Can I combine a @Query definition with a Specification in a Spring Data JPA repository method?

Question

Is it possible to use both @Query annotation and specification in one repository method? For example I'd like to have a method like this:

@Query(value="SELECT e from EMPLOYEE where firstName <> ?1")
public Page<Employee> findEmployeeBySomethigFancy(String firstName, Pageable pageable, Specification<Employee> emp);

Is it possible or should I build the whole query as a Predicate and remove the @Query annotation?

Solution

First thing, you should read this Spring blog post.

Second, according to the JpaSpecificationExecutor interface, that your repositories should implement, the following method take a Specification argument:

• count(Specification<T> spec)
• List<T> findAll(Specification<T> spec)
• Page<T> findAll(Specification<T> spec, Pageable pageable)
• List<T> findAll(Specification<T> spec, Sort sort)
• T findOne(Specification<T> spec)

So, you can't mix a @Query definition with a Specification.

However, since you can express the firstName <> ?1 condition using a Specification and because you combine as many specifications as you want, you can rewrite the whole @Query using Specification(s) only.

Comments

[woytech]

Thanks for your response! I know that I can combine as many specification as I want, but I have couple of methods with @Query annotation and now there is a need to use Specification, so I have to rewrite existing queries to Specification's objects. I thought that maybe there is a way to somehow combine @Query and Specification.

[Vlad Mihalcea]

For the API implementer point of view, it's much easier to separate those concerns and to offer specific querying facilities. Combining them might complicate the implementation even further.

[Alex]

This subject is amazing, I have to do a many-to-many join on a JPA query method, and I pass a Specification and Pageable item. For sure the @Query can't be mixed with it (I tested it). And this brings no answers to my cup. don't know how to manage to get my query corresponding with a relationship table, and keeping my Specification and Pageable items :(

[Anshul Kabra]

@Alex Did you find any solution for your concern? Because am having a similar situation, I can't combine both Query and Specification. Please help us if you have any solution.

[Alex]

@AnshulKabra it was a very long time ago, but I can remember ended up using QueryBuilder and CriteriaAPI to extends my JpaRepository and implement the query by hand. Receiving Pageable and Specification, I create the whole query and Page item.

[QStorm]

I have a similar issue. The data is selected by a complex query using several cta to add aggregated values. I think this can't be rewritten using specification. The only way I found is a database view. However, this comes with other problems (like dynamic conditions cant be added to the cta part of the query). How to handle such cases?