This version is still in development and is not considered stable yet. For the latest stable version, please use Spring Framework 6.2.1!

Creating AOP Proxies Programmatically with the ProxyFactory

It is easy to create AOP proxies programmatically with Spring. This lets you use Spring AOP without dependency on Spring IoC.

The interfaces implemented by the target object are automatically proxied. The following listing shows creation of a proxy for a target object, with one interceptor and one advisor:

  • Java

  • Kotlin

ProxyFactory factory = new ProxyFactory(myBusinessInterfaceImpl);
factory.addAdvice(myMethodInterceptor);
factory.addAdvisor(myAdvisor);
MyBusinessInterface tb = (MyBusinessInterface) factory.getProxy();
val factory = ProxyFactory(myBusinessInterfaceImpl)
factory.addAdvice(myMethodInterceptor)
factory.addAdvisor(myAdvisor)
val tb = factory.proxy as MyBusinessInterface

The first step is to construct an object of type org.springframework.aop.framework.ProxyFactory. You can create this with a target object, as in the preceding example, or specify the interfaces to be proxied in an alternate constructor.

You can add advice (with interceptors as a specialized kind of advice), advisors, or both and manipulate them for the life of the ProxyFactory. If you add an IntroductionInterceptionAroundAdvisor, you can cause the proxy to implement additional interfaces.

There are also convenience methods on ProxyFactory (inherited from AdvisedSupport) that let you add other advice types, such as before and throws advice. AdvisedSupport is the superclass of both ProxyFactory and ProxyFactoryBean.

Integrating AOP proxy creation with the IoC framework is best practice in most applications. We recommend that you externalize configuration from Java code with AOP, as you should in general.