Spring - Difference between using static method and #Component - java

I'm working on Java Spring
I wanna make simple Util methods like 'get current time as string, split string on special condition, etc..)
I think there is two ways to develop;
1. using static method
/* using static method */
public class TestUtil {
public static String printTest() {
System.out.println("test!");
}
}
// Call Method
public class Caller {
public void callTest() {
TestUtil.printTest();
}
}
2. set as component
/* using as #component */
#Component
public class TestUtil {
public String printTest() {
System.out.println("test!");
}
}
// Call Method
public class Caller {
#Autowired
TestUtil testutil;
public void callTest() {
testutil.printTest();
}
}
Which of the two looks better? And What is the main difference?
Can you answer, you have great mercy on this miserable junior developer.
Thank for your answer

First of all, you shouldn't use a static method to get the time. You can inject a Clock implementation into spring components so that tests can substitute their own predictable clock. That way code that gets the time can assert the expected value of the time.
Spring has control over how it creates component objects but it has no control over classloading, spring can't control which class loads first and make sure static fields have valid values at a given time. It's always better not to use static methods in spring for anything but code that has no dependencies or side effects whatsoever.

Related

Create bean instance at runtime for interface

i am kind of stuck on a problem with creating beans, or probably i got the wrong intention.. Maybe you can help me solve it:
I got a application which takes in requests for batch processing. For every batch i need to create an own context depending on the parameters issued by the request.
I will try to simplyfy it with the following example:
I receive a request to process in a batch FunctionA which is a implementation for my Function_I interface and has sub-implementation FunctionA_DE and FunctionA_AT
Something like this:
public interface Function_I {
String doFunctionStuff()
}
public abstract class FunctionA implements Function_I {
FunctionConfig funcConfig;
public FunctionA(FunctionConfig funcConfig) {
this.funcConfig = funcConfig;
}
public String doFunctionStuff() {
// some code
String result = callSpecificFunctionStuff();
// more code
return result;
}
protected abstract String callSpecificFunctionStuff();
}
public class FunctionA_DE extends FunctionA {
public FunctionA_DE(FunctionConfig funcConf) {
super(funcConf)
}
protected String callSpecifiFunctionStuff() {
//do some specificStuff
return result;
}
}
public class FunctionA_AT extends FunctionA {
public FunctionA_AT(FunctionConfig funcConf) {
super(funcConf)
}
protected String callSpecifiFunctionStuff() {
//do some specificStuff
return result;
}
}
what would be the Spring-Boot-Way of creating a instance for FunctionA_DE to get it as Function_I for the calling part of the application, and what should it look like when i add FunctionB with FunctionB_DE / FunctionB_AT to my classes..
I thought it could be something like:
PSEUDO CODE
#Configuration
public class FunctionFactory {
#Bean(SCOPE=SCOPE_PROTOTYPE) // i need a new instance everytime i call it
public Function_I createFunctionA(FunctionConfiguration funcConfig) {
// create Function depending on the funcConfig so either FunctionA_DE or FunctionA_AT
}
}
and i would call it by Autowiring the FunctionFactory into my calling class and use it with
someSpringFactory.createFunction(functionConfiguration);
but i cant figure it out to create a Prototype-Bean for the function with passing a parameter.. And i cant really find a solution to my question by browsing through SO, but maybe i just got the wrong search terms.. Or my approach to solve this issue i totally wrong (maybe stupid), nobody would solve it the spring-boot-way but stick to Factories.
Appreciate your help!
You could use Springs's application context. Create a bean for each of the interfaces but annotate it with a specific profile e.g. "Function-A-AT". Now when you have to invoke it, you can simply set the application context of spring accordingly and the right bean should be used by Spring.
Hello everyone and thanks for reading my question.
after a discussion with a friend who is well versed in the spring framework i came to the conclusion that my approach or my favoured solution was not what i was searching for and is not how spring should be used. Because the Function_I-Instance depends on the for the specific batch loaded configuration it is not recommended to manage all these instances as #Beans.
In the end i decided to not manage the instances for my Function_I with spring. but instead i build a Controller / Factory which is a #Controller-Class and let this class build the instance i need with the passed parameters for decision making on runtime.
This is how it looks (Pseudo-Code)
#Controller
public class FunctionController {
SomeSpringManagedClass ssmc;
public FunctionController(#Autowired SomeSpringManagedClass ssmc) {
this.ssmc = ssmc;
}
public Function_I createFunction(FunctionConfiguration funcConf) {
boolean funcA, cntryDE;
// code to decide the function
if(funcA && cntryDE) {
return new FunctionA_DE(funcConf);
} else if(funB && cntryDE) {
return new FunctionB_DE(funcConf);
} // maybe more else if...
}
}

Is it safe to use String as a return type of a bean in spring?

#Configuration
public class Product {
#Bean("xyz")
public String getMethod() {
return "abc";
}
}
#Component
public class Test {
String b;
Test(String xyz) {
this.b = xyz;
}
}
Is this any harm with this approach? I am trying to make change in the existing code where I am replacing the #Value with the getter as the method parameter. As I don't want to change the structure of the existing code I am trying to inject the method as bean as a replacement to #Value.
I suggest you to keep the #Value annotation instead of the whole #Bean configurations.
Why?
What if the getMethod()'s returned value needs to be changed very often? Everytime when you're changing something in the Product class, during build time it needs to be recompiled. What happens if the project is getting bigger and you're using this approach? It leads to longer build time and the more important thing is that this solution is not intuitive and it's hard to keep it clean. Don't think about complex solutions only to make the code look fancy. When you need to inject String values, the easiest approach is to create properties files (which won't get recompiled) and use the #Value annotation.
Now, if you want to add new methods without changing the structure of the existing code there are some patterns which you can apply like decorator pattern.
The main idea is simple: you're creating a decorator class which has an object of the type you need.
The easiest example (which you'll find everywhere on the internet) is the classic Shape example:
public interface Shape {
String someMethod();
}
#Component
public class CustomShape implements Shape { //implement the method here }
And here is the decorator:
public interface ShapeDecorator {
String someMethodExtended();
void someExtraMethod();
}
#Component
public class CustomShapeDecorator implements ShapeDecorator{
#Autowired
// #Qualifier - optional (only if you have more Shape implementations)
private Shape shape;
// now you can either:
// 1. provide new methods
#Override
public void someExtraMethod(){
System.out.println("Hello world!");
}
// 2. or you can EXTEND the Shape's "someMethod()" implementation
#Override
public String someMethodExtended(){
String oldString = this.shape.someMethod();
return oldString + " EXTENDED";
}
}

UnfinishedStubbingException when performing stubbing from a class other than the test class

I'm using PowerMock to mock a java.net.Inet4Address (amongst other things) to return a particular IP address (getHostAddress()), as well as whether or not it's loopback (isLoopbackAddress()). I find that if I perform the actual stubbing (PowerMock.doReturn(...).when(mock).methodToStub()) anywhere other than from within the test class or an immediately inner class I get an UnfinishedStubbingException.
The problem is most obvious if I try to perform two stubs. The first one passes without an exception, but the second one throws the exception because it thinks the first one was not finished. If I only perform the one stub then I see different errors depending on what I do after that, so it's definitely the first stub that's causing the problem.
Below is some code that demonstrates the problem.
TestClass.java
/* package, imports... */
#RunWith(PowerMockRunner.class)
#PrepareForTest({Inet4Address.class})
public class TestClass {
#Test
public void test() {
Inet4Address mocked = PowerMockito.mock(Inet4Address.class);
// Option 1: Do it from within this class - WORKS
doStubbing(mocked);
// Option 2: Do it from an inner class - WORKS
Inner.doStubbing(mocked);
// Option 3: Do it from an inner class of the inner class - FAILS
Inner.Deeper.doStubbing(mocked);
// Option 4: Do it from an entirely different class - FAILS
OtherClass.doStubbing(mocked);
}
private void doStubbing(Inet4Address mocked) {
PowerMockito.doReturn(true).when(mocked).isLoopbackAddress();
PowerMockito.doReturn("127.0.0.1").when(mocked).getHostAddress();
}
public static class Inner {
static void doStubbing(Inet4Address mocked) {
PowerMockito.doReturn(true).when(mocked).isLoopbackAddress();
PowerMockito.doReturn("127.0.0.1").when(mocked).getHostAddress();
}
public static class Deeper {
static void doStubbing(Inet4Address mocked) {
PowerMockito.doReturn(true).when(mocked).isLoopbackAddress();
PowerMockito.doReturn("127.0.0.1").when(mocked).getHostAddress();
}
}
}
}
OtherClass.java
/* package, imports... */
public class OtherClass {
public static void doStubbing(Inet4Address mocked) {
PowerMockito.doReturn(true).when(mocked).isLoopbackAddress();
PowerMockito.doReturn("127.0.0.1").when(mocked).getHostAddress();
}
}
I've put the creation of the mock at the start, common to all scenarios. It makes no difference if the mock is created from within the same class where the stubbing is being done. I've also made the methods static for ease of reading; the behaviour is the same if the classes are instantiated first.
I know there are workarounds so I can get my test working (perform the mocking right there in the test class, mock the InetAddress interface instead of the IPv4 implementation, etc) but I'd like to know why PowerMock is behaving in this way. I could almost understand it if it only worked from within the test class, but why does it work in an inner class as well?

Dynamic dependency injection for multiple implementations of the same interface with Spring MVC

I am working on a REST API where I have an interface that defines a list of methods which are implemented by 4 different classes, with the possibility of adding many more in the future.
When I receive an HTTP request from the client there is some information included in the URL which will determine which implementation needs to be used.
Within my controller, I would like to have the end-point method contain a switch statement that checks the URL path variable and then uses the appropriate implementation.
I know that I can define and inject the concrete implementations into the controller and then insert which one I would like to use in each particular case in the switch statement, but this doesn't seem very elegant or scalable for 2 reasons:
I now have to instantiate all of the services, even though I only need to use one.
The code seems like it could be much leaner since I am literally calling the same method that is defined in the interface with the same parameters and while in the example it is not really an issue, but in the case that the list of implementations grows ... so does the number of cases and redundant code.
Is there a better solution to solve this type of situation? I am using SpringBoot 2 and JDK 10, ideally, I'd like to implement the most modern solution.
My Current Approach
#RequestMapping(Requests.MY_BASE_API_URL)
public class MyController {
//== FIELDS ==
private final ConcreteServiceImpl1 concreteService1;
private final ConcreteServiceImpl2 concreteService2;
private final ConcreteServiceImpl3 concreteService3;
//== CONSTRUCTORS ==
#Autowired
public MyController(ConcreteServiceImpl1 concreteService1, ConcreteServiceImpl2 concreteService2,
ConcreteServiceImpl3 concreteService3){
this.concreteService1 = concreteService1;
this.concreteService2 = concreteService2;
this.concreteService3 = concreteService3;
}
//== REQUEST MAPPINGS ==
#GetMapping(Requests.SPECIFIC_REQUEST)
public ResponseEntity<?> handleSpecificRequest(#PathVariable String source,
#RequestParam String start,
#RequestParam String end){
source = source.toLowerCase();
if(MyConstants.SOURCES.contains(source)){
switch(source){
case("value1"):
concreteService1.doSomething(start, end);
break;
case("value2"):
concreteService2.doSomething(start, end);
break;
case("value3"):
concreteService3.doSomething(start, end);
break;
}
}else{
//An invalid source path variable was recieved
}
//Return something after additional processing
return null;
}
}
In Spring you can get all implementations of an interface (say T) by injecting a List<T> or a Map<String, T> field. In the second case the names of the beans will become the keys of the map. You could consider this if there are a lot of possible implementations or if they change often. Thanks to it you could add or remove an implementation without changing the controller.
Both injecting a List or a Map have some benefits and drawbacks in this case. If you inject a List you would probably need to add some method to map the name and the implementation. Something like :
interface MyInterface() {
(...)
String name()
}
This way you could transform it to a Map<String, MyInterface>, for example using Streams API. While this would be more explicit, it would polute your interface a bit (why should it be aware that there are multiple implementations?).
When using the Map you should probably name the beans explicitly or even introduce an annotation to follow the principle of least astonishment. If you are naming the beans by using the class name or the method name of the configuration class you could break the app by renaming those (and in effect changing the url), which is usually a safe operation to do.
A simplistic implementation in Spring Boot could look like this:
#SpringBootApplication
public class DynamicDependencyInjectionForMultipleImplementationsApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(DynamicDependencyInjectionForMultipleImplementationsApplication.class, args);
}
interface MyInterface {
Object getStuff();
}
class Implementation1 implements MyInterface {
#Override public Object getStuff() {
return "foo";
}
}
class Implementation2 implements MyInterface {
#Override public Object getStuff() {
return "bar";
}
}
#Configuration
class Config {
#Bean("getFoo")
Implementation1 implementation1() {
return new Implementation1();
}
#Bean("getBar")
Implementation2 implementation2() {
return new Implementation2();
}
}
#RestController
class Controller {
private final Map<String, MyInterface> implementations;
Controller(Map<String, MyInterface> implementations) {
this.implementations = implementations;
}
#GetMapping("/run/{beanName}")
Object runSelectedImplementation(#PathVariable String beanName) {
return Optional.ofNullable(implementations.get(beanName))
.orElseThrow(UnknownImplementation::new)
.getStuff();
}
#ResponseStatus(BAD_REQUEST)
class UnknownImplementation extends RuntimeException {
}
}
}
It passes the following tests:
#RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
#SpringBootTest
#AutoConfigureMockMvc
public class DynamicDependencyInjectionForMultipleImplementationsApplicationTests {
#Autowired
private MockMvc mockMvc;
#Test
public void shouldCallImplementation1() throws Exception {
mockMvc.perform(get("/run/getFoo"))
.andExpect(status().isOk())
.andExpect(content().string(containsString("foo")));
}
#Test
public void shouldCallImplementation2() throws Exception {
mockMvc.perform(get("/run/getBar"))
.andExpect(status().isOk())
.andExpect(content().string(containsString("bar")));
}
#Test
public void shouldRejectUnknownImplementations() throws Exception {
mockMvc.perform(get("/run/getSomethingElse"))
.andExpect(status().isBadRequest());
}
}
Regarding two of your doubts :
1. Instantiating the service object should not be an issue as this is one time job and controller gonna need them to serve all type of request.
2. You can use the exact Path mapping to get rid of switch case. For e.g. :
#GetMapping("/specificRequest/value1")
#GetMapping("/specificRequest/value2")
#GetMapping("/specificRequest/value3")
All of the above mapping will be on separate method which would deal with specific source value and invoke respective service method.
Hope this will help to make code more cleaner and elegant.
There is one more option of separating this on service layer and having only one endpoint to serve all types of source but as you said there is different implementation for each source value then it says that source is nothing but a resource for your application and having separate URI/separate method makes the perfect sense here. Few advantages that I see here with this are :
Makes it easy to write the test cases.
Scaling the same without impacting any other source/service.
Your code dealing the each source as separate entity from other sources.
The above approach should be fine when you have limited source values. If you have no control over source value then we need further redesign here by making source value differentiate by one more value like sourceType etc. and then having separate controller for each group type of source.

Powermock - mocking static class members

I'm trying to mock the following class which contains some static members
public class ClientFact {
private static final String BASE_URL = Config.getProperty("prop1");
private static final String USERID = Config.getProperty("prop2");
......................
public static Client createClient() throws AppException {
}
}
but i'm running into issues with the static member variables which are populated by Config.getProperty. This class does a read on a properties file like so
public class Config {
...............
public static String getProperty(Param param) {
String value = null;
if (param != null) {
value = properties.getProperty(param.toString());
}
return value;
}
}
I'm trying to mock this call since i dont care about the loaded properties in my test. This is what ive tried
#RunWith(PowerMockRunner.class)
#PrepareForTest({ClientFact.class})
public class MyTests {
#Test
public void test() {
PowerMock.mockStaticPartial(Config.class, "getProperty");
EasyMock.expect(Config.getProperty(EasyMock.anyObject())).andReturn(EasyMock.anyString()).anyTimes();
PowerMock.mockStatic(ClientFact.class);
}
}
but its giving the following error...
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: org/easymock/internal/MocksControl.createMock(Ljava/lang/Class;[Ljava/lang/reflect/Method;)Ljava/lang/Object;
at org.powermock.api.easymock.PowerMock.doCreateMock(PowerMock.java:2214)
at org.powermock.api.easymock.PowerMock.doMock(PowerMock.java:2163)
any ideas what im doign wrong here?
A non-answer: consider not making static calls there.
You see, that directly couples that one class to the implementation of that static method in some other class; for no real reason. (and for the record: it seems strange that a USER_ID String is a static field in your ClientFact class. Do you really intend that all ClientFacts are using the same USER_ID?!)
You could replace that static call with a non-static version (for example by introducing an interface); and then you can use dependency injection to make an instance of that interface available to your class under test. And then all your testing works without the need to Powermock.
Long story short: very often (but not always!) the need to turn to Powermock originates in production code which wasn't written to be testable (like in your case). Thus instead of using the big bad Powermock hammer to "fix" your testing problem, you should consider improving your production code.
You might want to listen to those videos to get a better understanding what I am talking about.

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