How do I update the value of an @Autowired String bean in Spring?

Question

I have a String that I\'m autowiring as a bean. The value for the String is set via a properties file, and is loaded at runtime. That much I can verify. Here\'s

Answer 1

Since String is immutable, you cannot just change its underlying value and have everyone that has a reference to it be updated.

You can change the reference of the String that an instance of Foo is holding onto to point to a different String, but it will only be realized by objects that are working with the specific Foo you updated. If Foo is a Spring singleton, this shouldn't be an issue though...

Answer 2

Every time you want to change your spring injected values through changing the configuration, you are going to have to restart your container, which usually involves restarting your server.

Answer 3

After reading a few of the other answers and comments, I was able to figure out a solution. I ended up creating a simple class:

public class LPropBean {

   private String loadedProp;

   public LPropBean(String loadedProp) {
       this.loadedProp = loadedProp;
   }

   // getters and setters...
}

I updated my XML file:

<bean id="lPropBean" class="LPropBean">
  <constructor-arg>
    <value>${loaded-prop}</value>
  </constructor-arg>
</bean>

And updated all of the @Components that autowire in the bean:

@Autowire
private LPropBean lPropBean;

// ... later ...
lPropBean.setLoadedProp(newProp);

// ... later ...
lPropBean.getLoadedProp();

I'm sure there is a more elegant way, but this worked exactly how I needed it to.