Using beans from other spring module

[jussi_po]

I guess to is pretty newbie question, but I will ask it anyway...

How to use beans from other spring module?

I have 2 spring modules, where the other module need beans from the other.

ear/
core.spring
application.spring

Here the application.spring need a bean from the core.spring.

Bean configuration from the application.spring spring-jboss.xml:

<description>BeanFactory=(core)</description>
<bean id="MessageManager"
 class="org.springframework.jndi.JndiObjectFactoryBean">
 <property name="cache">
 <value>true</value>
 </property>
 <property name="proxyInterface">
 <value>com.core.MessageManager</value>
 </property>
 <property name="jndiName">
 <value>a_spring-core</value>
 </property>
 <property name="expectedType" value="com.core.MessageManagerImpl"/>
 </bean>

This does not work, because the bean in JNDI tree is the ApplicationContext. So how I can use the ApplicationContext to create the reference to the right bean( other words, get the bean from the ApplicationContext)?
I know that I could make inside bean( give context in and get it from there), but I want to do it in onfiguration file.

[alesj]

"jussi_po" wrote:

<description>BeanFactory=(core)</description>

Instead of BeanFactory you must use ParentBeanFactory - to reference parent BF, which core.spring is to application.spring.
--> http://java.sys-con.com/read/180386.htm

[jussi_po]

Ok, that helped and I got bit ahead.

But now, when I use those classes in another spring module, the second spring module is bind to the first modules application context. Meaning that the classes from second module are actually inside first.

2 spring modules:
core.spring
second.spring

First module(core.spring) jboss-spring.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC "-//SPRING//DTD BEAN 2.0//EN" "http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans-2.0.dtd">
<beans>

<bean name="MessageManager"
 class="com.core.MessageManagerImpl">
 <property name="hibernateTemplate">
 <ref bean="hibernateTemplate" />
 </property>
 </bean>
</beans>

The jndi config file of this(I'm not sure that I'm doing this right):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC "-//SPRING//DTD BEAN 2.0//EN" "http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans-2.0.dtd">
<beans>

 <description>ParentBeanFactory=(a_spring-core)</description>
<bean id="MessageManager"
 class="org.springframework.jndi.JndiObjectFactoryBean">
 <property name="cache">
 <value>true</value>
 </property>
 <property name="proxyInterface">
 <value>com.core.MessageManager</value>
 </property>
 <property name="jndiName">
 <value>a_spring-core</value>
 </property>
 </bean>

</beans>

And then In other spring module(second.spring), I try to use the beans from the first module:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC "-//SPRING//DTD BEAN 2.0//EN" "http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans-2.0.dtd">
<beans>

 <import resource="jndi_core.xml" />
<bean name="MbloxConverter"
 class="com.converter.MbloxConverterImpl">
 <property name="messageManager">
 <ref bean="MessageManager" />
 </property>

 </bean>
</beans>

This second.spring module is actually bind to the JNDI as "core.spring", and I guess it is because of the import in config file.

And also I have other module(spring) which uses the beans from both of those modules, and it won't find the bean from second.spring module.

Or should I just make a one spring module?(I prefer to keep them separate)

[alesj]

First, do not use this - import resource="jndi_core.xml".

There is a straight hierarchy, as in Java hierarchy model - just a single extend.

Read the article: http://java.sys-con.com/read/180386.htm

Name your contexts (via BeanFactory=(name1)), and the reference them in child context via ParentBeanFactory=(name1).
The order of hierarchy deployment is important!

If you do this as it should be done, this is not true:
"Meaning that the classes from second module are actually inside first."

[alesj]

Ok, I aleady pointed you to the article - never mind (if you read it, otherwise do it :-).

It is pretty simple, simple tree name + ordered deployment.

[jussi_po]

Now it works. ( Should have really read the article..).

But one thing is still unclear. To use beans in web application, like in ejb3, InjectionInterceptor is use to inject beans. Should I use that in web application or is there easier way to get the Application Context from jndi in war?

[alesj]

As you are probably aware it is trivial to get Spring application context into web layer.
JBoss/Spring is mainly integration between Spring application context and EJB layer.
But you can always have common Spring beans and integrate them with both layers - some utils, resources, ...
But this can be replaced with injecting this beans into EJB layer and then do a lookup from web to EJB and use EJB as a facade / delegation for acessing those Spring beans.

[jussi_po]

I was just thinking that would it work if I would create a bean with ApplicationContext awareness, and then add the application context from JNDI as parent context to that bean's context... All this in war. It could mess things up, but I will test it.

Or otherwise I will do a delegate classes or some kind of proxy classes.

[jussi_po]

I solved this by using Delegate class from web application to access Spring module beans. I defined business services for the web application, I tried to make the web application as slim as possible.

Made a delegate class which extends the business interface. And for that class I get the business class from the Application Context.

public class BusinessSearchDelegateImpl implements BusinessSearch {
 private ApplicationContext springModuleContext;
 private final String BEAN = "BusinessSearchService";

 public void setSpringModuleContext(ApplicationContext springModuleContext) {
 this.springModuleContext = springModuleContext;
 }

 private BusinessSearch getSearchService()
 throws TechnicalException {

 if (springModuleContext.containsBean(BEAN)) {

 BusinessSearch service = (GenericSearchService) springModuleContext
 .getBean(BEAN);
 return service;
 } else {
 LOG.error("Component with name(" + BEAN + ") not found. ");
 throw new TechnicalException("Component with name(" + BEAN
 + ") not found. ");
 }
 }

public Customer findCustomer(String id) throws TechnicalException {
 return getSearchService().findCustomer(id);
 }

}

This class is configured in web application context as following:

<!-- Business Service beans -->
 <bean id="BusinessContext"
 class="org.springframework.jndi.JndiObjectFactoryBean">
 <property name="cache">
 <value>true</value>
 </property>
 <property name="jndiName">
 <value>d_business-enabler</value>
 </property>
 </bean>

 <bean id="BusinessSearchDelegate"
 class="com.som.pac.web.BusinessSearchDelegateImpl">
 <property name="springModuleContext">
 <ref bean="BusinessContext" />
 </property>
 </bean>

And then that BusinessSearchDelegate is given to those controllers which needs the business services.

I made it his way, and best thing was that I could add this delegate class to our utility jar, which is a jar module in ear file.

[bassualdo]

jussi_po

I'm trying to use your approach with delegation.
I'm running JBoss 4.0.4 and Spring 2.0.2
But when it comes to the injection of the BusinessContext into BusinessSearchDelegateImpl I got a strange exception:
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException:
Cannot convert value of type
[org.jboss.spring.factory.NamedXmlApplicationContext] to required
type [org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext] for property
'springModuleContext': no matching editors or conversion strategy found

I assume that smth is wrong with my deployment and/or class loading. Do you have any kind of a working sample (lie JBoss-Stpring.ear) that you can send me?

Probably I just need to compile the deployer against my runtime, but honestly, I got lost in the build script....

Any help would be very appreciated.