Bean is an object in an application. A bean is created, used, and finally destroyed when its purpose is over. These are the different stages of a spring life cycle. The entire spring bean life cycle is supervised by the Spring IoC (Inversion of Control) container. That is why these beans are called spring beans.

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The Life Cycle of a Spring Bean

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In a spring bean life cycle, first of all, a bean is instantiated. After instantiation, a bean goes through a sequence of steps before being ready to be used. When a bean is no longer required for any function, it is destroyed.

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Spring bean life cycle can be controlled in the following ways

• Instantiation by using:
• InitializingBean callback interface.
• Custom init() method from the bean configuration file.
• Aware interfaces for distinct actions.
• PostConstruct and PreDestroy annotations.
• Destruction
• DisposableBean callback interface
• Custom destroy() method from the bean configuration file.

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Instantiation of a bean

The first process in the spring bean life cycle is an instantiation. The creation of a bean rests on JAVA or XML bean configuration file. This can be done in two ways. 

They are:

• InitializingBean callback interface: Instantiation in this way is done in a method named afterPropertiesSet(). This method is present in org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean interface. In the program below, a class is created which implements this interface. This enables using the afterPropertiesSet()  method of that interface in the created class.

Following is the program depicting this instantiation process

import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;

public class Creatingbean implements InitializingBean

{

@Override

public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception

{

// Bean is initialized

}

}

• Custom created method of instantiation in the bean configuration file: In this process, an XML based configuration file is used. Init-method of this file is used to specifically name the instantiation method. This method is used in the class for bean instantiation. The local definition of a single bean is shown below. In this way, we can create a single bean.

beans.xml:

<beans>

<bean id=”creatingbean” class=”com.workinginjava.work.Creatingbean”

init-method=”createInit” ></bean>

</beans>

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Following is the program depicting this instantiation process by loading beans.xml

package com.workinginjava.work;

public class Creatingbean 

{

public void createInit()

//Custom created init method is used for instantiation of a bean

}

Aware Interfaces: Spring Framework infrastructure provides several aware interfaces. These interfaces inculcate certain distinct behavior to a created bean. 

Some of the important Aware Interfaces include:

• BeanFactoryAware: setBeanFactory() furnishes access to the bean factory that created the object.

• BeanNameAware: setBeanName() method under BeanNameAware interface provides the name of the bean. 
• ApplicationContextAware: setApplicationContext() method under this specific interface provides the ApplicationContext of the bean. 

PostConstruct and PreDestroy annotations: PostConstruct is an annotated method. It is called after bean construction and before requesting an object. PreDestroy is also an annotated method. It is called just before the destruction of a bean.

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Following program depicts the usage of annotations

import javax.annotation.PostConstruct;

import javax.annotation.PreDestroy; 

public class BeanWork

{

   @PostConstruct

    public void createInit() 

    {

        //Initiation of bean(PostConstruct)

    }

   @PreDestroy

    public void createDestroy() 

    {

        //Destruction of bean(PreDestroy)

    }

}

The createInit() and createDestroy() are custom created initiation and destruction methods of a bean. This is done using the XML bean configuration file. 

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Destruction of a bean

The last process in the spring bean life cycle is the destruction process. It is the process of removing a bean. The removal of a bean rests on JAVA or XML bean configuration file. 

This can be done in two ways

• DisposableBean callback interface: Disposal is done in a method named destroy(). This method is present in org.springframework.beans.factory.DisposableBean interface. In the program below, a class is created which implements this interface. This enables using the destroy() method of that interface in the created class.

Following is the program depicting this instantiation process

import org.springframework.beans.factory.DisposableBean;

public class Destroyingbean implements DisposableBean

{

@Override

public void destroy() throws Exception

{

// Bean is destroyed

}

}

• Custom created method of destruction in the bean configuration file: XML based configuration file is used here. The destroy-method of this file is used to specifically name the destruction method. This method is then used in the class for the destruction of the bean. The local definition of a single bean and steps to destroy it is shown below.

Beans.xml:

<beans>

<bean id=”destroyingbean” class=”com.workinginjava.work.Destroyingbean”

destroy-method=”createDestroy” ></bean>

</beans>

Following is the program depicting this destruction process by loading the beans.xml:

package com.workinginjava.work;

public class Destroyingbean 

{

public void createDestroy()

//Custom destruction method is used for the destruction of a bean

}

Spring beans are created for a specific purpose. So, every bean goes through a distinct spring life cycle. There are two ways of beginning and ending the spring bean lifecycle. If InitializingBean and DisposableBean interfaces are used, it binds the code to Spring. A better way is to identify the init-method and destroy-method in the bean configuration file.

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Wrapping up

These points about the spring bean life cycle might answer some questions. Still, they raise new ones for you – What are the resources for an aspiring Full Stack developer and the use of spring framework? What is the scope in this field? And, most importantly, how to build a career in this domain?

If you’re interested to learn more about full-stack development, check out upGrad & IIIT-B’s PG Diploma in Full-stack Software Development which is designed for working professionals and offers 500+ hours of rigorous training, 9+ projects, and assignments, IIIT-B Alumni status, practical hands-on capstone projects & job assistance with top firms.