parseStringValue gone from PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer [SPR-6315]

[spring-projects-issues]

Kenny MacLeod opened SPR-6315 and commented

This is a deliberately refiled duplicate of #10827, which was originally filed as a "refactor", and I think it perhaps should be "bug".

Between 3.0.0 M4 and RC1, the protected parseStringValue method disappeared from PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer. For custom subclasses, this method was the main entry point into the superclass functionality. Since it had not been deprecated, it seemed like the correct thing to do, but has now been removed, breaking compile-time compatibility between 2.5 and 3.0.

Can the method be reinstated somehow, that perhaps invokes the new methods that do the work? It can then be marked as deprecated.

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Affects: 3.0 RC1

Issue Links:

• parseStringValue gone from PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer [SPR-6159] #10827 parseStringValue gone from PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer ("duplicates")
• Backward compatibility issue in class org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer [SPR-6514] #11180 Backward compatibility issue in class org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer

[spring-projects-issues]

Juergen Hoeller commented

This is rather hard to reintroduce as it was. The refactoring was done to share placeholder parsing code between different parts of Spring, in particular since we have even more features like the new defaulting mechanism there now.

What exactly are you doing in your overridden parseStringValue method? Are you reimplementing it, or calling super as well? Could you possibly imagine a more specific template method that would enable you to do what you do there?

Juergen

[spring-projects-issues]

Kenny MacLeod commented

What we are currently doing is "hijacking" PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer's ability to recursively resolve property placeholders.

Since PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer in 2.5.6 is only designed to resolve bean definition properties, the only way to get access to that functionality was to subclass it, with the subclass calling parseStringValue, passing in the string to be resolved, and a Properties object.

It's good that the 3.0 code has refactored this stuff, since the odds it'll become easier to reuse the recursive property resolution logic within application code, but I'm trying to find a way of doing this that works under both 2.5.6 and 3.0, so far without success.

[spring-projects-issues]

Dave Syer commented

So PropertyPlaceholderHelper is what you need now?

[spring-projects-issues]

Kenny MacLeod commented

Dave, yes that looks like exactly the thing. Sadly, it's not present in 2.5.6, and I'd really like to find a way of doing this that works both in 2.5.6 and 3.0, otherwise our transition is going to be painful and risky.

[spring-projects-issues]

Kenny MacLeod commented

Aha! Looks like PropertyPlaceholderHelper compiles fine under 2.5.6, so I can copy that source into my 2.5.6 applications and the transition will just work.

Thanks for the tip. I'm happy to close this and #10827.

[spring-projects-issues]

Juergen Hoeller commented

Alright, good that copying PropertyPlaceholderHelper works for you. I was just about to suggest that you could simply copy the code over into your own version since it doesn't depend on anything else anyway...

Juergen