Project Lombok Tutorial
What is Lombok?
Lombok is a Java library that helps reduce boilerplate code in Java projects by automatically generating
common methods like getters, setters, constructors, equals(), hashCode(), toString(), and more using simple
annotations.
Lombok Setup
Maven:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
<artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
<version>1.18.30</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
Gradle:
compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok:1.18.30'
annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok:1.18.30'
IDE Setup:
- IntelliJ IDEA: Install the Lombok plugin and enable annotation processing.
- Eclipse: Run lombok.jar and integrate it with Eclipse.
Core Annotations
- @Getter / @Setter
Automatically generates getters/setters.
@Getter @Setter
public class User {
private String name;
private int age;
}
Project Lombok Tutorial
- @ToString
Generates toString() method.
@ToString
public class User {
private String name;
private int age;
}
- @EqualsAndHashCode
Generates equals() and hashCode().
@EqualsAndHashCode
public class User {
private String name;
private int age;
}
- @NoArgsConstructor / @AllArgsConstructor / @RequiredArgsConstructor
@NoArgsConstructor
@AllArgsConstructor
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class Product {
private final String name;
private double price;
}
- @Data
Combines: @Getter, @Setter, @ToString, @EqualsAndHashCode, and @RequiredArgsConstructor.
@Data
public class Employee {
private final String name;
private int salary;
}
Advanced Annotations
- @Builder
Implements builder pattern.
Project Lombok Tutorial
@Builder
public class Book {
private String title;
private String author;
}
Usage:
Book book = Book.builder()
.title("Clean Code")
.author("Robert C. Martin")
.build();
- @Value
Immutable class (like @Data + final + private + no setters).
@Value
public class Address {
String city;
String state;
}
- @SneakyThrows
Allows throwing checked exceptions without declaring them.
@SneakyThrows
public void readFile() {
Files.readAllLines(Paths.get("file.txt"));
}
- @Cleanup
Automatically calls close() on a resource.
@Cleanup
InputStream in = new FileInputStream("test.txt");
Use with JPA
Project Lombok Tutorial
@Entity
@Getter @Setter
@NoArgsConstructor
@AllArgsConstructor
public class Student {
@Id
@GeneratedValue
private Long id;
private String name;
@ToString.Exclude
private String password;
}
Note: Be cautious with @Data in JPA due to issues with lazy loading and bidirectional relationships.
Common Pitfalls
- IDE issues: Ensure plugin is installed and annotation processing enabled.
- @Data with JPA may cause side effects.
- Avoid using Lombok with Java Records.
Summary
Annotation Purpose
@Getter/@Setter Generate getters/setters
@ToString Generate toString()
@EqualsAndHashCode Generate equals/hashCode
@NoArgsConstructor No-arg constructor
@AllArgsConstructor All-args constructor
@RequiredArgsConstructor Constructor for final/non-null fields
@Data Common annotation combination
@Builder Builder pattern
@Value Immutable object
@SneakyThrows Handle checked exceptions
@Cleanup Auto resource close
