[Springframework-developer] naming of file location parameters

[<jue...@we...>]

Hi everybody,

I've noticed a naming issue within Spring, concerning parameters that =
specify a path or URL to a file resource, as bean properties or method =
parameters. In some places such parameters are resp. were called =
"url"/"configUrl" etc, in other places "filename"... E.g.: =
XmlWebApplicationContext, VelocityConfigurer, Log4jConfig, =
PropertyResourceConfigurer, VelocityConfigurer. I've introduced such =
parameters in some places and named them "path", according to the =
parameter name used by the File(String) constructor and the =
ServletContext.getResource(String) method. I've also renamed some of the =
former "url" parameters to "path" when working on respective classes.

Note that nearly all resource/file lookups work via =
ApplicationContext.getResourceAsStream now. This method supports fully =
qualified URLs, absolute file paths, and relative paths. The latter are =
interpreted by the respective ApplicationContext implementation, =
currently either relative to the working directory of the VM or relative =
to the web app root directory. This is very powerful: For example, it =
allows for using the same relative paths for both executing within a web =
container and as JUnit test suite, provided that the latter uses the web =
app root as working directory.

So the parameter name "url" is not perfect, as the normal case is a =
(relative) path - an actual URL is possible but rather uncommon. =
"filename" isn't perfect either, as it doesn't really suggest a full =
path (ending with a filename). That's why I chose "path" resp. =
"configPath" or the like, but I'm not sure if this is optimal.

What do you think? "url"? "filename"? "path"? "filePath"? "location"? =
Other suggestions? We need a consistent naming strategy to avoid =
confusion! After we've settled on one, I will look up all of those =
parameters and adapt the naming accordingly.

Juergen


DI J=FCrgen H=F6ller
Senior System Architect
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