Injecting dependencies using #Autowired into objects created with "new ..." - java

I have a problem with injecting a bean into a helper class. It works basically like this: I create an object in the page constructor that does some work, returns some data and I show these on the page. In this helper object, a service should be injected via #Autowired annotation. However, I always get a null pointer exception when I use it. I also tried #SpringBean but it didn't help. On the other hand, when I inject this service directly into the page with #SpringBean, it's accessible and works fine. Do you know where the problem is?
This is the page:
public class Page extends BasePage {
public Page() {
HelperObject object = new HelperObject(new Application("APP_NAME"));
String result = object.getData();
add(new Label("label", result));
}
}
Helper object:
public class HelperObject {
private Application app;
#Autowired
private Service service;
public HelperObject(Application app) {
this.app = app;
}
public String getData() {
// use service, manipulate data, return a string
}
}

You can inject dependencies into non-Spring-non-Wicket-new-created objects using #SpringBean by calling InjectorHolder.getInjector().inject(this); in its constructor.
For example:
class MyPojo {
#SpringBean
MyDumbDAO dao;
MyPojo() {
InjectorHolder.getInjector().inject(this);
}
void justDoIt() {
dao.duh(); // dao is there!
}
}
Note that it will only work if called within a Wicket-managed request. If not (ie, if it's a Quartz job, or a Filter executed before Wicket's), the Application instance will not be available, and the injector won't know how to get the dependencies.
Another solution is to use Spring's #Configurable. It uses AspectJ to intercept creation of annotated objects, and inject its dependencies, even if you instantiate them directly with new (or some other framework, like Hibernate, creates them internally). But this requires runtime or build-time (works better for me) bytecode manipulation, which may be too much magic for some people.

#SpringBean only injects dependencies into classes that inherit from Wicket's Component. #Autowired only injects dependencies into classes created by Spring itself. That means you can't automatically inject a dependency into an object you create with new.
(Edit: you can also add a #SpringBean injection to your class by injecting in the constructor:
InjectorHolder.getInjector().inject(this);)
My normal workaround for this is to use my application class to help. (I'm a little puzzled by your use of new Application(...). I assume this isn't actually org.apache.wicket.Application.) For example:
public class MyApplication extends AuthenticatedWebApplication implements
ApplicationContextAware {
private ApplicationContext ctx;
public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext applicationContext)
throws BeansException {
this.ctx = applicationContext;
}
public static MyApplication get() {
return (MyApplication) WebApplication.get();
}
public static Object getSpringBean(String bean) {
return get().ctx.getBean(bean);
}
public static <T> T getSpringBean(Class<T> bean) {
return get().ctx.getBean(bean);
}
....
}
In my Spring application context:
<!-- Set up wicket application -->
<bean id="wicketApplication" class="uk.co.humboldt.Project.MyApplication"/>
My helper object then looks up the service on demand:
public class HelperObject {
private Service getService() {
return MyApplication.getSpringBean(Service.class);
}

The best practice would be to create your objects via a factory bean (that has those properties injected by Spring, and have that factory inject those properties to objects it spawns - pure IoC).
You should really avoid using SpringContext all over the place (or any other similar solution for that matter).
Here is a partial list of reasons:
Your code gets coupled with Spring way too much (low-cohesion).
You mix plumbing code with the business-logic.
Your code is less readable.
It's less maintainable (e.g., changing the name of the service bean would lead to code modification - this violates SRP & OCP).
It's less testable (e.g., you need the Spring framework to test it).

Related

Spring Boot: Why does #Autowired not work for this case?

I have a Spring Boot Java application and am trying to inject a #Service into a class. I'm using #Autowired but it's not doing it. I successfully do so in other classes, but not this one.
The service class:
#Service
#Transactional
public class TaskService {
...
}
The class where it works is a Vaadin "view" annotated with a Vaadin #Route annotation. I'm assuming there is something going on behind the scenes with the #Route annotation that allows this to work.
#Route("main")
public class TaskListView extends HorizontalLayout {
private final TaskService taskService;
public TaskListView(#Autowired TaskService taskService) {
this.taskService = taskService;
}
...
}
The class where it does not work is also a Vaadin "view", but does not have a #Route annotation, because it is not intended to be navigable to, but rather used as a sub-component of a view (i.e. would be directly instantiated inside a parent view).
public class EditNotesForm extends VerticalLayout {
#Autowired
private TaskService taskService;
...
}
The first class uses constructor injection, while the second uses property injection. I can't see why this should make a difference, as I have used both techniques successfully in other applications.
From the Vaadin website:
The only difference between using the router in a standard application and a Spring application is that, in Spring, you can use dependency injection in components annotated with #Route. These components are instantiated by Spring and become Spring-initialized beans. In particular, this means you can autowire other Spring-managed beans.
One way to access Spring components from your regular Vaadin components is by creating static get methods to retrieve your Spring components. Here is one way that can be done... but not the only.
#Component
public class StaticHelper {
private static StaticHelper instance;
#Autowired
private ApplicationContext applicationContext;
#PostConstruct
public void registerInstance() {
instance = this;
}
public static <T> T getBean(Class<T> class) {
return instance.applicationContext.getBean(class);
}
}
So in your example...
private TaskService taskService = StaticHelper.getBean(TaskService.class);
Since EditNotesFormdoesn't have the Route annotation, spring can't autodiscover it and therefore it can't inject any dependency.
Since you want to instantiate it manually, you'll need to provide yourself all dependencies.
But if you still want to benefit from automatic dependency injection, take a look at https://www.baeldung.com/spring-beanfactory

Spring Boot program structure for access to data objects

I have an spring boot app that has a mongo repository and is using spring data to connect to it. This means there's an "entity" class and then a "repository" class.
However, to actually use the repository I need spring to #Autowire my repo to a variable inside another class (we'll call it X) that might want to use it. But if the X class is itself not a spring bean, it's just a regular pojo created by "new X" somewhere then it can't make use of Autowiring and therefore cant use the repo.
This seems like a show stopper... No one could ever make use of a repo outside of some very specific situations like calling the repo directly from your RestController or whatever without any intervening logic. Yet I am sure people are using this.
So my question is how to structure code so that it can be used? Do I need to do a bunch of processing and then return back up to the controller to interact with the databases? Is there a way to create some kind of other "intermediate helper bean" to mediate the connection? What should that look like?
disclaimer: I am fairly new to spring
Perhaps I can post some excerpts that can clarify your situation.
//nothing spring specific
public class MyPojo {
//properties
}
in a different package:
#Repository
public class MyRepositoryImpl implements MyRepository {
//CRUD implementation or whatever
}
in a different package:
#Service
public class MyServiceImpl implements MyService {
#Autowired //constructor-injection
public MyService(MyRepository myRepository) {
this.myRepository = myRepository;
}
private final MyRepository myRepository;
public void myBusinessLogic() {
MyPojo pojo = new MyPojo(); //not dependent on Spring
myRepository.doSomething();
//place calls to X here as needed
}
}
And finally:
#Controller
public class MyController {
#Autowired
public MyController(MyService myService) {
this.myService = myService;
}
private final MyService myService;
#GetMapping("/myPage")
public String doIt() {
myService.myBusinessLogic();
return "myPage";
}
}
Where MyRepository and MyService are interfaces that would contain the contract for their respective implementations.
Single Responsibility Principle
A major point to note is that your POJO isn't going to "use the repo" as you mention in your question. It represents an entity and shouldn't care about any specific repository. And this seems related to your issue - a POJO shouldn't be making calls to a repository (your "X" class in this case). Seems like the design should be revisited if that is the case.
As you say, you can only autowire fields in objects that themselves are autowired. This is inherent to bean injection. You should annotate X with for instance #Component and inject it where you need it.

#Inject not injecting and causing NullPointerException using component scanning

My application context XML is simple:
<context:component-scan base-package="com.depressio.spring" />
In that package, I have my configuration:
package com.depressio.spring
#Configuration
#ComponentScan(basePackages = "com.depressio")
public class DepressioConfiguration
{
#Inject private ApplicationContext context;
}
Within com.depressio, there's a repository (DAO):
package com.depressio.dao;
#Repository
public class ParameterDAO
{
public Parameter getParameter(long ID) { ... }
}
... and a service where injection is working just fine (no NPE when parameterDAO is used):
package com.depressio.resource;
#Service
#Path("/depressio/parameters")
public class ParameterResource
{
#Inject private ParameterDAO parameterDAO;
#Path("{id}")
public Response getParameter(long parameterID)
{
return Response.ok(parameterDAO.getParameter(parameterID).legacyFormat()).build();
}
}
However, the legacyFormat() method call there constructs another object. Within that object, I have to inject a different DAO (also annotated with #Repository, though). That injection isn't working.
So, we have the original Parameter object:
package com.depressio.domain;
public class Parameter
{
...
public LegacyParameter legacyFormat()
{
return new LegacyParameter(this);
}
}
... and the LegacyParameter where the injection isn't working:
package com.depressio.domain.legacy;
public class LegacyParameter
{
#Inject private LegacyDAO legacyDAO;
....
public LegacyParameter(Parameter newParameter)
{
// NullPointerException when using the injected legacyDAO.
}
}
I've tried a few things, including:
Using an no-args constructor for LegacyParameter, then calling a populate method so I'm not using the injected DAO until after the object is constructed. This didn't work.
Injecting the LegacyDAO into the ParameterResource and passing it in. This worked, but isn't ideal since I have to pass it around a whole lot (which injection should help avoid, no?). It did prove that LegacyDAO is injectible... just not into LegacyParameter apparently.
Adding a #Service, #Component, or #Named annotation on LegacyParameter. All end up with the NullPointerException on the line I try to reference the injected legacyDAO.
What am I missing?
As Sotirios has pointed out, it can't work since you create a regular Java object and do not give Spring a chance to enhance it.
Either let Spring create objects for which you want to enjoy the Spring 'magic' (like setting #Inject dependencies etc).
Or create your own objects and set the dependencies yourself (yourObject.setDao(dao)).
That said, there are exceptional cases in which you still want to create your objects 'on the fly' by yourself but rely on Spring to inject dependencies to these objects. In this case you should call Spring explicitly:
LegacyParameter p = new LegacyParameter(...);
applicationContext.getAutowireCapableBeanFactory().autowireBean(p);
I don't think you really need it in your case.
(see this link inject bean reference into a Quartz job in Spring? for an example when this is really required).
In addition, I would advice to simplify your configuration.
Why do you use both xml-based and java-based configuration that do actually the same? In your example you could keep only one of them and have the same effect.

Proper way of injecting dependencies?

Which one is the best way of injecting my dependencies? Why?
What is the difference between the two?
public abstract class Service {
private IConfig config;
#Inject
public Service(IConfog config) {
this.config = config
}
}
Or
public abstract class Service {
#Inject private IConfig config;
#Inject
public Service() {
}
}
Constructor injection (1st) is preferred over setter injection given that it makes it easier to support "immutable" entities or entities whose behaviour is well defined and non-modifiable after construction. Constructor vs Setter inject
For me the rule of thumb is to first prefer constructor injection and jump off to setter injection if constructor inject requires me to bend my back i.e. when working with legacy code with "OOP getter and setter" methods.
EDIT: I'm assuming you are trying to decide between "constructor" and "setter" constructor. But it also seems that you are using abstract classes which can't be instantiated. Maybe you have something else in mind?
First of all, I do not put injection-related annotations in abstract classes - in my opinion there is no sense in deciding how something should be instantiated if it actually cannot be instantiated (of course that's only my opinion with which others may agree or not).
Usually I do it in the following way:
public abstract class AbstractService {
private IConfig config;
public AbstractService(IConfog config) {
this.config = config
}
}
public class Service extends AbstractService {
#Inject
public Service(IConfig config) {
super(config);
}
}
Now, you can use both classes with and without dependency injection (construct it by hand, passing all required references). Also you can be sure that Service is instantiated in the appropriate state every time.
The main goal of dependency injection is to make unit testing easy by allowing to do
Service serviceToTest = new Service(mockConfig);
or
Service serviceToTest = new Service();
serviceToTest.setConfig(mockConfig);
The second way of injecting dependencies makes it impossible to do the abover. You can only test it by letting Guice create the service and inject a mock dependency, or by using reflection to set the mock dependency.

How to inject dependencies into a self-instantiated object in Spring?

Let's say we have a class:
public class MyClass {
#Autowired private AnotherBean anotherBean;
}
Then we created an object of this class (or some other framework have created the instance of this class).
MyClass obj = new MyClass();
Is it possible to still inject the dependencies? Something like:
applicationContext.injectDependencies(obj);
(I think Google Guice has something like this)
You can do this using the autowireBean() method of AutowireCapableBeanFactory. You pass it an arbitrary object, and Spring will treat it like something it created itself, and will apply the various autowiring bits and pieces.
To get hold of the AutowireCapableBeanFactory, just autowire that:
private #Autowired AutowireCapableBeanFactory beanFactory;
public void doStuff() {
MyBean obj = new MyBean();
beanFactory.autowireBean(obj);
// obj will now have its dependencies autowired.
}
You can also mark your MyClass with #Configurable annotation:
#Configurable
public class MyClass {
#Autowired private AnotherClass instance
}
Then at creation time it will automatically inject its dependencies. You also should have <context:spring-configured/> in your application context xml.
Just got the same need and in my case it was already the logic inside non Spring manageable java class which had access to ApplicationContext. Inspired by scaffman.
Solved by:
AutowireCapableBeanFactory factory = applicationContext.getAutowireCapableBeanFactory();
factory.autowireBean(manuallyCreatedInstance);
I used a different approach. I had spring loaded beans that I wanted to call from my extended classes of a third-party library that created its own threads.
I used approach I found here https://confluence.jaytaala.com/display/TKB/Super+simple+approach+to+accessing+Spring+beans+from+non-Spring+managed+classes+and+POJOs
In the non-managed class:
{
[...]
SomeBean bc = (SomeBean) SpringContext.getBean(SomeBean.class);
[...]
bc.someMethod(...)
}
And then as a helper class in the main application:
import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextAware;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
#Component
public class SpringContext implements ApplicationContextAware
{
private static ApplicationContext context;
public static <T extends Object> T getBean(Class<T> beanClass)
{
return context.getBean(beanClass);
}
#Override
public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext context) throws BeansException
{
SpringContext.context = context;
}
}
I wanted to share my solution that follows the #Configurable approach as briefly mentioned in #glaz666 answer because
The answer by #skaffman is nearly 10 years old, and that does not mean not good enough or does not work
The answer by #glaz666 is brief and didn't really help me solve my problem but, did point me in the right direction
My setup
Spring Boot 2.0.3 with Spring Neo4j & Aop starts (which is irrelevant anyway)
Instantiate a bean when Spring Boot is ready using #Configurable approach (using ApplicationRunner)
Gradle & Eclipse
Steps
I needed to follow the steps below in order to get it working
The #Configurable(preConstruction = true, autowire = Autowire.BY_TYPE, dependencyCheck = false) to be placed on top of your Bean that is to be manually instantiated. In my case the Bean that is to be manually instantiated have #Autowired services hence, the props to above annotation.
Annotate the Spring Boot's main XXXApplicaiton.java (or the file that is annotated with #SpringBootApplication) with the #EnableSpringConfigured and #EnableLoadTimeWeaving(aspectjWeaving=AspectJWeaving.ENABLED)
Add the dependencies in your build file (i.e. build.gradle or pom.xml depending on which one you use) compile('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-aop') and compile('org.springframework:spring-aspects:5.0.7.RELEASE')
New+up your Bean that is annotated with #Configurable anywhere and its dependencies should be autowired.
*In regards to point #3 above, I am aware that the org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-aop transitively pulls the spring-aop (as shown here mavencentral) but, in my case the Eclipse failed to resolve the #EnableSpringConfigured annotations hence, why I explicitly added the spring-aop dependency in addition to the starter. Should you face the same issue, just declare the dependency or go on adventure of figuring out
Is there a version conflict
Why the org.springframework.context.annotation.aspect.* is not available
Is your IDE setup properly
Etc etc.
This worked for me:
#Configuration
public class AppConfig {
#Bean
public TransferService transferService() {
return new TransferServiceImpl();
}
}
See more information: https://docs.spring.io/spring-javaconfig/docs/1.0.0.m3/reference/html/creating-bean-definitions.html
Found the following way useful for my use case. Sharing here for reference, credit goes to the blogger entirely. This creates a static field and populates that from Spring and then provides a public static method which returns the field populated above.
https://sultanov.dev/blog/access-spring-beans-from-unmanaged-objects/

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