Access properties file programmatically with Spring?

Question

We use the code below to inject Spring beans with properties from a properties file.

Answer 1

As you know the newer versions of Spring don't use the PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer and now use another nightmarish construct called PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer. If you're trying to get resolved properties from code, and wish the Spring team gave us a way to do this a long time ago, then vote this post up! ... Because this is how you do it the new way:

Subclass PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer:

public class SpringPropertyExposer extends PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer {

    private ConfigurableListableBeanFactory factory;

    /**
     * Save off the bean factory so we can use it later to resolve properties
     */
    @Override
    protected void processProperties(ConfigurableListableBeanFactory beanFactoryToProcess,
            final ConfigurablePropertyResolver propertyResolver) throws BeansException {
        super.processProperties(beanFactoryToProcess, propertyResolver);

        if (beanFactoryToProcess.hasEmbeddedValueResolver()) {
            logger.debug("Value resolver exists.");
            factory = beanFactoryToProcess;
        }
        else {
            logger.error("No existing embedded value resolver.");
        }
    }

    public String getProperty(String name) {
        Object propertyValue = factory.resolveEmbeddedValue(this.placeholderPrefix + name + this.placeholderSuffix);
        return propertyValue.toString();
    }
}

To use it, make sure to use your subclass in your @Configuration and save off a reference to it for later use.

@Configuration
@ComponentScan
public class PropertiesConfig {

    public static SpringPropertyExposer commonEnvConfig;

    @Bean(name="commonConfig")
    public static PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer commonConfig() throws IOException {
        commonEnvConfig = new SpringPropertyExposer(); //This is a subclass of the return type.
        PropertiesFactoryBean commonConfig = new PropertiesFactoryBean();
        commonConfig.setLocation(new ClassPathResource("META-INF/spring/config.properties"));
        try {
            commonConfig.afterPropertiesSet();
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
            throw e;
        }
        commonEnvConfig.setProperties(commonConfig.getObject());
        return commonEnvConfig;
    }
}

Usage:

Object value = PropertiesConfig.commonEnvConfig.getProperty("key.subkey");