Java - Force a class implementing an interface to declare an annotation

Question

I'm trying to force class SomeImpl to declare an annotation @SomeAnnotation if it is implementing interface SomeInterface. Solution can modify SomeInterface declaration.

public interface SomeInterface {}

public class SomeImpl implements SomeInterface -> compilation error

@SomeAnnotation
public class SomeInterfaceImpl implements SomeInterface -> compilation ok

Use case: I'm using objects implementing SomeInterface in a method (not written by me, it's an external library) that always read the annotation @SomeAnnotation and it can not be empty or default.

Thanks!

Use case: I'm using objects implementing SomeInterface in a method (not written by me, it's an external library) that always read the annotation @SomeAnnotation and it can not be empty or default. I put it in the question now. — italktothewind, Mar 01 '18 at 17:11
So write a code analysis tool to scan your code for that combination. Java itself cannot enforce you're constraint. — Andreas, Mar 01 '18 at 17:17

score -1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 04 '18 at 22:19

-1

It seems this can only be done using annotations processor (https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/javax/annotation/processing/Processor.html).

answered Mar 04 '18 at 22:19

italktothewind

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Java - Force a class implementing an interface to declare an annotation

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