Question

I have two abstract classes

class abstract A {
//some methods .
}

class abstract B extends A {
 private  C  c ;
//other methods
}

Spring config file :

<bean id="b" class="B" abstract="true">
    <property name="c" ref="C" />   //I have reference for C else where
</bean>

When I run the program , the class c is not getting injected . It is coming as null . Am i missing something ?

Answer 1

abstract=true means that the bean specification is a ‘template’ for other bean declarations to extend, it does not mean the class is abstract. I suspect bean with id b is not being created since it is a template/abstract definition. Remove abstract=true and make B a concrete type and it should work.

Documentation here: http://static.springsource.org/spring/docs/3.0.x/reference/beans.html#beans-child-bean-definitions