A java.util.ResourceBundle replacement for configuration properties. Helpful for attaching metadata to properties for the purpose of validating, inspecting, binding, etc. properties without infringing on any existing usage of those resources.

This is not a replacement for xml (JSON, etc.) or any structured data format you may find in configuration files, those suit that purpose much better. This is, however a simple way you can augment your production properties files with information that is only visible and significant to your tests or validation code.

For example the property: warning.dialog.alert.icon=/images/w_alert.png

Could be analyzed by acceptance tests or validation code w/ data from the comment (implicitly bound to the warning.dialog.alert.icon property because it precedes the property line):

  #@ location:warning_dialog; resource_type:png-image;
  warning.dialog.alert.icon=/images/w_alert.png

Now at runtime, the annotated keys and values are available via the AnnotatedResourceBundle class. Keeping with the same example:

AnnotatedResourceBundle rb = new AnnotatedResourceBundle("images.properties");
for(Entry<String, String> entry : rb.getAttributes("warning.dialog.alert.icon").entrySet()){
      System.out.println(entry);
}

would output:

  location=warning_dialog
  resource_type=png-image

There is also the ability to reference properties in the annotations:

  #@ host:${host_name}; user:${user_name}; password:${pass};
  connection=my_connection://
  host_name=www.github.com
  user_name=matyb
  password=pass123

  AnnotatedResourceBundle annotatedResourceBundle = new AnnotatedResourceBundle("connections.properties");
  for(Entry<String, String> entry : annotatedResourceBundle.getAttributes("connection").entrySet()){
      System.out.println(entry);
  }

would output:

  host_name=www.github.com
  user_name=matyb
  password=pass123

Lastly - the annotations can be added outside the class, they are merely bound using the @ symbol. So in a project where you don't want this information in your production code (ie you cannot or do not want to modify it):

  project/src/pkg/some_file.properties
  tests/test/pkg/some_file.annotations

We can attach the annotations outside the implementations code (so that this metadata can easily vary independently of the properties). So with a property like: warning.dialog.alert.icon=/images/w_alert.png

in the properties file, we can add metadata at runtime to it with:

#@ @warning.dialog.alert.icon; location:warning_dialog; resource_type:png-image;

added to the annotations file (in the same pkg).

For specific examples, please check the tests.