Enum in Annotations

Question

I have an annotation I can't change which expects two String arguments.

I'd like to use it like this:

@RequestMapping( MyUrls.FOO.a, MyUrls.FOO.b )

This is how I imagined implementing it

public enum MyUrls {
    FOO("a", "b"), 
    BAR("c", "d");

    public String a, b;
    MyUrls(String a, String b) {
        this.a = a;
        this.b = b;
    }
}

This doesn't work since a or b can't be statically resolved.

What alternatives do I have which are nicer than:

class MyUrls {
    public static String FOO_A = "";
    public static String FOO_B = "";
    // ...
}

Answer 1

Although your question does not look like a question but as a declaration, I agree with you. You cannot use enum members when you are defining annotations. Only "real" constants, i.e. static final fields and constant expressions are applicable. So, there is no good alternative right now.