org.springframework.context: public interface: ApplicationContext

org.springframework.context
public interface: ApplicationContext [javadoc | source]

All Implemented Interfaces:
MessageSource, ApplicationEventPublisher, ListableBeanFactory, ResourcePatternResolver, HierarchicalBeanFactory

All Known Implementing Classes:
FileSystemXmlApplicationContext, AbstractRefreshableApplicationContext, WebApplicationContext, ClassPathXmlApplicationContext, AbstractRefreshablePortletApplicationContext, XmlPortletApplicationContext, ConfigurableApplicationContext, XmlWebApplicationContext, GenericWebApplicationContext, AbstractRefreshableWebApplicationContext, GenericApplicationContext, AbstractRefreshableConfigApplicationContext, AbstractXmlApplicationContext, StaticApplicationContext, ResourceAdapterApplicationContext, StaticWebApplicationContext, ConfigurablePortletApplicationContext, AbstractApplicationContext, StaticPortletApplicationContext, ConfigurableWebApplicationContext

Central interface to provide configuration for an application. This is read-only while the application is running, but may be reloaded if the implementation supports this.

An ApplicationContext provides:

Bean factory methods for accessing application components. Inherited from org.springframework.beans.factory.ListableBeanFactory .
The ability to load file resources in a generic fashion. Inherited from the org.springframework.core.io.ResourceLoader interface.
The ability to publish events to registered listeners. Inherited from the ApplicationEventPublisher interface.
The ability to resolve messages, supporting internationalization. Inherited from the MessageSource interface.
Inheritance from a parent context. Definitions in a descendant context will always take priority. This means, for example, that a single parent context can be used by an entire web application, while each servlet has its own child context that is independent of that of any other servlet.

In addition to standard org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactory lifecycle capabilities, ApplicationContext implementations detect and invoke ApplicationContextAware beans as well as ResourceLoaderAware , ApplicationEventPublisherAware and MessageSourceAware beans.

Also see:

ConfigurableApplicationContext

org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactory

org.springframework.core.io.ResourceLoader

author: Rod - Johnson

author: Juergen - Hoeller

Method from org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext Summary:
getAutowireCapableBeanFactory, getDisplayName, getId, getParent, getStartupDate

Method from org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext Detail:
public AutowireCapableBeanFactory getAutowireCapableBeanFactory() throws IllegalStateException Expose AutowireCapableBeanFactory functionality for this context. This is not typically used by application code, except for the purpose of initializing bean instances that live outside the application context, applying the Spring bean lifecycle (fully or partly) to them. Alternatively, the internal BeanFactory exposed by the ConfigurableApplicationContext interface offers access to the AutowireCapableBeanFactory interface too. The present method mainly serves as convenient, specific facility on the ApplicationContext interface itself.
public String getDisplayName() Return a friendly name for this context.
public String getId() Return the unique id of this application context.
public ApplicationContext getParent() Return the parent context, or `null` if there is no parent and this is the root of the context hierarchy.
public long getStartupDate() Return the timestamp when this context was first loaded.