_annotationinheritance.adoc

Annotation Inheritance

JAX-RS annotations may be used on the methods and method parameters of a super-class or an implemented interface. Such annotations are inherited by a corresponding sub-class or implementation class method provided that the method and its parameters do not have any JAX-RS annotations of their own. Annotations on a super-class take precedence over those on an implemented interface. The precedence over conflicting annotations defined in multiple implemented interfaces is implementation specific. Note that inheritance of class or interface annotations is not supported.

If a subclass or implementation method has any JAX-RS annotations then all of the annotations on the superclass or interface method are ignored. E.g.:

public interface ReadOnlyAtomFeed {
    @GET @Produces("application/atom+xml")
    Feed getFeed();
}

@Path("feed")
public class ActivityLog implements ReadOnlyAtomFeed {
    public Feed getFeed() {...}
}

In the above, ActivityLog.getFeed inherits the @GET and @Produces annotations from the interface. Conversely:

@Path("feed")
public class ActivityLog implements ReadOnlyAtomFeed {
    @Produces("application/atom+xml")
    public Feed getFeed() {...}
}

In the above, the @GET annotation on ReadOnlyAtomFeed.getFeed is not inherited by Activity-Log.getFeed and it would require its own request method designator since it redefines the @Produces annotation.

For consistency with other Jakarta EE specifications, it is recommended to always repeat annotations instead of relying on annotation inheritance.