Using a class to read a properties file, in Java, spring

Question

I'm trying to use a PropertyReader class to get my information (portNumber, hostName, etc) from a test.properties file in java spring, but I am pretty confused on how to go about this because there seems to be a million different ways (resource bundle etc)... I would greatly appreciate any input! Here's what my code looks like. Oh and the names are the same as in the properties file.

@Configuration
@PropertySource("classpath:test.properties")
public class PropertyReader  {


private Environment environment;

String portNumber;
String hostName;
String subjectName;
String myUrl;
String portProtocol;
String hostProtocol;

@Bean
public static PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer propertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer() {
    return new PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer();
}
public PropertyReader(String propertyFile) throws IOException {...}

I've already added

    <context:property-placeholder location="classpath:test.properties" />

to my context. but not sure how to go about getting the info as environment.getProperty doesn't seem to be recognized as a function...

Answer 1

For what it's worth, this is how I do it: https://github.com/KevinWorkman/StaticVoidGames/blob/master/StaticVoidGames/src/main/java/com/StaticVoidGames/spring/config/PropertiesConfig.java

An example PropertiesConfig file:

@Configuration
@PropertySource("classpath:/live.properties")
public class PropertiesConfig {

    @Value( "${property.name}" )
    private String property;

    @Bean
    public static PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer propertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer() {
        return new PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer();
    }
}

And here's how I use those properties from a Controller class: https://github.com/KevinWorkman/StaticVoidGames/blob/master/StaticVoidGames/src/main/java/com/StaticVoidGames/spring/controller/StaticVoidGamesController.java

@Component
public class ExampleController implements ExampleControllerInterface{

    @Autowired
    private Environment env;

    public String viewHomePage(HttpServletRequest request, ModelMap model, HttpSession session){

        String property = env.getProperty("property.name");
        model.addAttribute("propertyValue", property);

        return "index";
    }
}

But you're right about there being a million different ways to do things. That's what makes programming so fun- and so frustrating!

Answer 2

I would recomend using Typesafe Configuration Properties, it keeps it litle bit cleaner and you do not need to use to many annotations.

http://docs.spring.io/spring-boot/docs/current/reference/html/boot-features-external-config.html#boot-features-external-config-typesafe-configuration-properties