Standalone XML application context, taking the context definition files from the file system or from URLs, interpreting plain paths as relative file system locations (e.g. "mydir/myfile.txt"). Useful for test harnesses as well as for standalone environments.
NOTE: Plain paths will always be interpreted as relative to the current VM working directory, even if they start with a slash. (This is consistent with the semantics in a Servlet container.) Use an explicit "file:" prefix to enforce an absolute file path.
The config location defaults can be overridden via {@link #getConfigLocations}, Config locations can either denote concrete files like "/myfiles/context.xml" or Ant-style patterns like "/myfiles/*-context.xml" (see the {@link org.springframework.util.AntPathMatcher} javadoc for pattern details).
Note: In case of multiple config locations, later bean definitions will override ones defined in earlier loaded files. This can be leveraged to deliberately override certain bean definitions via an extra XML file.
This is a simple, one-stop shop convenience ApplicationContext. Consider using the {@link GenericApplicationContext} class in combinationwith an {@link org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader}for more flexible context setup.
@author Rod Johnson
@author Juergen Hoeller
@see #getResource
@see #getResourceByPath
@see GenericApplicationContext