1/*
2 * Copyright (C) 2009 The JSR-330 Expert Group
3 *
4 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
5 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
6 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
7 *
8 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
9 *
10 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
11 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
12 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
13 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
14 * limitations under the License.
15 */
16
17package javax.inject;
18
19import java.lang.annotation.Target;
20import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
21import java.lang.annotation.Documented;
22import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
23import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
24import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.CONSTRUCTOR;
25import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
26
27/**
28 * Identifies injectable constructors, methods, and fields. May apply to static
29 * as well as instance members. An injectable member may have any access
30 * modifier (private, package-private, protected, public). Constructors are
31 * injected first, followed by fields, and then methods. Fields and methods
32 * in superclasses are injected before those in subclasses. Ordering of
33 * injection among fields and among methods in the same class is not specified.
34 *
35 * <p>Injectable constructors are annotated with {@code @Inject} and accept
36 * zero or more dependencies as arguments. {@code @Inject} can apply to at most
37 * one constructor per class.
38 *
39 * <p><tt><blockquote style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">@Inject
40 *       <i>ConstructorModifiers<sub>opt</sub></i>
41 *       <i>SimpleTypeName</i>(<i>FormalParameterList<sub>opt</sub></i>)
42 *       <i>Throws<sub>opt</sub></i>
43 *       <i>ConstructorBody</i></blockquote></tt>
44 *
45 * <p>{@code @Inject} is optional for public, no-argument constructors when no
46 * other constructors are present. This enables injectors to invoke default
47 * constructors.
48 *
49 * <p><tt><blockquote style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">
50 *       {@literal @}Inject<sub><i>opt</i></sub>
51 *       <i>Annotations<sub>opt</sub></i>
52 *       public
53 *       <i>SimpleTypeName</i>()
54 *       <i>Throws<sub>opt</sub></i>
55 *       <i>ConstructorBody</i></blockquote></tt>
56 *
57 * <p>Injectable fields:
58 * <ul>
59 *   <li>are annotated with {@code @Inject}.
60 *   <li>are not final.
61 *   <li>may have any otherwise valid name.</li></ul>
62 *
63 * <p><tt><blockquote style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">@Inject
64 *       <i>FieldModifiers<sub>opt</sub></i>
65 *       <i>Type</i>
66 *       <i>VariableDeclarators</i>;</blockquote></tt>
67 *
68 * <p>Injectable methods:
69 * <ul>
70 *   <li>are annotated with {@code @Inject}.</li>
71 *   <li>are not abstract.</li>
72 *   <li>do not declare type parameters of their own.</li>
73 *   <li>may return a result</li>
74 *   <li>may have any otherwise valid name.</li>
75 *   <li>accept zero or more dependencies as arguments.</li></ul>
76 *
77 * <p><tt><blockquote style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">@Inject
78 *       <i>MethodModifiers<sub>opt</sub></i>
79 *       <i>ResultType</i>
80 *       <i>Identifier</i>(<i>FormalParameterList<sub>opt</sub></i>)
81 *       <i>Throws<sub>opt</sub></i>
82 *       <i>MethodBody</i></blockquote></tt>
83 *
84 * <p>The injector ignores the result of an injected method, but
85 * non-{@code void} return types are allowed to support use of the method in
86 * other contexts (builder-style method chaining, for example).
87 *
88 * <p>Examples:
89 *
90 * <pre>
91 *   public class Car {
92 *     // Injectable constructor
93 *     &#064;Inject public Car(Engine engine) { ... }
94 *
95 *     // Injectable field
96 *     &#064;Inject private Provider&lt;Seat> seatProvider;
97 *
98 *     // Injectable package-private method
99 *     &#064;Inject void install(Windshield windshield, Trunk trunk) { ... }
100 *   }</pre>
101 *
102 * <p>A method annotated with {@code @Inject} that overrides another method
103 * annotated with {@code @Inject} will only be injected once per injection
104 * request per instance. A method with <i>no</i> {@code @Inject} annotation
105 * that overrides a method annotated with {@code @Inject} will not be
106 * injected.
107 *
108 * <p>Injection of members annotated with {@code @Inject} is required. While an
109 * injectable member may use any accessibility modifier (including
110 * <tt>private</tt>), platform or injector limitations (like security
111 * restrictions or lack of reflection support) might preclude injection
112 * of non-public members.
113 *
114 * <h3>Qualifiers</h3>
115 *
116 * <p>A {@linkplain Qualifier qualifier} may annotate an injectable field
117 * or parameter and, combined with the type, identify the implementation to
118 * inject. Qualifiers are optional, and when used with {@code @Inject} in
119 * injector-independent classes, no more than one qualifier should annotate a
120 * single field or parameter. The qualifiers are bold in the following example:
121 *
122 * <pre>
123 *   public class Car {
124 *     &#064;Inject private <b>@Leather</b> Provider&lt;Seat> seatProvider;
125 *
126 *     &#064;Inject void install(<b>@Tinted</b> Windshield windshield,
127 *         <b>@Big</b> Trunk trunk) { ... }
128 *   }</pre>
129 *
130 * <p>If one injectable method overrides another, the overriding method's
131 * parameters do not automatically inherit qualifiers from the overridden
132 * method's parameters.
133 *
134 * <h3>Injectable Values</h3>
135 *
136 * <p>For a given type T and optional qualifier, an injector must be able to
137 * inject a user-specified class that:
138 *
139 * <ol type="a">
140 *   <li>is assignment compatible with T and</li>
141 *   <li>has an injectable constructor.</li>
142 * </ol>
143 *
144 * <p>For example, the user might use external configuration to pick an
145 * implementation of T. Beyond that, which values are injected depend upon the
146 * injector implementation and its configuration.
147 *
148 * <h3>Circular Dependencies</h3>
149 *
150 * <p>Detecting and resolving circular dependencies is left as an exercise for
151 * the injector implementation. Circular dependencies between two constructors
152 * is an obvious problem, but you can also have a circular dependency between
153 * injectable fields or methods:
154 *
155 * <pre>
156 *   class A {
157 *     &#064;Inject B b;
158 *   }
159 *   class B {
160 *     &#064;Inject A a;
161 *   }</pre>
162 *
163 * <p>When constructing an instance of {@code A}, a naive injector
164 * implementation might go into an infinite loop constructing an instance of
165 * {@code B} to set on {@code A}, a second instance of {@code A} to set on
166 * {@code B}, a second instance of {@code B} to set on the second instance of
167 * {@code A}, and so on.
168 *
169 * <p>A conservative injector might detect the circular dependency at build
170 * time and generate an error, at which point the programmer could break the
171 * circular dependency by injecting {@link Provider Provider&lt;A>} or {@code
172 * Provider<B>} instead of {@code A} or {@code B} respectively. Calling {@link
173 * Provider#get() get()} on the provider directly from the constructor or
174 * method it was injected into defeats the provider's ability to break up
175 * circular dependencies. In the case of method or field injection, scoping
176 * one of the dependencies (using {@linkplain Singleton singleton scope}, for
177 * example) may also enable a valid circular relationship.
178 *
179 * @see javax.inject.Qualifier @Qualifier
180 * @see javax.inject.Provider
181 */
182@Target({ METHOD, CONSTRUCTOR, FIELD })
183@Retention(RUNTIME)
184@Documented
185public @interface Inject {}
186