SpringSource Adds Annotation Support to Java App Framework

• By David Kopf
• 11/29/07

Enterprise open source software provider SpringSource (formerly known as Interface21) has released Spring Framework 2.5, the latest upgrade to its Java/J2EE application framework.

The upgrade adds configuration approaches, with broad support for configuration annotations. The following annotations are supported with this release:

• JSR 250's @PostConstruct, @PreDestroy and @Resource;
• Java EE 5's @WebServiceRef and @EJB; and
• Spring's @Autowired.

Configuration annotations can be used for various purposes, ranging from "configuration hints in component classes to self-sufficient components which express their entire configuration through annotations," according to an announcement issued by SpringSource.

The new framework adds support for Java 6 and Java EE5 APIs, including JDBC 4.0, JAX-WS 2.0, JTA 1.1 and JSF 1.2.

It adds support for writing annotated Web model view controllers (MVCs), and configuration of the Spring MVC.

Testing capabilities have been improved with the release of Spring Framework 2.5. The latest version includes an annotation-based TestContext testing framework for integration tests. The framework supports lunit 4, TestNG and Spring Framework's core configuration annotations for classes.

The framework features autodetection of components in the class path. It adds support for stereotype annotations, such as @Repository, @Service, @Controller and @Component.

Additional messaging support has been added to this version. The framework enables integration with Java EE connector architecture (JCA) message endpoint management. In addition, it adds simplified message listener configuration via the "jms" namespace configuration.

Spring Framework 2.5 can be downloaded from the Springframework.org site, and is licensed under the Apache Software License, Version 2.0.