Migrating to Spring Framework 3.2 In this appendix we discuss discuss what users will want to know when upgrading to Spring Framework 3.2. For a general overview of features, please see
Newly optional dependencies Certain inter-module dependencies are now optional at the Maven POM level where they were once required. For example, spring-tx and its dependence on spring-context. This may result in ClassNotFoundErrors or other similar problems for users that have been relying on transitive dependency management to pull in affected downstream spring-* . To resolve this problem, simply add the appropriate missing jars to your build configuration.
Inlining of spring-asm jar In versions 3.0 and 3.1, we published a discrete spring-asm containing repackaged org.objectweb.asm 3.x sources. As of Spring Framework 3.2, we have upgraded to org.objectweb.asm 4.0 and done away with the separate module jar, favoring inlining these classes directly within spring-core. This should cause no migration issue for most users; but on the off chance that you have spring-asm declared directly within your project's build script, you'll want to remove it when upgrading to Spring Framework 3.2.
Explicit CGLIB dependency no longer required In prior versions, users of Spring's subclass-based AOP proxies (e.g. via proxy-target-class="true") and @Configuration class support were required to declare an explicit dependency on CGLIB 2.2. As of Spring Framework 3.2, we now repackage and inline the newly-released CGLIB 3.0. This means greater convenience for users, as well as correct functionality for Java 7 users who are creating subclass proxies of types that contain invokedynamic bytecode instructions. Repackaging CGLIB internally ensures no classpath conflicts with other third party frameworks that may depend on other versions of CGLIB.
For OSGi users OSGi metadata is no longer published within individual Spring Framework jar MANIFEST.MF files. Please see this announcement for more information about how users can get OSGi-ready versions of Spring Framework 3.2 jars.
MVC Java Config and MVC Namespace As explained in , both the MVC Java config and the MVC namespace register extensions such as .json and .xml if the corresponding classpath dependencies are present. That means controller methods may now return JSON or XML formatted content if those extensions are present in the request URI, even if the 'Accept' header doesn't request those media types. The newly added support for matrix variables is explained in . To preserve backward compatibility, by default, semicolon content is removed from incoming request URIs and therefore @MatrixVariable cannot be used without additional configuration. However, when using the MVC Java config and the MVC namespace, semicolon content is left in the URI so that matrix variables are automatically supported. The removal of semicolon content is controlled through the UrlPathHelper property of RequestMappingHandlerMapping.
Decoding of URI Variable Values URI variable values now get decoded when UrlPathHelper.setUrlDecode is set to false. See SPR-9098.
HTTP PATCH method The DispatcherServlet now allows the HTTP PATCH method where previously it didn't.
Tiles 3 Besides the version number change, the set of Tiles dependencies has also changed. You will need to have a subset or all of tiles-request-api, tiles-api, tiles-core, tiles-servlet, tiles-jsp, tiles-el.
Spring MVC Test standalone project If migrating from the spring-test-mvc standalone project to the spring-test module in Spring Framework 3.2, you will need to adjust the root package to be org.springframework.test.web.servlet. You will no longer be able to use the MockMvcBuilders annotationConfigSetup and xmlConfigSetup options. Instead you'll need to switch to using the @WebApplicationContext support of spring-test for loading Spring configuration, then inject a WebApplicationContext into the test and use it to create a MockMvc. for details.
Public API changes
JDiff reports Select JDiff reports are now being published to provide users with a convenient means of understanding what's changed between versions. Going forward these will be published between each minor version, e.g. from 3.1.3.RELEASE to 3.1.4.RELEASE; from the latest maintenance version to the latest GA release, e.g. 3.1.3.RELEASE to 3.2.0.RELEASE; and in between each milestone and/or RC for users who are tracking next-generation development, e.g. 3.2.0.RC2 to 3.2.0.RELEASE.
Deprecations The following packages and types have been wholly or partially deprecated in Spring Framework 3.2 and may be removed in a future version. Click through to the linked Javadoc for each item for exact details. See also the complete list of deprecations in the framework. org.springframework.orm.ibatis org.springframework.scheduling.backportconcurrent org.springframework.ejb.support org.springframework.http.converter.xml.XmlAwareFormHttpMessageConverter org.springframework.web.jsf.DelegatingVariableResolver org.springframework.web.jsf.SpringBeanVariableResolver org.springframework.ui.velocity.CommonsLoggingLogSystem org.springframework.ui.velocity.VelocityEngineUtils org.springframework.beans.factory.config.BeanReferenceFactoryBean org.springframework.beans.factory.config.CommonsLogFactoryBean org.springframework.beans.instrument.classloading.oc4j.OC4JLoadTimeWeaver org.springframework.transaction.jta.OC4JJtaTransactionManager org.springframework.web.util.ExpressionEvaluationUtils org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.annotation.AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.annotation.AnnotationMethodHandlerExceptionResolver org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.annotation.DefaultAnnotationHandlerMapping org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.annotation.ServletAnnotationMappingUtils org.springframework.jmx.support.MBeanRegistrationSupport org.springframework.test.context.ContextConfigurationAttributes org.springframework.test.context.junit4.AbstractTransactionalJUnit4SpringContextTests org.springframework.test.context.testng.AbstractTransactionalTestNGSpringContextTests org.springframework.test.jdbc.SimpleJdbcTestUtils org.springframework.web.servlet.view.ContentNegotiatingViewResolver org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionAspectUtils org.springframework.http.HttpStatus org.springframework.web.util.UriUtils org.springframework.orm.jpa.vendor.TopLinkJpaDialect org.springframework.orm.jpa.vendor.TopLinkJpaVendorAdapter org.springframework.orm.util.CachingMapDecorator