Class AnnotationUtils
Note that most of the features of this class are not provided by the JDK's introspection facilities themselves.
As a general rule for runtime-retained application annotations (e.g. for
 transaction control, authorization, or service exposure), always use the
 lookup methods on this class (e.g. findAnnotation(Method, Class) or
 getAnnotation(Method, Class)) instead of the plain annotation lookup
 methods in the JDK. You can still explicitly choose between a get
 lookup on the given class level only (getAnnotation(Method, Class))
 and a find lookup in the entire inheritance hierarchy of the given
 method (findAnnotation(Method, Class)).
 
Terminology
The terms directly present, indirectly present, and present have the same meanings as defined in the class-level javadoc forAnnotatedElement (in Java 8).
 An annotation is meta-present on an element if the annotation
 is declared as a meta-annotation on some other annotation which is
 present on the element. Annotation A is meta-present
 on another annotation if A is either directly present or
 meta-present on the other annotation.
 
Meta-annotation Support
Most find*() methods and some get*() methods in this class
 provide support for finding annotations used as meta-annotations. Consult the
 javadoc for each method in this class for details. For fine-grained support for
 meta-annotations with attribute overrides in composed annotations,
 consider using AnnotatedElementUtils's more specific methods instead.
 
Attribute Aliases
All public methods in this class that return annotations, arrays of
 annotations, or AnnotationAttributes transparently support attribute
 aliases configured via @AliasFor. Consult the various
 synthesizeAnnotation*(..) methods for details.
 
Search Scope
The search algorithms used by methods in this class stop searching for an annotation once the first annotation of the specified type has been found. As a consequence, additional annotations of the specified type will be silently ignored.
- Since:
- 2.0
- Author:
- Rob Harrop, Juergen Hoeller, Sam Brannen, Mark Fisher, Chris Beams, Phillip Webb, Oleg Zhurakousky
- See Also:
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Field SummaryFields
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Constructor SummaryConstructors
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Method SummaryModifier and TypeMethodDescriptionstatic voidClear the internal annotation metadata cache.static <A extends Annotation>
 AfindAnnotation(Class<?> clazz, Class<A> annotationType) Find a singleAnnotationofannotationTypeon the suppliedClass, traversing its interfaces, annotations, and superclasses if the annotation is not directly present on the given class itself.static <A extends Annotation>
 AfindAnnotation(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) static <A extends Annotation>
 AfindAnnotation(Method method, Class<A> annotationType) Find a singleAnnotationofannotationTypeon the suppliedMethod, traversing its super methods (i.e.static Class<?>findAnnotationDeclaringClass(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.static Class<?>findAnnotationDeclaringClassForTypes(List<Class<? extends Annotation>> annotationTypes, Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic <A extends Annotation>
 AgetAnnotation(Annotation annotation, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the supplied annotation: either the given annotation itself or a direct meta-annotation thereof.static <A extends Annotation>
 AgetAnnotation(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where the annotation is either present or meta-present on theAnnotatedElement.static <A extends Annotation>
 AgetAnnotation(Method method, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the suppliedMethod, where the annotation is either present or meta-present on the method.getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation annotation) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as aMap, preserving all attribute types.getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as aMap.static AnnotationAttributesgetAnnotationAttributes(Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString, boolean nestedAnnotationsAsMap) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.static AnnotationAttributesgetAnnotationAttributes(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Annotation annotation) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.static AnnotationAttributesgetAnnotationAttributes(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString, boolean nestedAnnotationsAsMap) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.static Annotation[]getAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic Annotation[]getAnnotations(Method method) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic <A extends Annotation>
 Set<A>getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic <A extends Annotation>
 Set<A>getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType, Class<? extends Annotation> containerAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic ObjectgetDefaultValue(Annotation annotation) Retrieve the default value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given an annotation instance.static ObjectgetDefaultValue(Annotation annotation, String attributeName) Retrieve the default value of a named attribute, given an annotation instance.static ObjectgetDefaultValue(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType) Retrieve the default value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given theannotation type.static ObjectgetDefaultValue(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, String attributeName) Retrieve the default value of a named attribute, given theannotation type.static <A extends Annotation>
 Set<A>getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic <A extends Annotation>
 Set<A>getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType, Class<? extends Annotation> containerAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic ObjectgetValue(Annotation annotation) Retrieve the value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given an annotation instance.static ObjectgetValue(Annotation annotation, String attributeName) Retrieve the value of a named attribute, given an annotation instance.static booleanisAnnotationDeclaredLocally(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<?> clazz) Determine whether an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeis declared locally (i.e.static booleanisAnnotationInherited(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic booleanisAnnotationMetaPresent(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<? extends Annotation> metaAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIstatic booleanisCandidateClass(Class<?> clazz, Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType) Determine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying the specified annotation (at type, method or field level).static booleanisCandidateClass(Class<?> clazz, String annotationName) Determine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying the specified annotation (at type, method or field level).static booleanisCandidateClass(Class<?> clazz, Collection<Class<? extends Annotation>> annotationTypes) Determine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying one of the specified annotations (at type, method or field level).static booleanisInJavaLangAnnotationPackage(Annotation annotation) Determine if the suppliedAnnotationis defined in the core JDKjava.lang.annotationpackage.static booleanisInJavaLangAnnotationPackage(String annotationType) Determine if theAnnotationwith the supplied name is defined in the core JDKjava.lang.annotationpackage.static booleanisSynthesizedAnnotation(Annotation annotation) Determine if the suppliedAnnotationhas been synthesized by Spring (i.e.static voidpostProcessAnnotationAttributes(Object annotatedElement, AnnotationAttributes attributes, boolean classValuesAsString) Post-process the suppliedAnnotationAttributes, preserving nested annotations asAnnotationinstances.static voidregisterDefaultValues(AnnotationAttributes attributes) Register the annotation-declared default values for the given attributes, if available.static <A extends Annotation>
 AsynthesizeAnnotation(A annotation, AnnotatedElement annotatedElement) Synthesize an annotation from the suppliedannotationby wrapping it in a dynamic proxy that transparently enforces attribute alias semantics for annotation attributes that are annotated with@AliasFor.static <A extends Annotation>
 AsynthesizeAnnotation(Class<A> annotationType) Synthesize an annotation from its default attributes values.static <A extends Annotation>
 AsynthesizeAnnotation(Map<String, Object> attributes, Class<A> annotationType, AnnotatedElement annotatedElement) Synthesize an annotation from the supplied map of annotation attributes by wrapping the map in a dynamic proxy that implements an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeand transparently enforces attribute alias semantics for annotation attributes that are annotated with@AliasFor.static voidvalidateAnnotation(Annotation annotation) Check the declared attributes of the given annotation, in particular covering Google App Engine's late arrival ofTypeNotPresentExceptionProxyforClassvalues (instead of earlyClass.getAnnotations() failure).
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Field Details- 
VALUEThe attribute name for annotations with a single element.- See Also:
 
 
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Constructor Details- 
AnnotationUtilspublic AnnotationUtils()
 
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Method Details- 
isCandidateClasspublic static boolean isCandidateClass(Class<?> clazz, Collection<Class<? extends Annotation>> annotationTypes) Determine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying one of the specified annotations (at type, method or field level).- Parameters:
- clazz- the class to introspect
- annotationTypes- the searchable annotation types
- Returns:
- falseif the class is known to have no such annotations at any level;- trueotherwise. Callers will usually perform full method/field introspection if- trueis being returned here.
- Since:
- 5.2
- See Also:
 
- 
isCandidateClassDetermine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying the specified annotation (at type, method or field level).- Parameters:
- clazz- the class to introspect
- annotationType- the searchable annotation type
- Returns:
- falseif the class is known to have no such annotations at any level;- trueotherwise. Callers will usually perform full method/field introspection if- trueis being returned here.
- Since:
- 5.2
- See Also:
 
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isCandidateClassDetermine whether the given class is a candidate for carrying the specified annotation (at type, method or field level).- Parameters:
- clazz- the class to introspect
- annotationName- the fully-qualified name of the searchable annotation type
- Returns:
- falseif the class is known to have no such annotations at any level;- trueotherwise. Callers will usually perform full method/field introspection if- trueis being returned here.
- Since:
- 5.2
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A getAnnotation(Annotation annotation, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the supplied annotation: either the given annotation itself or a direct meta-annotation thereof.Note that this method supports only a single level of meta-annotations. For support for arbitrary levels of meta-annotations, use one of the find*()methods instead.- Parameters:
- annotation- the Annotation to check
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for, both locally and as a meta-annotation
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
- Since:
- 4.0
 
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getAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A getAnnotation(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where the annotation is either present or meta-present on theAnnotatedElement.Note that this method supports only a single level of meta-annotations. For support for arbitrary levels of meta-annotations, use findAnnotation(AnnotatedElement, Class)instead.- Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the- AnnotatedElementfrom which to get the annotation
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for, both locally and as a meta-annotation
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
- Since:
- 3.1
 
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getAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A getAnnotation(Method method, Class<A> annotationType) Get a singleAnnotationofannotationTypefrom the suppliedMethod, where the annotation is either present or meta-present on the method.Correctly handles bridge Methodsgenerated by the compiler.Note that this method supports only a single level of meta-annotations. For support for arbitrary levels of meta-annotations, use findAnnotation(Method, Class)instead.- Parameters:
- method- the method to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationsDeprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet allAnnotationsthat are present on the suppliedAnnotatedElement.Meta-annotations will not be searched. - Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the Method, Constructor or Field to retrieve annotations from
- Returns:
- the annotations found, an empty array, or nullif not resolvable (e.g. because nested Class values in annotation attributes failed to resolve at runtime)
- Since:
- 4.0.8
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationsDeprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet allAnnotationsthat are present on the suppliedMethod.Correctly handles bridge Methodsgenerated by the compiler.Meta-annotations will not be searched. - Parameters:
- method- the Method to retrieve annotations from
- Returns:
- the annotations found, an empty array, or nullif not resolvable (e.g. because nested Class values in annotation attributes failed to resolve at runtime)
- See Also:
 
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getRepeatableAnnotations@Deprecated public static <A extends Annotation> Set<A> getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet the repeatable annotations ofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where such annotations are either present, indirectly present, or meta-present on the element.This method mimics the functionality of Java 8's AnnotatedElement.getAnnotationsByType(Class)with support for automatic detection of a container annotation declared via @Repeatable(when running on Java 8 or higher) and with additional support for meta-annotations.Handles both single annotations and annotations nested within a container annotation. Correctly handles bridge methods generated by the compiler if the supplied element is a Method.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not present on the supplied element. - Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- Returns:
- the annotations found or an empty set (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
- See Also:
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- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- AnnotatedElementUtils.getMergedRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- BridgeMethodResolver.findBridgedMethod(java.lang.reflect.Method)
- Repeatable
- AnnotatedElement.getAnnotationsByType(java.lang.Class<T>)
 
 
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getRepeatableAnnotations@Deprecated public static <A extends Annotation> Set<A> getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType, @Nullable Class<? extends Annotation> containerAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet the repeatable annotations ofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where such annotations are either present, indirectly present, or meta-present on the element.This method mimics the functionality of Java 8's AnnotatedElement.getAnnotationsByType(Class)with additional support for meta-annotations.Handles both single annotations and annotations nested within a container annotation. Correctly handles bridge methods generated by the compiler if the supplied element is a Method.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not present on the supplied element. - Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- containerAnnotationType- the type of the container that holds the annotations; may be- nullif a container is not supported or if it should be looked up via @- Repeatablewhen running on Java 8 or higher
- Returns:
- the annotations found or an empty set (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
- See Also:
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- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- AnnotatedElementUtils.getMergedRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- BridgeMethodResolver.findBridgedMethod(java.lang.reflect.Method)
- Repeatable
- AnnotatedElement.getAnnotationsByType(java.lang.Class<T>)
 
 
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getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations@Deprecated public static <A extends Annotation> Set<A> getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet the declared repeatable annotations ofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where such annotations are either directly present, indirectly present, or meta-present on the element.This method mimics the functionality of Java 8's AnnotatedElement.getDeclaredAnnotationsByType(Class)with support for automatic detection of a container annotation declared via @Repeatable(when running on Java 8 or higher) and with additional support for meta-annotations.Handles both single annotations and annotations nested within a container annotation. Correctly handles bridge methods generated by the compiler if the supplied element is a Method.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not present on the supplied element. - Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- Returns:
- the annotations found or an empty set (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
- See Also:
- 
- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- AnnotatedElementUtils.getMergedRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- BridgeMethodResolver.findBridgedMethod(java.lang.reflect.Method)
- Repeatable
- AnnotatedElement.getDeclaredAnnotationsByType(java.lang.Class<T>)
 
 
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getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations@Deprecated public static <A extends Annotation> Set<A> getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Class<A> annotationType, @Nullable Class<? extends Annotation> containerAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIGet the declared repeatable annotations ofannotationTypefrom the suppliedAnnotatedElement, where such annotations are either directly present, indirectly present, or meta-present on the element.This method mimics the functionality of Java 8's AnnotatedElement.getDeclaredAnnotationsByType(Class)with additional support for meta-annotations.Handles both single annotations and annotations nested within a container annotation. Correctly handles bridge methods generated by the compiler if the supplied element is a Method.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not present on the supplied element. - Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- containerAnnotationType- the type of the container that holds the annotations; may be- nullif a container is not supported or if it should be looked up via @- Repeatablewhen running on Java 8 or higher
- Returns:
- the annotations found or an empty set (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
- See Also:
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- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- getRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- getDeclaredRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class)
- AnnotatedElementUtils.getMergedRepeatableAnnotations(AnnotatedElement, Class, Class)
- BridgeMethodResolver.findBridgedMethod(java.lang.reflect.Method)
- Repeatable
- AnnotatedElement.getDeclaredAnnotationsByType(java.lang.Class<T>)
 
 
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findAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A findAnnotation(AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, @Nullable Class<A> annotationType) Find a singleAnnotationofannotationTypeon the suppliedAnnotatedElement.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not directly present on the supplied element. Warning: this method operates generically on annotated elements. In other words, this method does not execute specialized search algorithms for classes or methods. If you require the more specific semantics of findAnnotation(Class, Class)orfindAnnotation(Method, Class), invoke one of those methods instead.- Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the- AnnotatedElementon which to find the annotation
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for, both locally and as a meta-annotation
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
- Since:
- 4.2
 
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findAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A findAnnotation(Method method, @Nullable Class<A> annotationType) Find a singleAnnotationofannotationTypeon the suppliedMethod, traversing its super methods (i.e. from superclasses and interfaces) if the annotation is not directly present on the given method itself.Correctly handles bridge Methodsgenerated by the compiler.Meta-annotations will be searched if the annotation is not directly present on the method. Annotations on methods are not inherited by default, so we need to handle this explicitly. - Parameters:
- method- the method to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
- See Also:
 
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findAnnotation@Nullable public static <A extends Annotation> A findAnnotation(Class<?> clazz, @Nullable Class<A> annotationType) Find a singleAnnotationofannotationTypeon the suppliedClass, traversing its interfaces, annotations, and superclasses if the annotation is not directly present on the given class itself.This method explicitly handles class-level annotations which are not declared as inheritedas well as meta-annotations and annotations on interfaces.The algorithm operates as follows: - Search for the annotation on the given class and return it if found.
- Recursively search through all annotations that the given class declares.
- Recursively search through all interfaces that the given class declares.
- Recursively search through the superclass hierarchy of the given class.
 Note: in this context, the term recursively means that the search process continues by returning to step #1 with the current interface, annotation, or superclass as the class to look for annotations on. - Parameters:
- clazz- the class to look for annotations on
- annotationType- the type of annotation to look for
- Returns:
- the first matching annotation, or nullif not found
 
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findAnnotationDeclaringClass@Deprecated @Nullable public static Class<?> findAnnotationDeclaringClass(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, @Nullable Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIFind the firstClassin the inheritance hierarchy of the specifiedclazz(including the specifiedclazzitself) on which an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeis directly present.If the supplied clazzis an interface, only the interface itself will be checked; the inheritance hierarchy for interfaces will not be traversed.Meta-annotations will not be searched. The standard ClassAPI does not provide a mechanism for determining which class in an inheritance hierarchy actually declares anAnnotation, so we need to handle this explicitly.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- clazz- the class to check for the annotation on (may be- null)
- Returns:
- the first Classin the inheritance hierarchy that declares an annotation of the specifiedannotationType, ornullif not found
- See Also:
 
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findAnnotationDeclaringClassForTypes@Deprecated @Nullable public static Class<?> findAnnotationDeclaringClassForTypes(List<Class<? extends Annotation>> annotationTypes, @Nullable Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIFind the firstClassin the inheritance hierarchy of the specifiedclazz(including the specifiedclazzitself) on which at least one of the specifiedannotationTypesis directly present.If the supplied clazzis an interface, only the interface itself will be checked; the inheritance hierarchy for interfaces will not be traversed.Meta-annotations will not be searched. The standard ClassAPI does not provide a mechanism for determining which class in an inheritance hierarchy actually declares one of several candidate annotations, so we need to handle this explicitly.- Parameters:
- annotationTypes- the annotation types to look for
- clazz- the class to check for the annotation on (may be- null)
- Returns:
- the first Classin the inheritance hierarchy that declares an annotation of at least one of the specifiedannotationTypes, ornullif not found
- Since:
- 3.2.2
- See Also:
 
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isAnnotationDeclaredLocallypublic static boolean isAnnotationDeclaredLocally(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<?> clazz) Determine whether an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeis declared locally (i.e. directly present) on the suppliedclazz.The supplied Classmay represent any type.Meta-annotations will not be searched. Note: This method does not determine if the annotation is inherited. - Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- clazz- the class to check for the annotation on
- Returns:
- trueif an annotation of the specified- annotationTypeis directly present
- See Also:
 
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isAnnotationInherited@Deprecated public static boolean isAnnotationInherited(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, Class<?> clazz) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIDetermine whether an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeis present on the suppliedclazzand is inherited (i.e. not directly present).Meta-annotations will not be searched. If the supplied clazzis an interface, only the interface itself will be checked. In accordance with standard meta-annotation semantics in Java, the inheritance hierarchy for interfaces will not be traversed. See the javadoc for the@Inheritedmeta-annotation for further details regarding annotation inheritance.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type to look for
- clazz- the class to check for the annotation on
- Returns:
- trueif an annotation of the specified- annotationTypeis present and inherited
- See Also:
 
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isAnnotationMetaPresent@Deprecated public static boolean isAnnotationMetaPresent(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, @Nullable Class<? extends Annotation> metaAnnotationType) Deprecated.as of 5.2 since it is superseded by theMergedAnnotationsAPIDetermine if an annotation of typemetaAnnotationTypeis meta-present on the suppliedannotationType.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type to search on
- metaAnnotationType- the type of meta-annotation to search for
- Returns:
- trueif such an annotation is meta-present
- Since:
- 4.2.1
 
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isInJavaLangAnnotationPackageDetermine if the suppliedAnnotationis defined in the core JDKjava.lang.annotationpackage.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to check
- Returns:
- trueif the annotation is in the- java.lang.annotationpackage
 
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isInJavaLangAnnotationPackageDetermine if theAnnotationwith the supplied name is defined in the core JDKjava.lang.annotationpackage.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the name of the annotation type to check
- Returns:
- trueif the annotation is in the- java.lang.annotationpackage
- Since:
- 4.2
 
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validateAnnotationCheck the declared attributes of the given annotation, in particular covering Google App Engine's late arrival ofTypeNotPresentExceptionProxyforClassvalues (instead of earlyClass.getAnnotations() failure).This method not failing indicates that getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation)won't failure either (when attempted later on).- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to validate
- Throws:
- IllegalStateException- if a declared- Classattribute could not be read
- Since:
- 4.3.15
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationAttributesRetrieve the given annotation's attributes as aMap, preserving all attribute types.Equivalent to calling getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation, boolean, boolean)with theclassValuesAsStringandnestedAnnotationsAsMapparameters set tofalse.Note: This method actually returns an AnnotationAttributesinstance. However, theMapsignature has been preserved for binary compatibility.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to retrieve the attributes for
- Returns:
- the Map of annotation attributes, with attribute names as keys and
 corresponding attribute values as values (never null)
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationAttributespublic static Map<String,Object> getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as aMap.Equivalent to calling getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation, boolean, boolean)with thenestedAnnotationsAsMapparameter set tofalse.Note: This method actually returns an AnnotationAttributesinstance. However, theMapsignature has been preserved for binary compatibility.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to retrieve the attributes for
- classValuesAsString- whether to convert Class references into Strings (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as Class references
- Returns:
- the Map of annotation attributes, with attribute names as keys and
 corresponding attribute values as values (never null)
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationAttributespublic static AnnotationAttributes getAnnotationAttributes(Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString, boolean nestedAnnotationsAsMap) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.This method provides fully recursive annotation reading capabilities on par with the reflection-based StandardAnnotationMetadata.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to retrieve the attributes for
- classValuesAsString- whether to convert Class references into Strings (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as Class references
- nestedAnnotationsAsMap- whether to convert nested annotations into- AnnotationAttributesmaps (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as- Annotationinstances
- Returns:
- the annotation attributes (a specialized Map) with attribute names as keys
 and corresponding attribute values as values (never null)
- Since:
- 3.1.1
 
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getAnnotationAttributespublic static AnnotationAttributes getAnnotationAttributes(@Nullable AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Annotation annotation) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.Equivalent to calling getAnnotationAttributes(AnnotatedElement, Annotation, boolean, boolean)with theclassValuesAsStringandnestedAnnotationsAsMapparameters set tofalse.- Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element that is annotated with the supplied annotation; may be- nullif unknown
- annotation- the annotation to retrieve the attributes for
- Returns:
- the annotation attributes (a specialized Map) with attribute names as keys
 and corresponding attribute values as values (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
- See Also:
 
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getAnnotationAttributespublic static AnnotationAttributes getAnnotationAttributes(@Nullable AnnotatedElement annotatedElement, Annotation annotation, boolean classValuesAsString, boolean nestedAnnotationsAsMap) Retrieve the given annotation's attributes as anAnnotationAttributesmap.This method provides fully recursive annotation reading capabilities on par with the reflection-based StandardAnnotationMetadata.- Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element that is annotated with the supplied annotation; may be- nullif unknown
- annotation- the annotation to retrieve the attributes for
- classValuesAsString- whether to convert Class references into Strings (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as Class references
- nestedAnnotationsAsMap- whether to convert nested annotations into- AnnotationAttributesmaps (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as- Annotationinstances
- Returns:
- the annotation attributes (a specialized Map) with attribute names as keys
 and corresponding attribute values as values (never null)
- Since:
- 4.2
 
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registerDefaultValuesRegister the annotation-declared default values for the given attributes, if available.- Parameters:
- attributes- the annotation attributes to process
- Since:
- 4.3.2
 
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postProcessAnnotationAttributespublic static void postProcessAnnotationAttributes(@Nullable Object annotatedElement, @Nullable AnnotationAttributes attributes, boolean classValuesAsString) Post-process the suppliedAnnotationAttributes, preserving nested annotations asAnnotationinstances.Specifically, this method enforces attribute alias semantics for annotation attributes that are annotated with @AliasForand replaces default value placeholders with their original default values.- Parameters:
- annotatedElement- the element that is annotated with an annotation or annotation hierarchy from which the supplied attributes were created; may be- nullif unknown
- attributes- the annotation attributes to post-process
- classValuesAsString- whether to convert Class references into Strings (for compatibility with- AnnotationMetadata) or to preserve them as Class references
- Since:
- 4.3.2
- See Also:
 
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getValueRetrieve the value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given an annotation instance.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation instance from which to retrieve the value
- Returns:
- the attribute value, or nullif not found unless the attribute value cannot be retrieved due to anAnnotationConfigurationException, in which case such an exception will be rethrown
- See Also:
 
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getValue@Nullable public static Object getValue(@Nullable Annotation annotation, @Nullable String attributeName) Retrieve the value of a named attribute, given an annotation instance.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation instance from which to retrieve the value
- attributeName- the name of the attribute value to retrieve
- Returns:
- the attribute value, or nullif not found unless the attribute value cannot be retrieved due to anAnnotationConfigurationException, in which case such an exception will be rethrown
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getDefaultValueRetrieve the default value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given an annotation instance.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation instance from which to retrieve the default value
- Returns:
- the default value, or nullif not found
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getDefaultValue@Nullable public static Object getDefaultValue(@Nullable Annotation annotation, @Nullable String attributeName) Retrieve the default value of a named attribute, given an annotation instance.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation instance from which to retrieve the default value
- attributeName- the name of the attribute value to retrieve
- Returns:
- the default value of the named attribute, or nullif not found
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getDefaultValueRetrieve the default value of thevalueattribute of a single-element Annotation, given theannotation type.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type for which the default value should be retrieved
- Returns:
- the default value, or nullif not found
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getDefaultValue@Nullable public static Object getDefaultValue(@Nullable Class<? extends Annotation> annotationType, @Nullable String attributeName) Retrieve the default value of a named attribute, given theannotation type.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the annotation type for which the default value should be retrieved
- attributeName- the name of the attribute value to retrieve.
- Returns:
- the default value of the named attribute, or nullif not found
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synthesizeAnnotationpublic static <A extends Annotation> A synthesizeAnnotation(A annotation, @Nullable AnnotatedElement annotatedElement) Synthesize an annotation from the suppliedannotationby wrapping it in a dynamic proxy that transparently enforces attribute alias semantics for annotation attributes that are annotated with@AliasFor.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to synthesize
- annotatedElement- the element that is annotated with the supplied annotation; may be- nullif unknown
- Returns:
- the synthesized annotation if the supplied annotation is
 synthesizable; nullif the supplied annotation isnull; otherwise the supplied annotation unmodified
- Throws:
- AnnotationConfigurationException- if invalid configuration of- @AliasForis detected
- Since:
- 4.2
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synthesizeAnnotationSynthesize an annotation from its default attributes values.This method simply delegates to synthesizeAnnotation(Map, Class, AnnotatedElement), supplying an empty map for the source attribute values andnullfor theAnnotatedElement.- Parameters:
- annotationType- the type of annotation to synthesize
- Returns:
- the synthesized annotation
- Throws:
- IllegalArgumentException- if a required attribute is missing
- AnnotationConfigurationException- if invalid configuration of- @AliasForis detected
- Since:
- 4.2
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synthesizeAnnotationpublic static <A extends Annotation> A synthesizeAnnotation(Map<String, Object> attributes, Class<A> annotationType, @Nullable AnnotatedElement annotatedElement) Synthesize an annotation from the supplied map of annotation attributes by wrapping the map in a dynamic proxy that implements an annotation of the specifiedannotationTypeand transparently enforces attribute alias semantics for annotation attributes that are annotated with@AliasFor.The supplied map must contain a key-value pair for every attribute defined in the supplied annotationTypethat is not aliased or does not have a default value. Nested maps and nested arrays of maps will be recursively synthesized into nested annotations or nested arrays of annotations, respectively.Note that AnnotationAttributesis a specialized type ofMapthat is an ideal candidate for this method'sattributesargument.- Parameters:
- attributes- the map of annotation attributes to synthesize
- annotationType- the type of annotation to synthesize
- annotatedElement- the element that is annotated with the annotation corresponding to the supplied attributes; may be- nullif unknown
- Returns:
- the synthesized annotation
- Throws:
- IllegalArgumentException- if a required attribute is missing or if an attribute is not of the correct type
- AnnotationConfigurationException- if invalid configuration of- @AliasForis detected
- Since:
- 4.2
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isSynthesizedAnnotationDetermine if the suppliedAnnotationhas been synthesized by Spring (i.e. wrapped in a dynamic proxy) with additional functionality such as attribute alias handling.- Parameters:
- annotation- the annotation to check
- Returns:
- trueif the supplied annotation is a synthesized annotation
- Since:
- 5.3.23
 
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clearCachepublic static void clearCache()Clear the internal annotation metadata cache.- Since:
- 4.3.15
 
 
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MergedAnnotationsAPI