The "router" element provides a simple way to connect a router to an input channel, and also accepts the optional default output channel. The "ref" may provide the bean name of a custom Router implementation (extending AbstractMessageRouter):

<router ref="payloadTypeRouter" input-channel="input1" default-output-channel="defaultOutput1"/>

<router ref="recipientListRouter" input-channel="input2" default-output-channel="defaultOutput2"/>

<router ref="customRouter" input-channel="input3" default-output-channel="defaultOutput3"/>

<beans:bean id="customRouterBean class="org.foo.MyCustomRouter"/>

Alternatively, the "ref" may point to a simple Object that contains the @Router annotation (see below), or the "ref" may be combined with an explicit "method" name. When specifying a "method", the same behavior applies as described in the @Router annotation section below.

<router input-channel="input" ref="somePojo" method="someMethod"/>

Using a "ref" attribute is generally recommended if the custom router implementation can be reused in other <router> definitions. However if the custom router implementation should be scoped to a concrete definition of the <router>, you can provide an inner bean definition:

<router method="someMethod" input-channel="input3" default-output-channel="defaultOutput3">
	<beans:bean class="org.foo.MyCustomRouter"/>
</router>

	Note
	Using both the "ref" attribute and an inner handler definition in the same <router> configuration is not allowed, as it creates an ambiguous condition and will result in an Exception being thrown.