Bean reference example using spring expression language(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

Master Spring & Java Development!

Subscribe to Ram N Java for clean, beginner-friendly coding guides!

🔔 Subscribe to Ram N Java

Overview: Bean References in SpEL (Annotation)

The Spring Expression Language (SpEL) provides a seamless way to reference other managed Spring beans and access their properties directly at runtime. When working with annotation-driven configurations, you can use the @Value annotation to inject an entire bean reference or drill down into its specific fields and getter methods.

In this guide, you will learn how to reference Spring beans and extract nested properties using annotation configuration and SpEL.

Understanding Bean Reference Syntax

SpEL enables direct interaction with other beans registered in the Spring ApplicationContext:

• Referencing Another Bean: You can reference a bean directly by its name inside the expression delimiter: @Value("#{addressBean}").
• Accessing Nested Properties: Drill into bean properties directly using dot notation: @Value("#{addressBean.city}").
• Invoking Bean Methods: Execute methods on the referenced bean dynamically: @Value("#{addressBean.getFullAddress()}").
• Dynamic Bean Interconnection: Connect components cleanly without having to inject the entire bean object when you only need a single property value.

Step-by-Step Configuration

1. Define the Source Bean: Annotate your source class with @Component("beanName") and define its fields and getters.
2. Inject via @Value: In your dependent component, annotate your field using SpEL syntax referencing the source bean:
   @Value("#{itemBean.price}")
3. Container Initialization: When the ApplicationContext starts, Spring evaluates the reference and assigns the resolved property value directly to the field.

Recommended Next Videos from Ram N Java

• 👉 Spring expression language method invocation (Annotation) | Spring Tutorial | Spring Framework
• 👉 Spring Expression Language Ternary Operator (if-then-else) Example [Annotation] | Spring Tutorial
• 👉 Relational Operators in Spring Expression Language (SpEL) with Annotation | Spring Tutorial

---

Click here to watch on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaJ9aA92Mdg&list=UUhwKlOVR041tngjerWxVccw

Click the below Image to Enlarge:

Bean reference example using spring expression language(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

Bean reference example using spring expression language(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

Bean reference example using spring expression language(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

pom.xml

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0%20http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>com.ram.core</groupId>
    <artifactId>SpringDemo</artifactId>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name>SpringDemo</name>
    <url>http://maven.apache.org</url>

    <properties>
        <spring.version>5.0.5.RELEASE</spring.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>junit</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
            <version>3.8.1</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Spring 5 dependencies -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-core</artifactId>
            <version>${spring.version}</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
            <version>${spring.version}</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</project>

Address.java

package com.ram.model;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component("address")
public class Address
{
    @Value("A220 Bridge Appartment")
    private String street;

    @Value("Chennai")
    private String city;

    @Value("TamilNadu")
    private String state;

    public String getStreet()
    {
        return street;
    }

    public void setStreet(String street)
    {
        this.street = street;
    }

    public String getCity()
    {
        return city;
    }

    public void setCity(String city)
    {
        this.city = city;
    }

    public String getState()
    {
        return state;
    }

    public void setState(String state)
    {
        this.state = state;
    }

    public String getFullAddress()
    {
        return street + "," + city + "," + state;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString()
    {
        return "Address [street=" + street + ", city=" + city + ", state="
                + state + "]";
    }

}

Employee.java

package com.ram.model;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component("employee")
public class Employee
{
    @Value("100")
    private int id;

    @Value("Peter")
    private String name;

    @Value("#{address.state}")
    private String employeeState;

    @Value("#{address.getFullAddress()}")
    private String fullAddress;

    @Value("#{address}")
    private Address address;

    public int getId()
    {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(int id)
    {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public String getName()
    {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name)
    {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getEmployeeState()
    {
        return employeeState;
    }

    public void setEmployeeState(String employeeState)
    {
        this.employeeState = employeeState;
    }

    public Address getAddress()
    {
        return address;
    }

    public void setAddress(Address address)
    {
        this.address = address;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString()
    {
        return "Employee [id=" + id + ", name=" + name + ", employeeState="
                + employeeState + ", fullAddress=" + fullAddress + ", address="
                + address + "]";
    }

}

applicationContext.xml

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-4.3.xsd
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/context
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context-4.3.xsd">

    <context:component-scan base-package="com.ram" />

</beans>

App.java

package com.ram.core;

import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext;

import com.ram.model.Employee;

public class App
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext(
                "applicationContext.xml");

        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");

        Employee employee = (Employee) context.getBean("employee");
        System.out.println(
                "Got employee object from the ApplicationContext(Spring Container)");
        System.out.println(employee);  
    }

}

Output

Sep 02, 2018 9:27:41 AM org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext prepareRefresh
INFO: Refreshing org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext@736e9adb: startup date [Sun Sep 02 09:27:41 IST 2018]; root of context hierarchy
Sep 02, 2018 9:27:41 AM org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader loadBeanDefinitions
INFO: Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [applicationContext.xml]
---------------------------------------
Got employee object from the ApplicationContext(Spring Container)
Employee [id=100, name=Peter, employeeState=TamilNadu, fullAddress=A220 Bridge Appartment,Chennai,TamilNadu, address=Address [street=A220 Bridge Appartment, city=Chennai, state=TamilNadu]]

Click the below link to download the code:
https://sites.google.com/site/ramj2eev2/java_basics/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Bean_Annotation.zip?attredirects=0&d=1

Github Link:
https://github.com/ramram43210/javaee/tree/master/Spring_2018/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Bean_Annotation

Bitbucket Link:
https://bitbucket.org/ramram43210/spring/src/13d8c90b997048bdc5084bfdce013eb8d2ccb438/Spring_2018/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Bean_Annotation/?at=master

See also:

All JavaEE Videos Playlist

All JavaEE Videos

All JAVA EE Links

Spring Tutorial

Servlets Tutorial

All Design Patterns Links

JDBC Tutorial

Java Collection Framework Tutorial

JAVA Tutorial

Kids Tutorial

Cooking Tutorial

How to do Dependency Injection using Spring Expression Language SpEL(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

Master Spring & Java Development!

Subscribe to Ram N Java for clean, beginner-friendly coding guides!

🔔 Subscribe to Ram N Java

Overview: Dependency Injection with SpEL Annotations

In Spring applications, Dependency Injection (DI) is traditionally performed using annotations like @Autowired or XML property wirings. However, the Spring Expression Language (SpEL) paired with the @Value annotation provides a dynamic, expressive alternative to inject bean instances, literal values, or computed configurations directly into your components.

In this guide, you will learn how to implement Dependency Injection using SpEL and annotation-based configuration in Spring.

How SpEL-Based Dependency Injection Works

SpEL expressions allow you to wire dependencies with additional flexibility:

• Injecting Bean Dependencies: Wire an entire target bean directly into a reference field: @Value("#{itemBean}").
• Dynamic Bean Resolution: Resolve dependencies dynamically by name or conditional logic during container startup.
• Combining Values and Objects: Inject both primitive configuration values and complex object references using the unified @Value syntax.
• Loose Coupling: Decouple dependency resolution logic from class constructors and setters.

Step-by-Step Configuration

1. Define the Dependency Bean: Create the component to be injected and annotate it with @Component("beanId").
2. Annotate the Target Field: In the dependent class, annotate the target field with @Value("#{beanId}").
3. Run the Container: When Spring starts up, it resolves the expression within the ApplicationContext and injects the dependency bean automatically.

Recommended Next Videos from Ram N Java

• 👉 Mastering Bean References with Spring Expression Language (Annotation) | Spring Tutorial
• 👉 Spring expression language method invocation (Annotation) | Spring Tutorial | Spring Framework
• 👉 Spring Expression Language Ternary Operator (if-then-else) Example [Annotation] | Spring Tutorial

---

Click here to watch on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kkmF7RGrtY&list=UUhwKlOVR041tngjerWxVccw

Click the below Image to Enlarge:

How to do Dependency Injection using Spring Expression Language SpEL(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

How to do Dependency Injection using Spring Expression Language SpEL(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

How to do Dependency Injection using Spring Expression Language SpEL(Annotation) | Spring Tutorial

pom.xml

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0%20http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>com.ram.core</groupId>
    <artifactId>SpringDemo</artifactId>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name>SpringDemo</name>
    <url>http://maven.apache.org</url>

    <properties>
        <spring.version>5.0.5.RELEASE</spring.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>junit</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
            <version>3.8.1</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Spring 5 dependencies -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-core</artifactId>
            <version>${spring.version}</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
            <version>${spring.version}</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</project>

Address.java

package com.ram.model;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component("address")
public class Address
{
    @Value("Chennai") //inject String directly
    private String city;
   
    @Value("TamilNadu")
    private String state;

    public String getCity()
    {
        return city;
    }

    public void setCity(String city)
    {
        this.city = city;
    }

    public String getState()
    {
        return state;
    }

    public void setState(String state)
    {
        this.state = state;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString()
    {
        return "Address [city=" + city + ", state=" + state + "]";
    }

}

Employee.java

package com.ram.model;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component("employee")
public class Employee
{
    @Value("100") //inject int directly
    private int id;
   
    @Value("Peter")
    private String name;
   
    @Value("#{address.state}")
    private String employeeState;
   
    @Value("#{address}")
    private Address address;

    public int getId()
    {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(int id)
    {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public String getName()
    {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name)
    {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getEmployeeState()
    {
        return employeeState;
    }

    public void setEmployeeState(String employeeState)
    {
        this.employeeState = employeeState;
    }

    public Address getAddress()
    {
        return address;
    }

    public void setAddress(Address address)
    {
        this.address = address;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString()
    {
        return "Employee [id=" + id + ", name=" + name + ", employeeState="
                + employeeState + ", address=" + address + "]";
    }

}

applicationContext.xml

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-4.3.xsd
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/context
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context-4.3.xsd">

    <context:component-scan base-package="com.ram" />

</beans>

App.java

package com.ram.core;

import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext;

import com.ram.model.Employee;

public class App
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext(
                "applicationContext.xml");

        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");

        Employee employee = (Employee) context.getBean("employee");
        System.out.println(
                "Got employee object from the ApplicationContext(Spring Container)");
        System.out.println(employee);  
    }

}

Output

Aug 31, 2018 10:42:19 AM org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext prepareRefresh
INFO: Refreshing org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext@736e9adb: startup date [Fri Aug 31 10:42:19 IST 2018]; root of context hierarchy
Aug 31, 2018 10:42:19 AM org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader loadBeanDefinitions
INFO: Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [applicationContext.xml]
---------------------------------------
Got employee object from the ApplicationContext(Spring Container)
Employee [id=100, name=Peter, employeeState=TamilNadu, address=Address [city=Chennai, state=TamilNadu]]

Click the below link to download the code:
https://sites.google.com/site/ramj2eev2/java_basics/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Annotation.zip?attredirects=0&d=1

Github Link:
https://github.com/ramram43210/javaee/tree/master/Spring_2018/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Annotation

Bitbucket Link:
https://bitbucket.org/ramram43210/spring/src/02e04aa1b68a77d4f5a01ebf111e80370bd99ca8/Spring_2018/SpringDemo_Spring_EL_Annotation/?at=master

See also:

All JavaEE Videos Playlist

All JavaEE Videos

All JAVA EE Links

Spring Tutorial

Servlets Tutorial

All Design Patterns Links

JDBC Tutorial

Java Collection Framework Tutorial

JAVA Tutorial

Kids Tutorial

Cooking Tutorial