Spring(4)-How to load multiple Spring bean configuration file

Problem

In a large project structure, the Spring’s bean configuration files are located at different folders for easy maintainability and modular. For example,Spring-Common.xml in common folder, Spring-Connection.xml in connection folder,Spring-ModuleA.xml in ModuleA folder…and etc.

You may load multiple Spring bean configuration files in code :

ApplicationContext context = 
    	new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext(new String[] {"Spring-Common.xml",
              "Spring-Connection.xml","Spring-ModuleA.xml"});

Or put all spring xml files under project classpath.

project-classpath/Spring-Common.xml
project-classpath/Spring-Connection.xml
project-classpath/Spring-ModuleA.xml

Solution

The above ways are lack of organize and error prone, the better way should be organize all your Spring bean configuration files into a single XML file. For example, create aSpring-All-Module.xml file, and import the entire Spring bean files like this :

File : Spring-All-Module.xml

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
	http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-2.5.xsd">
 
	<import resource="common/Spring-Common.xml"/>
        <import resource="connection/Spring-Connection.xml"/>
        <import resource="moduleA/Spring-ModuleA.xml"/>
 
</beans>

Now you can load a single xml file like this :

ApplicationContext context = 
    		new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext(Spring-All-Module.xml);

	Or put this file under project classpath.

	project-classpath/Spring-All-Module.xml

Note
In Spring3, the alternative solution is using JavaConfig @Import.