Spring AOP vs Annotation based Tx Management

[Kand ron]

We are starting a new project and want to follow the best practices.

Which one is better either Spring AOP or Annotation based for the Tx Management.

Spring AOP - in this tx management will be defined in xml file only. And only xml file can be modified to manage the transactions.
Annotation based - Here we specify the transaction with @Transactional in the Java Code. In this approach transactions are all over in the Java Code.

I was able to see both the approaches in many places in internet. So got confused.

Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Boris Romashov]

If you have a limited set of pointcuts - list all them in aop advice in xml config.
If in each case you want to make individual decision - use Transactional annotation on the corresponding methods of corresponding beans.

[Mark Spritzler]

Personally, of all places, this is the one where I highly recommend using Annotations as to me, it is so much easier. Especially because I can put @Transactional on the class level and now all methods of my interface in that class are now transactional. And to configure that in xml takes a lot more typing.

Mark

[Boris Romashov]

Mark Spritzler wrote:And to configure that in xml takes a lot more typing.

As I wrote, if you have a limited set of pointcuts, configuring this in xml is will take less typing.

[Mark Spritzler]

Boris Romashov wrote:

Mark Spritzler wrote:And to configure that in xml takes a lot more typing.

As I wrote, if you have a limited set of pointcuts, configuring this in xml is will take less typing.

But I doubt the method names follow naming conventions and if I have a limited set, means I have a limited amount of classes, so just @Transactional at the class level and now I can see it is transactional in one place, the class and not have to go between two different files to see the whole setup.

Mark

[Kand ron]

If the @transcational is at the Class level. If the application is having many classes where @transactional is kept. Then there is a chance of developers messing with the @transactional and putting some attributes like readonly, propagation. And it will become uncontrollable and inconsistent in the application? And if it is the on config file, it can be tracked easily by going to the xml file.

please let me know your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[Mark Spritzler]

Kand ron wrote:If the @transcational is at the Class level. If the application is having many classes where @transactional is kept. Then there is a chance of developers messing with the @transactional and putting some attributes like readonly, propagation. And it will become uncontrollable and inconsistent in the application? And if it is the on config file, it can be tracked easily by going to the xml file.

please let me know your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

And if they mess with it in the XML and add lots of attributes for lots of methods the XML is way tougher to maintain. Having to do lots of pointcuts and tx namespace for attributes. It is very disjointed and to me annoyingly difficult to maintain.

Mark