org.springframework.test.context

Annotation Type TestPropertySource

@Documented
 @Inherited
 @Retention(value=RUNTIME)
 @Target(value=TYPE)
public @interface TestPropertySource

@TestPropertySource is a class-level annotation that is used to configure the locations() of properties files and inlined properties() to be added to the Environment's set of PropertySources for an ApplicationContext for integration tests.

Precedence

Test property sources have higher precedence than those loaded from the operating system's environment or Java system properties as well as property sources added by the application declaratively via @PropertySource or programmatically (e.g., via an ApplicationContextInitializer or some other means). Thus, test property sources can be used to selectively override properties defined in system and application property sources. Furthermore, inlined properties() have higher precedence than properties loaded from resource locations().

Default Properties File Detection

If @TestPropertySource is declared as an empty annotation (i.e., without explicit values for locations() or properties()), an attempt will be made to detect a default properties file relative to the class that declared the annotation. For example, if the annotated test class is com.example.MyTest, the corresponding default properties file is "classpath:com/example/MyTest.properties". If the default cannot be detected, an IllegalStateException will be thrown.

Enabling @TestPropertySource

@TestPropertySource is enabled if the configured context loader honors it. Every SmartContextLoader that is a subclass of either AbstractGenericContextLoader or AbstractGenericWebContextLoader provides automatic support for @TestPropertySource, and this includes every SmartContextLoader provided by the Spring TestContext Framework.

Miscellaneous

• Typically, @TestPropertySource will be used in conjunction with @ContextConfiguration.
• This annotation may be used as a meta-annotation to create custom composed annotations; however, caution should be taken if this annotation and @ContextConfiguration are combined on a composed annotation since the locations and inheritLocations attributes of both annotations can lead to ambiguity during the attribute resolution process.

Since:

4.1

Author:

Sam Brannen

See Also:

ContextConfiguration, Environment, PropertySource, PropertySource

Optional Element Summary

Optional Elements

Modifier and Type	Optional Element and Description
boolean	inheritLocations Whether or not test property source locations() from superclasses should be inherited.
boolean	inheritProperties Whether or not inlined test properties() from superclasses should be inherited.
String[]	locations The resource locations of properties files to be loaded into the Environment's set of PropertySources.
String[]	properties Inlined properties in the form of key-value pairs that should be added to the Spring Environment before the ApplicationContext is loaded for the test.
String[]	value Alias for locations().

Element Detail

value

public abstract String[] value

Alias for locations().

This attribute may not be used in conjunction with locations(), but it may be used instead of locations().

See Also:

locations()

Default:

{}

locations

public abstract String[] locations

The resource locations of properties files to be loaded into the Environment's set of PropertySources. Each location will be added to the enclosing Environment as its own property source, in the order declared.

Supported File Formats

Both traditional and XML-based properties file formats are supported — for example, "classpath:/com/example/test.properties" or "file:/path/to/file.xml".

Path Resource Semantics

Each path will be interpreted as a Spring Resource. A plain path — for example, "test.properties" — will be treated as a classpath resource that is relative to the package in which the test class is defined. A path starting with a slash will be treated as an absolute classpath resource, for example: "/org/example/test.xml". A path which references a URL (e.g., a path prefixed with classpath:, file:, http:, etc.) will be loaded using the specified resource protocol. Resource location wildcards (e.g. **/*.properties) are not permitted: each location must evaluate to exactly one .properties or .xml resource.

Default Properties File Detection

See the class-level Javadoc for a discussion on detection of defaults.

Precedence

Properties loaded from resource locations have lower precedence than inlined properties().

This attribute may not be used in conjunction with value(), but it may be used instead of value().

See Also:

inheritLocations(), value(), properties(), PropertySource

Default:

{}

inheritLocations

public abstract boolean inheritLocations

Whether or not test property source locations() from superclasses should be inherited.

The default value is true, which means that a test class will inherit property source locations defined by a superclass. Specifically, the property source locations for a test class will be appended to the list of property source locations defined by a superclass. Thus, subclasses have the option of extending the list of test property source locations.

If inheritLocations is set to false, the property source locations for the test class will shadow and effectively replace any property source locations defined by a superclass.

In the following example, the ApplicationContext for BaseTest will be loaded using only the "base.properties" file as a test property source. In contrast, the ApplicationContext for ExtendedTest will be loaded using the "base.properties" and "extended.properties" files as test property source locations.

 @TestPropertySource("base.properties")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class BaseTest {
     // ...
 }

 @TestPropertySource("extended.properties")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class ExtendedTest extends BaseTest {
     // ...
 }
 

See Also:

locations()

Default:

true

properties

public abstract String[] properties

Inlined properties in the form of key-value pairs that should be added to the Spring Environment before the ApplicationContext is loaded for the test. All key-value pairs will be added to the enclosing Environment as a single test PropertySource with the highest precedence.

Supported Syntax

The supported syntax for key-value pairs is the same as the syntax defined for entries in a Java properties file:

• "key=value"
• "key:value"
• "key value"

Precedence

Properties declared via this attribute have higher precedence than properties loaded from resource locations().

This attribute may be used in conjunction with value() or locations().

See Also:

inheritProperties(), locations(), PropertySource

Default:

{}

inheritProperties

public abstract boolean inheritProperties

Whether or not inlined test properties() from superclasses should be inherited.

The default value is true, which means that a test class will inherit inlined properties defined by a superclass. Specifically, the inlined properties for a test class will be appended to the list of inlined properties defined by a superclass. Thus, subclasses have the option of extending the list of inlined test properties.

If inheritProperties is set to false, the inlined properties for the test class will shadow and effectively replace any inlined properties defined by a superclass.

In the following example, the ApplicationContext for BaseTest will be loaded using only the inlined key1 property. In contrast, the ApplicationContext for ExtendedTest will be loaded using the inlined key1 and key2 properties.

 @TestPropertySource(properties = "key1 = value1")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class BaseTest {
     // ...
 }

 @TestPropertySource(properties = "key2 = value2")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class ExtendedTest extends BaseTest {
     // ...
 }
 

See Also:

properties()

Default:

true