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config changes without redeployment

My web application has several integrations with external systems and all these integration Rest URLs are kept in a config file with in web app. My application reads this config file at start up and use the URL values while making connections to external systems. But quite often it happens that one of the external systems is down and we have to use an alternate URL. In that case, we typically will have to modify the config and redeploy the war file. Is there a way to modify config file with new value without going through a redeployment of the war file?

In my projects i usually work with Apache Commons Configuration for the management of config files (properties). This library has the capability of automatic reload the values when file changes.
This is muy suggestion of implementation:
Create a class "MyAppConfigProperties" for load the properties file and read your configuration keys:
public class MyAppConfig {
//Apache Commons library object
private PropertiesConfiguration configFile;
private void init() {
try {
//Load the file
configFile = new PropertiesConfiguration(
MyAppConfig.class.getClassLoader().getResource("configFile.properties"));
// Create refresh strategy with "FileChangedReloadingStrategy"
FileChangedReloadingStrategy fileChangedReloadingStrategy = new FileChangedReloadingStrategy();
fileChangedReloadingStrategy.setRefreshDelay(1000);
configFile.setReloadingStrategy(fileChangedReloadingStrategy);
} catch (ConfigurationException e) {
//Manage the exception
}
}
/**
* Constructor por defecto.
*/
public MyAppConfig() {
super();
init();
}
public String getKey(final String key) {
try {
if (configFile.containsKey(key)) {
return configFile.getString(key);
} else {
return null;
}
} catch (ConversionException e) {
//Manage Exception
}
}
}
Now you have to construct a instance of this class (singleton) and use it in all places in that you need to reed a config key.
Every time you use the method "getKey" you will get the last value of the key without deploy and restart.

How to set a default value to variables in Guice

Like we do the following in Spring
#Value("${varName:0}")
int varName;
Is there a way to do this using Google Guice?

In Guice you would annotate the method and make it optional. You then just assign the default value. If no property is there to be injected, it will be the default value.
For example:
public class TestModule3 extends AbstractModule {
#Override
protected void configure() {
// Properties p = new Properties();
// p.setProperty("myValue", "12");
// Names.bindProperties(binder(), p); // this binds the properties that usually come for a file
bind(Manager.class).to(ManagerImpl.class).in(Singleton.class);
}
public static interface Manager {
public void talk();
}
public static class ManagerImpl implements Manager {
#Inject(optional = true)
#Named("myValue")
int test = 0;
#Override
public void talk() {
System.out.println(test);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Manager instance = Guice.createInjector(new TestModule3()).getInstance(Manager.class);
instance.talk();
}
}
This will print "0" for you, because I commented out the property binding. If you remove the comments, it will bind the value 12 to the String myValue. The inject annotation takes care of the rest.
Hope that helps,
EDIT:
As #TavianBarnes pointed out, Guice 4+ has an OptionalBinder. I tried this for your usecase and could not make it work out of the box.
It appears that OptionalBinding is very useful for classes (actual instances), not for properties. Here is why:
You have to know all the properties in advance and bind them to their defaults. It is easy to forget them. The example shown by OP also shows that he does not know if he has the property available (based on the name).
Default implementation of property bindings don't work in combo with the OptionalBinding.
So the way you can make that work is like this:
OptionalBinder.newOptionalBinder(binder(), Key.get(String.class, Names.named("myValue"))).setDefault()
.toInstance("777");
Properties p = new Properties();
p.setProperty("myValue", "12");
// use enumeration to include the default properties
for (Enumeration<?> e = p.propertyNames(); e.hasMoreElements();) {
String propertyName = (String) e.nextElement();
String value = p.getProperty(propertyName);
OptionalBinder.newOptionalBinder(binder(), Key.get(String.class, Names.named(propertyName))).setBinding()
.toInstance(value);
}
I had to copy the Named binding code and change it to support optional bindings.
In summary:
I would prefer to use the optional=true flag + default value in code for properties.
Use the OptionalBinding for actual classes that can be optional.
Finally, there is one more thing you could do - this is my solution in my code. I have a similar requirement (not the optional, but default values).
I want:
Bind my properties
Check if my properties are a variable
Replace the variable
If the variable is not available set a default
Apache offers a handy library for this already which I reuse. This is how my properties look like:
myProperty=${ENV_VAR_NAME:-600}
This is the default annotation of how to define a default value.
The above property says:
Use the evnironment variable "ENV_VAR_NAME".
If "ENV_VAR_NAME" is not set, use the value "600"
Then I bind it as follows:
InputStream resourceAsStream = getClass().getResourceAsStream(path);
if(resourceAsStream == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("No property file found for path: " + path);
}
try {
p.load(resourceAsStream);
EnvironmentVariableSubstitutor envSubstitutor = new EnvironmentVariableSubstitutor(false);
Set<Object> keys = p.keySet();
for(Object k : keys) {
String property = p.getProperty(k.toString());
property = envSubstitutor.replace(property);
p.put(k, property);
}
} catch (IOException e) {
throw new IllegalStateException("Could not load properties", e);
} finally {
try {
resourceAsStream.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
log.error("Could not close stream for resource " + path);
}
}
Names.bindProperties(binder(), p);
What this code does is:
Load the properties from a resource file
Use the EnvironmentVariableSubstitutor to process the values of the properties and overwrite the result. (see loop)
finally, bind the modified properties to their names.
These are all the solutions I can come up with at short notice :) let me know if something's unclear
Edit 2:
there is some info on OptionalBindings and properties + how to handle default values in this google thread as well: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/google-guice/7Ga79iU_sb0
Artur

Reading properties from an XML file using Input Stream?

Currently within my Java Application I have the following Class that I use in order to retrieve values from my properties file (application.properties):
public class MyProperties {
private static Properties defaultProps = new Properties();
static {
try {
java.io.InputStream in= MyProperties.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("application.properties");
defaultProps.load(in);
in.close();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public static String getProperty(String key) {
return defaultProps.getProperty(key);
}
}
An example of instantiating an int using the MyProperties class:
int maxNumberOfPeople = Integer.parseInt(MyProperties.getProperty("maximumPeople"));
I would like to change this class in order to read an XML properties file rather than e.g. application.Properties.
How can I do so, and still keep the ability to still instantiate values using the MyProperties class?

Read the javadoc for the Properties.loadFromXML(...) method.
Method summary:
Loads all of the properties represented by the XML document on the specified input stream into this properties table.
The Properties javadoc includes the DTD for the XML document (file).
It would be better to write your loader using a try-with-resources like this:
try (java.io.InputStream in = MyProperties.class.getClassLoader().
getResourceAsStream("application.properties")) {
// load properties
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
Also, it is a bad idea to catch and squash exceptions like that.
Don't catch Exception.
If the properties failed to load, you most likely want the application to "bail out".
Finally, you probably shouldn't load the properties in a static initializer, because that leaves you with no clean way to deal with any exceptions that might arise.

Updating Dropwizard config at runtime

Is it possible to have my app update the config settings at runtime? I can easily expose the settings I want in my UI but is there a way to allow the user to update settings and make them permanent ie save them to the config.yaml file? The only way I can see it to update the file by hand then restart the server which seems a bit limiting.

Yes. It is possible to reload the service classes at runtime.
Dropwizard by itself does not have the way to reload the app, but jersey has.
Jersey uses a container object internally to maintain the running application. Dropwizard uses the ServletContainer class of Jersey to run the application.
How to reload the app without restarting it -
Get a handle to the container used internally by jersey
You can do this by registering a AbstractContainerLifeCycleListener in Dropwizard Environment before starting the app. and implement its onStartup method as below -
In your main method where you start the app -
//getting the container instance
environment.jersey().register(new AbstractContainerLifecycleListener() {
#Override
public void onStartup(Container container) {
//initializing container - which will be used to reload the app
_container = container;
}
});
Add a method to your app to reload the app. It will take in the list of string which are the names of the service classes you want to reload. This method will call the reload method of the container with the new custom DropWizardConfiguration instance.
In your Application class
public static synchronized void reloadApp(List<String> reloadClasses) {
DropwizardResourceConfig dropwizardResourceConfig = new DropwizardResourceConfig();
for (String className : reloadClasses) {
try {
Class<?> serviceClass = Class.forName(className);
dropwizardResourceConfig.registerClasses(serviceClass);
System.out.printf(" + loaded class %s.\n", className);
} catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
System.out.printf(" ! class %s not found.\n", className);
}
}
_container.reload(dropwizardResourceConfig);
}
For more details see the example documentation of jersey - jersey example for reload
Consider going through the code and documentation of following files in Dropwizard/Jersey for a better understanding -
Container.java
ContainerLifeCycleListener.java
ServletContainer.java
AbstractContainerLifeCycleListener.java
DropWizardResourceConfig.java
ResourceConfig.java

No.
Yaml file is parsed at startup and given to the application as Configuration object once and for all. I believe you can change the file after that but it wouldn't affect your application until you restart it.
Possible follow up question: Can one restart the service programmatically?
AFAIK, no. I've researched and read the code somewhat for that but couldn't find a way to do that yet. If there is, I'd love to hear that :).

I made a task that reloads the main yaml file (it would be useful if something in the file changes). However, it is not reloading the environment. After researching this, Dropwizard uses a lot of final variables and it's quite hard to reload these on the go, without restarting the app.
class ReloadYAMLTask extends Task {
private String yamlFileName;
ReloadYAMLTask(String yamlFileName) {
super("reloadYaml");
this.yamlFileName = yamlFileName;
}
#Override
public void execute(ImmutableMultimap<String, String> parameters, PrintWriter output) throws Exception {
if (yamlFileName != null) {
ConfigurationFactoryFactory configurationFactoryFactory = new DefaultConfigurationFactoryFactory<ReportingServiceConfiguration>();
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = Validation.buildDefaultValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();
ObjectMapper objectMapper = Jackson.newObjectMapper();
final ConfigurationFactory<ServiceConfiguration> configurationFactory = configurationFactoryFactory.create(ServiceConfiguration.class, validator, objectMapper, "dw");
File confFile = new File(yamlFileName);
configurationFactory.build(new File(confFile.toURI()));
}
}
}

You can change the configuration in the YAML and read it while your application is running. This will not however restart the server or change any server configurations. You will be able to read any changed custom configurations and use them. For example, you can change the logging level at runtime or reload other custom settings.
My solution -
Define a custom server command. You should use this command to start your application instead of the "server" command.
ArgsServerCommand.java
public class ArgsServerCommand<WC extends WebConfiguration> extends EnvironmentCommand<WC> {
private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ArgsServerCommand.class);
private final Class<WC> configurationClass;
private Namespace _namespace;
public static String COMMAND_NAME = "args-server";
public ArgsServerCommand(Application<WC> application) {
super(application, "args-server", "Runs the Dropwizard application as an HTTP server specific to my settings");
this.configurationClass = application.getConfigurationClass();
}
/*
* Since we don't subclass ServerCommand, we need a concrete reference to the configuration
* class.
*/
#Override
protected Class<WC> getConfigurationClass() {
return configurationClass;
}
public Namespace getNamespace() {
return _namespace;
}
#Override
protected void run(Environment environment, Namespace namespace, WC configuration) throws Exception {
_namespace = namespace;
final Server server = configuration.getServerFactory().build(environment);
try {
server.addLifeCycleListener(new LifeCycleListener());
cleanupAsynchronously();
server.start();
} catch (Exception e) {
LOGGER.error("Unable to start server, shutting down", e);
server.stop();
cleanup();
throw e;
}
}
private class LifeCycleListener extends AbstractLifeCycle.AbstractLifeCycleListener {
#Override
public void lifeCycleStopped(LifeCycle event) {
cleanup();
}
}
}
Method to reload in your Application -
_ymlFilePath = null; //class variable
public static boolean reloadConfiguration() throws IOException, ConfigurationException {
boolean reloaded = false;
if (_ymlFilePath == null) {
List<Command> commands = _configurationBootstrap.getCommands();
for (Command command : commands) {
String commandName = command.getName();
if (commandName.equals(ArgsServerCommand.COMMAND_NAME)) {
Namespace namespace = ((ArgsServerCommand) command).getNamespace();
if (namespace != null) {
_ymlFilePath = namespace.getString("file");
}
}
}
}
ConfigurationFactoryFactory configurationFactoryFactory = _configurationBootstrap.getConfigurationFactoryFactory();
ValidatorFactory validatorFactory = _configurationBootstrap.getValidatorFactory();
Validator validator = validatorFactory.getValidator();
ObjectMapper objectMapper = _configurationBootstrap.getObjectMapper();
ConfigurationSourceProvider provider = _configurationBootstrap.getConfigurationSourceProvider();
final ConfigurationFactory<CustomWebConfiguration> configurationFactory = configurationFactoryFactory.create(CustomWebConfiguration.class, validator, objectMapper, "dw");
if (_ymlFilePath != null) {
// Refresh logging level.
CustomWebConfiguration webConfiguration = configurationFactory.build(provider, _ymlFilePath);
LoggingFactory loggingFactory = webConfiguration.getLoggingFactory();
loggingFactory.configure(_configurationBootstrap.getMetricRegistry(), _configurationBootstrap.getApplication().getName());
// Get my defined custom settings
CustomSettings customSettings = webConfiguration.getCustomSettings();
reloaded = true;
}
return reloaded;
}

Although this feature isn't supported out of the box by dropwizard, you're able to accomplish this fairly easy with the tools they give you.
Before I get started, note that this isn't a complete solution for the question asked as it doesn't persist the updated config values to the config.yml. However, this would be easy enough to implement yourself simply by writing to the config file from the application. If anyone would like to write this implementation feel free to open a PR on the example project I've linked below.
Code
Start off with a minimal config:
config.yml
myConfigValue: "hello"
And it's corresponding configuration file:
ExampleConfiguration.java
public class ExampleConfiguration extends Configuration {
private String myConfigValue;
public String getMyConfigValue() {
return myConfigValue;
}
public void setMyConfigValue(String value) {
myConfigValue = value;
}
}
Then create a task which updates the config:
UpdateConfigTask.java
public class UpdateConfigTask extends Task {
ExampleConfiguration config;
public UpdateConfigTask(ExampleConfiguration config) {
super("updateconfig");
this.config = config;
}
#Override
public void execute(Map<String, List<String>> parameters, PrintWriter output) {
config.setMyConfigValue("goodbye");
}
}
Also for demonstration purposes, create a resource which allows you to get the config value:
ConfigResource.java
#Path("/config")
public class ConfigResource {
private final ExampleConfiguration config;
public ConfigResource(ExampleConfiguration config) {
this.config = config;
}
#GET
public Response handleGet() {
return Response.ok().entity(config.getMyConfigValue()).build();
}
}
Finally wire everything up in your application:
ExampleApplication.java (exerpt)
environment.jersey().register(new ConfigResource(configuration));
environment.admin().addTask(new UpdateConfigTask(configuration));
Usage
Start up the application then run:
$ curl 'http://localhost:8080/config'
hello
$ curl -X POST 'http://localhost:8081/tasks/updateconfig'
$ curl 'http://localhost:8080/config'
goodbye
How it works
This works simply by passing the same reference to the constructor of ConfigResource.java and UpdateConfigTask.java. If you aren't familiar with the concept see here:
Is Java "pass-by-reference" or "pass-by-value"?
The linked classes above are to a project I've created which demonstrates this as a complete solution. Here's a link to the project:
scottg489/dropwizard-runtime-config-example
Footnote: I haven't verified this works with the built in configuration. However, the dropwizard Configuration class which you need to extend for your own configuration does have various "setters" for internal configuration, but it may not be safe to update those outside of run().
Disclaimer: The project I've linked here was created by me.

GroovyClassLoading Mechanism

I'm really newbie to groovy scripting but following some tutorial I tried to dynamically load some groovy class within my java code using parseClass() method of GroovyClassLoader.
I wrote some snippet and it worked fine for me. The problem is that I don't clearly understand what groovy engine is doing beyond my view and how those scripts are compiled?
Does a new class gets creted and loaded into jvm? Or does my application uses some cached sources?
Here is the class I'm trying to parse:
private static class MyScript {
#Override
public String toString()
{
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
builder.append("public class SomeClass\n");
builder.append("{\n");
builder.append("Some code...").append("\n");
builder.append("}\n");
return builder.toString();
}
The I load it with build() as below:
private Class MyGroovyBuilder {
private Script script = new Script();
public String build() throws TemplateCompilationException
//
String groovyText = script.toString();
//
CompilerConfiguration config = new CompilerConfiguration();
//
byte[] bytes;
try
{
bytes = groovyText.getBytes(config.getSourceEncoding());
}
catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e)
{
throw new TemplateCompilationException(e, groovyText);
}
//
InputStream in = new ByteArrayInputStream(bytes);
GroovyCodeSource gcs = new GroovyCodeSource(in, "SomeName", "/groovy/shell");
GroovyClassLoader loader = new
GroovyClassLoader(Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader(), config);
Class<?> scriptClass;
try
{
scriptClass = loader.parseClass(gcs, false);
}
catch (CompilationFailedException e)
{
throw new GroovyCompilationException(e, "SomeName", groovyText);
}
catch (ClassFormatError e)
{
throw new GroovyCompilationException(e, "SomeName", groovyText);
}
return scriptClass.getName();
}
Any clarification is greatelly appreciated.
BR.

After loading class it appears in your class loader, and can be accessed like any other class.
There is a simple tutorial [here], that show how to load class from string.
In simplest case, you can load class, and hold it's Class object, using it to create objects dynamically. For field access or method invokation you can rely on Groovy dynamic nature.
There is no "cached source" or smth like that behind the scene and you can forget, from where your class is loaded. You can also cache classes, that are already compiled, and save them somewhere, as described [here]. It will drastically improve performance, if you need to load same class often.
But it will be better, to dig down in topic, because dynamic class loading is advanced Java/Groovy technique, it's whole infrastructure of chained classloaders, so it's better to refer documentation about them.
Links below may be helpful.
http://javarevisited.blogspot.ru/2012/12/how-classloader-works-in-java.html
How to use URLClassLoader to load a *.class file?