration is not possible.
The #Bean annotation returns an object that spring should register as bean in application context. The body of the method bears the logic responsible for creating the instance.
#Component and #Bean do two quite different things, and shouldn't be confused.
#Component (and #Service and #Repository) are used to auto-detect and auto-configure beans using classpath scanning. There's an implicit one-to-one mapping between the annotated class and the bean (i.e. one bean per class). Control of wiring is quite limited with this approach, since it's purely declarative.
#Bean is used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically as above. It decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition, and lets you create and configure beans exactly how you choose.
To answer your question...
would it have been possible to re-use the #Component annotation instead of introducing #Bean annotation?
Sure, probably; but they chose not to, since the two are quite different. Spring's already confusing enough without muddying the waters further.
#Component auto detects and configures the beans using classpath scanning whereas #Bean explicitly declares a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically.
#Component does not decouple the declaration of the bean from the class definition where as #Bean decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition.
#Component is a class level annotation whereas #Bean is a method level annotation and name of the method serves as the bean name.
#Component need not to be used with the #Configuration annotation where as #Bean annotation has to be used within the class which is annotated with #Configuration.
We cannot create a bean of a class using #Component, if the class is outside spring container whereas we can create a bean of a class using #Bean even if the class is present outside the spring container.
#Component has different specializations like #Controller, #Repository and #Service whereas #Bean has no specializations.
Let's consider I want specific implementation depending on some dynamic state.
#Bean is perfect for that case.
#Bean
#Scope("prototype")
public SomeService someService() {
switch (state) {
case 1:
return new Impl1();
case 2:
return new Impl2();
case 3:
return new Impl3();
default:
return new Impl();
}
}
However there is no way to do that with #Component.
Both approaches aim to register target type in Spring container.
The difference is that #Bean is applicable to methods, whereas #Component is applicable to types.
Therefore when you use #Bean annotation you control instance creation logic in method's body (see example above). With #Component annotation you cannot.
I see a lot of answers and almost everywhere it's mentioned #Component is for autowiring where component is scanned, and #Bean is exactly declaring that bean to be used differently. Let me show how it's different.
#Bean
First it's a method level annotation.
Second you generally use it to configure beans in Java code (if you are not using xml configuration) and then call it from a class using the
ApplicationContext.getBean method. Example:
#Configuration
class MyConfiguration{
#Bean
public User getUser() {
return new User();
}
}
class User{
}
// Getting Bean
User user = applicationContext.getBean("getUser");
#Component
It is the general way to annotate a bean and not a specialized bean.
It is a class level annotation and is used to avoid all that configuration stuff through java or xml configuration.
We get something like this.
#Component
class User {
}
// to get Bean
#Autowired
User user;
That's it. It was just introduced to avoid all the configuration steps to instantiate and use that bean.
You can use #Bean to make an existing third-party class available to your Spring framework application context.
#Bean
public ViewResolver viewResolver() {
InternalResourceViewResolver viewResolver = new InternalResourceViewResolver();
viewResolver.setPrefix("/WEB-INF/view/");
viewResolver.setSuffix(".jsp");
return viewResolver;
}
By using the #Bean annotation, you can wrap a third-party class (it may not have #Component and it may not use Spring), as a Spring bean. And then once it is wrapped using #Bean, it is as a singleton object and available in your Spring framework application context. You can now easily share/reuse this bean in your app using dependency injection and #Autowired.
So think of the #Bean annotation is a wrapper/adapter for third-party classes. You want to make the third-party classes available to your Spring framework application context.
By using #Bean in the code above, I'm explicitly declare a single bean because inside of the method, I'm explicitly creating the object using the new keyword. I'm also manually calling setter methods of the given class. So I can change the value of the prefix field. So this manual work is referred to as explicit creation. If I use the #Component for the same class, the bean registered in the Spring container will have default value for the prefix field.
On the other hand, when we annotate a class with #Component, no need for us to manually use the new keyword. It is handled automatically by Spring.
When you use the #Component tag, it's the same as having a POJO (Plain Old Java Object) with a vanilla bean declaration method (annotated with #Bean). For example, the following method 1 and 2 will give the same result.
Method 1
#Component
public class SomeClass {
private int number;
public SomeClass(Integer theNumber){
this.number = theNumber.intValue();
}
public int getNumber(){
return this.number;
}
}
with a bean for 'theNumber':
#Bean
Integer theNumber(){
return new Integer(3456);
}
Method 2
//Note: no #Component tag
public class SomeClass {
private int number;
public SomeClass(Integer theNumber){
this.number = theNumber.intValue();
}
public int getNumber(){
return this.number;
}
}
with the beans for both:
#Bean
Integer theNumber(){
return new Integer(3456);
}
#Bean
SomeClass someClass(Integer theNumber){
return new SomeClass(theNumber);
}
Method 2 allows you to keep bean declarations together, it's a bit more flexible etc. You may even want to add another non-vanilla SomeClass bean like the following:
#Bean
SomeClass strawberryClass(){
return new SomeClass(new Integer(1));
}
You have two ways to generate beans.
One is to create a class with an annotation #Component.
The other is to create a method and annotate it with #Bean. For those classes containing method with #Bean should be annotated with #Configuration
Once you run your spring project, the class with a #ComponentScan annotation would scan every class with #Component on it, and restore the instance of this class to the Ioc Container. Another thing the #ComponentScan would do is running the methods with #Bean on it and restore the return object to the Ioc Container as a bean.
So when you need to decide which kind of beans you want to create depending upon current states, you need to use #Bean. You can write the logic and return the object you want.
Another thing worth to mention is the name of the method with #Bean is the default name of bean.
Difference between Bean and Component:
#component and its specializations(#Controller, #service, #repository) allow for auto-detection
using classpath scanning. If we see component class like #Controller, #service, #repository will be scan automatically by the spring framework using the component scan.
#Bean on the other hand can only be used to explicitly declare a single bean in a configuration class.
#Bean used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting spring do it automatically. Its make septate declaration of bean from the class definition.
In short #Controller, #service, #repository are for auto-detection and #Bean to create seprate bean from class
- #Controller
public class LoginController
{ --code-- }
- #Configuration
public class AppConfig {
#Bean
public SessionFactory sessionFactory()
{--code-- }
Spring supports multiple types annotations such as #Component, #Service, #Repository. All theses can be found under the org.springframework.stereotype package.
#Bean can be found under the org.springframework.context.annotation package.
When classes in our application are annotated with any of the above mentioned annotation then during project startup spring scan(using #ComponentScan) each class and inject the instance of the classes to the IOC container. Another thing the #ComponentScan would do is running the methods with #Bean on it and restore the return object to the Ioc Container as a bean.
#Component
If we mark a class with #Component or one of the other Stereotype annotations these classes will be auto-detected using classpath scanning. As long as these classes are in under our base package or Spring is aware of another package to scan, a new bean will be created for each of these classes.
package com.beanvscomponent.controller;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
#Controller
public class HomeController {
public String home(){
return "Hello, World!";
}
}
There's an implicit one-to-one mapping between the annotated class and the bean (i.e. one bean per class). Control of wiring is quite limited with this approach since it's purely declarative. It is also important to note that the stereotype annotations are class level annotations.
#Bean
#Bean is used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically like we did with #Controller. It decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition and lets you create and configure beans exactly how you choose. With #Bean you aren't placing this annotation at the class level. If you tried to do that you would get an invalid type error. The #Bean documentation defines it as:
Indicates that a method produces a bean to be managed by the Spring container.
Typically, #Bean methods are declared within #Configuration classes.We have a user class that we needed to instantiate and then create a bean using that instance. This is where I said earlier that we have a little more control over how the bean is defined.
package com.beanvscomponent;
public class User {
private String first;
private String last;
public User(String first, String last) {
this.first = first;
this.last = last;
}
}
As i mentioned earlier #Bean methods should be declared within #Configuration classes.
package com.beanvscomponent;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
#Configuration
public class ApplicationConfig {
#Bean
public User superUser() {
return new User("Partho","Bappy");
}
}
The name of the method is actually going to be the name of our bean. If we pull up the /beans endpoint in the actuator we can see the bean defined.
{
"beans": "superUser",
"aliases": [],
"scope": "singleton",
"type": "com.beanvscomponent.User",
"resource": "class path resource
[com/beanvscomponent/ApplicationConfig.class]",
"dependencies": []
}
#Component vs #Bean
I hope that cleared up some things on when to use #Component and when to use #Bean. It can be a little confusing but as you start to write more applications it will become pretty natural.
#Bean was created to avoid coupling Spring and your business rules in compile time. It means you can reuse your business rules in other frameworks like PlayFramework or JEE.
Moreover, you have total control on how create beans, where it is not enough the default Spring instantation.
I wrote a post talking about it.
https://coderstower.com/2019/04/23/factory-methods-decoupling-ioc-container-abstraction/
1. About #Component
#Component functs similarily to #Configuration.
They both indicate that the annotated class has one or more beans need to be registered to Spring-IOC-Container.
The class annotated by #Component, we call it Component of Spring. It is a concept that contains several beans.
Component class needs to be auto-scanned by Spring for registering those beans of the component class.
2. About #Bean
#Bean is used to annotate the method of component-class(as mentioned above). It indicate the instance retured by the annotated method needs to be registered to Spring-IOC-Container.
3. Conclusion
The difference between them two is relatively obivious, they are used in different circumstances.
The general usage is:
// #Configuration is implemented by #Component
#Configuration
public ComponentClass {
#Bean
public FirstBean FirstBeanMethod() {
return new FirstBean();
}
#Bean
public SecondBean SecondBeanMethod() {
return new SecondBean();
}
}
Additional Points from above answers
Let’s say we got a module which is shared in multiple apps and it contains a few services. Not all are needed for each app.
If use #Component on those service classes and the component scan in the application,
we might end up detecting more beans than necessary
In this case, you either had to adjust the filtering of the component scan or provide the configuration that even the unused beans can run. Otherwise, the application context won’t start.
In this case, it is better to work with #Bean annotation and only instantiate those beans,
which are required individually in each app
So, essentially, use #Bean for adding third-party classes to the context. And #Component if it is just inside your single application.
#Bean can be scoped and #component cannot
such as
#Scope(value = WebApplicationContext.SCOPE_REQUEST, proxyMode = ScopedProxyMode.TARGET_CLASS)
I understand that #Component annotation was introduced in spring 2.5 in order to get rid of xml bean definition by using classpath scanning.
#Bean was introduced in spring 3.0 and can be used with #Configuration in order to fully get rid of xml file and use java config instead.
Would it have been possible to re-use the #Component annotation instead of introducing #Bean annotation? My understanding is that the final goal is to create beans in both cases.
#Component
Preferable for component scanning and automatic wiring.
When should you use #Bean?
Sometimes automatic configuration is not an option. When? Let's imagine that you want to wire components from 3rd-party libraries (you don't have the source code so you can't annotate its classes with #Component), so automatic configuration is not possible.
The #Bean annotation returns an object that spring should register as bean in application context. The body of the method bears the logic responsible for creating the instance.
#Component and #Bean do two quite different things, and shouldn't be confused.
#Component (and #Service and #Repository) are used to auto-detect and auto-configure beans using classpath scanning. There's an implicit one-to-one mapping between the annotated class and the bean (i.e. one bean per class). Control of wiring is quite limited with this approach, since it's purely declarative.
#Bean is used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically as above. It decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition, and lets you create and configure beans exactly how you choose.
To answer your question...
would it have been possible to re-use the #Component annotation instead of introducing #Bean annotation?
Sure, probably; but they chose not to, since the two are quite different. Spring's already confusing enough without muddying the waters further.
#Component auto detects and configures the beans using classpath scanning whereas #Bean explicitly declares a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically.
#Component does not decouple the declaration of the bean from the class definition where as #Bean decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition.
#Component is a class level annotation whereas #Bean is a method level annotation and name of the method serves as the bean name.
#Component need not to be used with the #Configuration annotation where as #Bean annotation has to be used within the class which is annotated with #Configuration.
We cannot create a bean of a class using #Component, if the class is outside spring container whereas we can create a bean of a class using #Bean even if the class is present outside the spring container.
#Component has different specializations like #Controller, #Repository and #Service whereas #Bean has no specializations.
Let's consider I want specific implementation depending on some dynamic state.
#Bean is perfect for that case.
#Bean
#Scope("prototype")
public SomeService someService() {
switch (state) {
case 1:
return new Impl1();
case 2:
return new Impl2();
case 3:
return new Impl3();
default:
return new Impl();
}
}
However there is no way to do that with #Component.
Both approaches aim to register target type in Spring container.
The difference is that #Bean is applicable to methods, whereas #Component is applicable to types.
Therefore when you use #Bean annotation you control instance creation logic in method's body (see example above). With #Component annotation you cannot.
I see a lot of answers and almost everywhere it's mentioned #Component is for autowiring where component is scanned, and #Bean is exactly declaring that bean to be used differently. Let me show how it's different.
#Bean
First it's a method level annotation.
Second you generally use it to configure beans in Java code (if you are not using xml configuration) and then call it from a class using the
ApplicationContext.getBean method. Example:
#Configuration
class MyConfiguration{
#Bean
public User getUser() {
return new User();
}
}
class User{
}
// Getting Bean
User user = applicationContext.getBean("getUser");
#Component
It is the general way to annotate a bean and not a specialized bean.
It is a class level annotation and is used to avoid all that configuration stuff through java or xml configuration.
We get something like this.
#Component
class User {
}
// to get Bean
#Autowired
User user;
That's it. It was just introduced to avoid all the configuration steps to instantiate and use that bean.
You can use #Bean to make an existing third-party class available to your Spring framework application context.
#Bean
public ViewResolver viewResolver() {
InternalResourceViewResolver viewResolver = new InternalResourceViewResolver();
viewResolver.setPrefix("/WEB-INF/view/");
viewResolver.setSuffix(".jsp");
return viewResolver;
}
By using the #Bean annotation, you can wrap a third-party class (it may not have #Component and it may not use Spring), as a Spring bean. And then once it is wrapped using #Bean, it is as a singleton object and available in your Spring framework application context. You can now easily share/reuse this bean in your app using dependency injection and #Autowired.
So think of the #Bean annotation is a wrapper/adapter for third-party classes. You want to make the third-party classes available to your Spring framework application context.
By using #Bean in the code above, I'm explicitly declare a single bean because inside of the method, I'm explicitly creating the object using the new keyword. I'm also manually calling setter methods of the given class. So I can change the value of the prefix field. So this manual work is referred to as explicit creation. If I use the #Component for the same class, the bean registered in the Spring container will have default value for the prefix field.
On the other hand, when we annotate a class with #Component, no need for us to manually use the new keyword. It is handled automatically by Spring.
When you use the #Component tag, it's the same as having a POJO (Plain Old Java Object) with a vanilla bean declaration method (annotated with #Bean). For example, the following method 1 and 2 will give the same result.
Method 1
#Component
public class SomeClass {
private int number;
public SomeClass(Integer theNumber){
this.number = theNumber.intValue();
}
public int getNumber(){
return this.number;
}
}
with a bean for 'theNumber':
#Bean
Integer theNumber(){
return new Integer(3456);
}
Method 2
//Note: no #Component tag
public class SomeClass {
private int number;
public SomeClass(Integer theNumber){
this.number = theNumber.intValue();
}
public int getNumber(){
return this.number;
}
}
with the beans for both:
#Bean
Integer theNumber(){
return new Integer(3456);
}
#Bean
SomeClass someClass(Integer theNumber){
return new SomeClass(theNumber);
}
Method 2 allows you to keep bean declarations together, it's a bit more flexible etc. You may even want to add another non-vanilla SomeClass bean like the following:
#Bean
SomeClass strawberryClass(){
return new SomeClass(new Integer(1));
}
You have two ways to generate beans.
One is to create a class with an annotation #Component.
The other is to create a method and annotate it with #Bean. For those classes containing method with #Bean should be annotated with #Configuration
Once you run your spring project, the class with a #ComponentScan annotation would scan every class with #Component on it, and restore the instance of this class to the Ioc Container. Another thing the #ComponentScan would do is running the methods with #Bean on it and restore the return object to the Ioc Container as a bean.
So when you need to decide which kind of beans you want to create depending upon current states, you need to use #Bean. You can write the logic and return the object you want.
Another thing worth to mention is the name of the method with #Bean is the default name of bean.
Difference between Bean and Component:
#component and its specializations(#Controller, #service, #repository) allow for auto-detection
using classpath scanning. If we see component class like #Controller, #service, #repository will be scan automatically by the spring framework using the component scan.
#Bean on the other hand can only be used to explicitly declare a single bean in a configuration class.
#Bean used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting spring do it automatically. Its make septate declaration of bean from the class definition.
In short #Controller, #service, #repository are for auto-detection and #Bean to create seprate bean from class
- #Controller
public class LoginController
{ --code-- }
- #Configuration
public class AppConfig {
#Bean
public SessionFactory sessionFactory()
{--code-- }
Spring supports multiple types annotations such as #Component, #Service, #Repository. All theses can be found under the org.springframework.stereotype package.
#Bean can be found under the org.springframework.context.annotation package.
When classes in our application are annotated with any of the above mentioned annotation then during project startup spring scan(using #ComponentScan) each class and inject the instance of the classes to the IOC container. Another thing the #ComponentScan would do is running the methods with #Bean on it and restore the return object to the Ioc Container as a bean.
#Component
If we mark a class with #Component or one of the other Stereotype annotations these classes will be auto-detected using classpath scanning. As long as these classes are in under our base package or Spring is aware of another package to scan, a new bean will be created for each of these classes.
package com.beanvscomponent.controller;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
#Controller
public class HomeController {
public String home(){
return "Hello, World!";
}
}
There's an implicit one-to-one mapping between the annotated class and the bean (i.e. one bean per class). Control of wiring is quite limited with this approach since it's purely declarative. It is also important to note that the stereotype annotations are class level annotations.
#Bean
#Bean is used to explicitly declare a single bean, rather than letting Spring do it automatically like we did with #Controller. It decouples the declaration of the bean from the class definition and lets you create and configure beans exactly how you choose. With #Bean you aren't placing this annotation at the class level. If you tried to do that you would get an invalid type error. The #Bean documentation defines it as:
Indicates that a method produces a bean to be managed by the Spring container.
Typically, #Bean methods are declared within #Configuration classes.We have a user class that we needed to instantiate and then create a bean using that instance. This is where I said earlier that we have a little more control over how the bean is defined.
package com.beanvscomponent;
public class User {
private String first;
private String last;
public User(String first, String last) {
this.first = first;
this.last = last;
}
}
As i mentioned earlier #Bean methods should be declared within #Configuration classes.
package com.beanvscomponent;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
#Configuration
public class ApplicationConfig {
#Bean
public User superUser() {
return new User("Partho","Bappy");
}
}
The name of the method is actually going to be the name of our bean. If we pull up the /beans endpoint in the actuator we can see the bean defined.
{
"beans": "superUser",
"aliases": [],
"scope": "singleton",
"type": "com.beanvscomponent.User",
"resource": "class path resource
[com/beanvscomponent/ApplicationConfig.class]",
"dependencies": []
}
#Component vs #Bean
I hope that cleared up some things on when to use #Component and when to use #Bean. It can be a little confusing but as you start to write more applications it will become pretty natural.
#Bean was created to avoid coupling Spring and your business rules in compile time. It means you can reuse your business rules in other frameworks like PlayFramework or JEE.
Moreover, you have total control on how create beans, where it is not enough the default Spring instantation.
I wrote a post talking about it.
https://coderstower.com/2019/04/23/factory-methods-decoupling-ioc-container-abstraction/
1. About #Component
#Component functs similarily to #Configuration.
They both indicate that the annotated class has one or more beans need to be registered to Spring-IOC-Container.
The class annotated by #Component, we call it Component of Spring. It is a concept that contains several beans.
Component class needs to be auto-scanned by Spring for registering those beans of the component class.
2. About #Bean
#Bean is used to annotate the method of component-class(as mentioned above). It indicate the instance retured by the annotated method needs to be registered to Spring-IOC-Container.
3. Conclusion
The difference between them two is relatively obivious, they are used in different circumstances.
The general usage is:
// #Configuration is implemented by #Component
#Configuration
public ComponentClass {
#Bean
public FirstBean FirstBeanMethod() {
return new FirstBean();
}
#Bean
public SecondBean SecondBeanMethod() {
return new SecondBean();
}
}
Additional Points from above answers
Let’s say we got a module which is shared in multiple apps and it contains a few services. Not all are needed for each app.
If use #Component on those service classes and the component scan in the application,
we might end up detecting more beans than necessary
In this case, you either had to adjust the filtering of the component scan or provide the configuration that even the unused beans can run. Otherwise, the application context won’t start.
In this case, it is better to work with #Bean annotation and only instantiate those beans,
which are required individually in each app
So, essentially, use #Bean for adding third-party classes to the context. And #Component if it is just inside your single application.
#Bean can be scoped and #component cannot
such as
#Scope(value = WebApplicationContext.SCOPE_REQUEST, proxyMode = ScopedProxyMode.TARGET_CLASS)
My Spring 4 application, which uses Reactor 2, fails to start with:
***************************
APPLICATION FAILED TO START
***************************
Description:
The bean 'orderHandlerConsumer' could not be injected as a 'fm.data.repository.OrderHandlerConsumer' because it is a JDK dynamic proxy that implements:
reactor.fn.Consumer
Action:
Consider injecting the bean as one of its interfaces or forcing the use of CGLib-based proxies by setting proxyTargetClass=true on #EnableAsync and/or #EnableCaching.
The OrderHandlerConsumer is really simple:
#Service
#Order(Ordered.HIGHEST_PRECEDENCE)
public class OrderHandlerConsumer implements Consumer<Event<OrderEnvelope>> {
#Override
public void accept(Event<OrderEnvelope> event) {
event.getData().getLatch().countDown();
}
}
Any ideas what might be going awry?
In your application class file where you define it as Spring application, add underneath it.
#SpringBootApplication
#EnableCaching(proxyTargetClass = true)
While the accepted answer will solve this issue, I think it will be more appropriate for me to explain why appling proxyTargetClass = true will fix this.
First of all, Spring, as a framework, utilizes proxing in order to supply the bean with some extended functionality, such as declaritive transactions via #Transactional, or caching by the means of #Cacheable and e.t.c. There are, in general, 2 ways(*) Spring can create proxy on top of your bean:
Jdk dynamic proxing
CGLib proxing
Offical documentation on this, in case you are interested.
Spring can create jdk dynamic proxy of the bean (in case proxing is required for this bean of course) if original class of the bean implements at least one interface. So spring basically create another implementation of this interface at runtime with some additional logic on top of original class.
What is the problem: if the bean is proxied by the means of jdk dynamic proxing , then you cannot inject this bean via its original class. So something like this:
#SpringBootApplication
#EnableTransactionManagement(proxyTargetClass = false)
public class StackoverflowApplication {
#Autowired private SomeService service;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(StackoverflowApplication.class, args);
}
}
#Service
class SomeService implements SomeInterface {
#Override
#Transactional
public void handle() { }
}
interface SomeInterface {
void handle();
}
wont work. Why? Well, becuase #Transactional tells Spring that it needs to create proxy of SomeService at runtime, and within #EnableTransactionManagement I specifically asked Spring to make it by the means of jdk dynamic proxy - spring will succeed, since jdk dynamic proxy can be created, but the problem is at runtime there is not bean of type SomeService, there is only a bean of type SomeInterface (by the way, if you inject service here not by the class, but by the interface - it will work, I assume you understand the reason by reading explaination above).
Solution: by applying #EnableTransactionManagement(proxyTargetClass = true) (notice true value here) you force spring to create CGlib proxy (this rule is applicable only for beans that utilize declarative transaction management, i.e. via annotations). In case of CgLib proxing, Spring will try to extend the original class, and add additional functionality at runtime in the generated child class. And in this case injection by class will work - because the bean extends class SomeService, so
#Autowired
private SomeService someService;
will work perfectly fine. But, in general, if possible, inject bean by interface, not by class. In this case both Cglib and jdk dynamic proxy will work. So, be aware of proxing mechanisms spring can use. Hope it helped, have a nice day.
You can assign a bean name to your OrderHandlerConsumer class so that Autowire resolution will be easier, Moreover, Instead of Autowiring with the concrete class, try to auto-wire with the interface. So that you can change #Service annotation to,
#Service(value="orderHandlerConsumer")
and try to Autowire with the interface type,
#Autowire
reactor.fn.Consumer orderHandlerConsumer;
Please try autowiring as below
class Test{
#Autowired
private Consumer orderHandlerConsumer;
}
If the target object to be proxied implements at least one interface
then a JDK dynamic proxy will be used. All of the interfaces
implemented by the target type will be proxied. If the target object
does not implement any interfaces then a CGLIB proxy will be created.
https://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/3.0.0.M3/reference/html/ch08s06.html
You can call it two ways.
1st way is without mentioning the proxy [with default proxy], you can Autowire it by the interface like below.
#Autowired
private Consumer orderHandlerConsumer;
Spring AOP will create an instance for OrderHandlerConsumer.
2nd way is, mention the proxy in the bean as ScopedProxyMode.TARGET_CLASS.
then you can Autowire an instance without the interface [based on the class].
#Service
#Order(Ordered.HIGHEST_PRECEDENCE)
#Scope(value = ConfigurableBeanFactory.SCOPE_SINGLETON, proxyMode = ScopedProxyMode.TARGET_CLASS)
public class OrderHandlerConsumer implements Consumer<Event<OrderEnvelope>> {
#Override
public void accept(Event<OrderEnvelope> event) {
event.getData().getLatch().countDown();
}
}
and Autowire by the class like below.
#Autowired
private OrderHandlerConsumer orderHandlerConsumer;
In my code, I don't want to load all the beans defined in the XXApplicationConfig class.
XXApplicationConfig is a #Configuration annotated file which has bunch of spring beans defined.
So, I want to load only AppBean from XXApplicationConfig class while testing to reduce loading test time and also differentiate what I am testing. I also want to load the class using XXApplicationConfig class to make sure the bean configuration defined is correct as well.
This is my Test class ( modified ) to test AppBean class.
Could you let me know if this is the right approach and suggest how to make it better? Currently, this approach seems to be working. But, not sure if it is correct way of approaching it.
#ContextConfiguration(loader=AnnotationConfigContextLoader.class)
#RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class)
public class ApplicationTest {
#Configuration
#PropertySources(value = {#PropertySource("classpath:test.properties")})
static class MyTestConfiguration {
#Bean
public static PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer propertySourcesPlaceHolderConfigurer() {
return new PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer();
}
#Bean
public XXApplicationConfig xxAppConfig() {
return new XXApplicationConfig();
}
#Bean
public CustomTestService customTestService() {
return new CustomTestService();
}
#Bean
public AppBean appBean() throws Exception {
return XXApplicationConfig().appBean();
}
}
#Autowired
private AppBean appBean;
#Test
public void testAppBean() {
test appBean.doSomething();
}
}
If you want to test just one object, just create one object of that class, using the constructor of that class. Spring beans are designed to be POJOs. The Spring context is just a convenient way of creating and connecting objects. Nothing stops you creating and connecting them yourself.
If you can instantiated the class you want to test and manually inject all the dependencies it required via constructor and/or setter getters, then you don't need to use Spring in your test.
However, if your bean:
uses private fields annotated with #Autowired or #Value without corresponding getters/setters.
depends on many other beans.
the behavior you want to test depends on Spring AOP/Proxies (you use #Transactional or #Cacheable for example).
Then you will need Spring to wired the bean. I personally prefer to define a a minimal #Configuration class for these cases.
Then again, if your bean meets the conditions on the list you should consider refactoring the bean to minimize its dependencies and facilitate testing.