001/*
002 * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
003 * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
004 * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
005 * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
006 * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
007 * the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
008 *
009 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
010 *
011 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
012 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
013 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
014 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
015 * limitations under the License.
016 */
017package org.apache.commons.configuration2;
018
019import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
020import java.io.PrintStream;
021import java.util.ArrayList;
022import java.util.Collection;
023import java.util.HashMap;
024import java.util.HashSet;
025import java.util.Iterator;
026import java.util.List;
027import java.util.Map;
028import java.util.Set;
029import java.util.stream.Collectors;
030
031import org.apache.commons.configuration2.event.ConfigurationEvent;
032import org.apache.commons.configuration2.event.EventListener;
033import org.apache.commons.configuration2.event.EventSource;
034import org.apache.commons.configuration2.event.EventType;
035import org.apache.commons.configuration2.ex.ConfigurationRuntimeException;
036import org.apache.commons.configuration2.sync.LockMode;
037import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.DefaultConfigurationKey;
038import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.DefaultExpressionEngine;
039import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.ExpressionEngine;
040import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.ImmutableNode;
041import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeCombiner;
042import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeTreeWalker;
043import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.QueryResult;
044import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.TreeUtils;
045import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.UnionCombiner;
046import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
047
048/**
049 * <p>
050 * A hierarchical composite configuration class.
051 * </p>
052 * <p>
053 * This class maintains a list of configuration objects, which can be added using the diverse {@code addConfiguration()}
054 * methods. After that the configurations can be accessed either by name (if one was provided when the configuration was
055 * added) or by index. For the whole set of managed configurations a logical node structure is constructed. For this
056 * purpose a {@link org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeCombiner NodeCombiner} object can be set. This makes it
057 * possible to specify different algorithms for the combination process.
058 * </p>
059 * <p>
060 * The big advantage of this class is that it creates a truly hierarchical structure of all the properties stored in the
061 * contained configurations - even if some of them are no hierarchical configurations per se. So all enhanced features
062 * provided by a hierarchical configuration (e.g. choosing an expression engine) are applicable.
063 * </p>
064 * <p>
065 * The class works by registering itself as an event listener at all added configurations. So it gets notified whenever
066 * one of these configurations is changed and can invalidate its internal node structure. The next time a property is
067 * accessed the node structure will be re-constructed using the current state of the managed configurations. Note that,
068 * depending on the used {@code NodeCombiner}, this may be a complex operation.
069 * </p>
070 * <p>
071 * Because of the way a {@code CombinedConfiguration} is working it has more or less view character: it provides a logic
072 * view on the configurations it contains. In this constellation not all methods defined for hierarchical configurations
073 * - especially methods that update the stored properties - can be implemented in a consistent manner. Using such
074 * methods (like {@code addProperty()}, or {@code clearProperty()} on a {@code CombinedConfiguration} is not strictly
075 * forbidden, however, depending on the current {@link NodeCombiner} and the involved properties, the results may be
076 * different than expected. Some examples may illustrate this:
077 * </p>
078 * <ul>
079 * <li>Imagine a {@code CombinedConfiguration} <em>cc</em> containing two child configurations with the following
080 * content:
081 * <dl>
082 * <dt>user.properties</dt>
083 * <dd>
084 *
085 * <pre>
086 * gui.background = blue
087 * gui.position = (10, 10, 400, 200)
088 * </pre>
089 *
090 * </dd>
091 * <dt>default.properties</dt>
092 * <dd>
093 *
094 * <pre>
095 * gui.background = black
096 * gui.foreground = white
097 * home.dir = /data
098 * </pre>
099 *
100 * </dd>
101 * </dl>
102 * As a {@code NodeCombiner} a {@link org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.OverrideCombiner OverrideCombiner} is used.
103 * This combiner will ensure that defined user settings take precedence over the default values. If the resulting
104 * {@code CombinedConfiguration} is queried for the background color, {@code blue} will be returned because this value
105 * is defined in {@code user.properties}. Now consider what happens if the key {@code gui.background} is removed from
106 * the {@code CombinedConfiguration}:
107 *
108 * <pre>
109 * cc.clearProperty(&quot;gui.background&quot;);
110 * </pre>
111 *
112 * Will a {@code cc.containsKey("gui.background")} now return <b>false</b>? No, it won't! The {@code clearProperty()}
113 * operation is executed on the node set of the combined configuration, which was constructed from the nodes of the two
114 * child configurations. It causes the value of the <em>background</em> node to be cleared, which is also part of the
115 * first child configuration. This modification of one of its child configurations causes the
116 * {@code CombinedConfiguration} to be re-constructed. This time the {@code OverrideCombiner} cannot find a
117 * {@code gui.background} property in the first child configuration, but it finds one in the second, and adds it to the
118 * resulting combined configuration. So the property is still present (with a different value now).</li>
119 * <li>{@code addProperty()} can also be problematic: Most node combiners use special view nodes for linking parts of
120 * the original configurations' data together. If new properties are added to such a special node, they do not belong to
121 * any of the managed configurations and thus hang in the air. Using the same configurations as in the last example, the
122 * statement
123 *
124 * <pre>
125 * addProperty(&quot;database.user&quot;, &quot;scott&quot;);
126 * </pre>
127 *
128 * would cause such a hanging property. If now one of the child configurations is changed and the
129 * {@code CombinedConfiguration} is re-constructed, this property will disappear! (Add operations are not problematic if
130 * they result in a child configuration being updated. For instance an {@code addProperty("home.url", "localhost");}
131 * will alter the second child configuration - because the prefix <em>home</em> is here already present; when the
132 * {@code CombinedConfiguration} is re-constructed, this change is taken into account.)</li>
133 * </ul>
134 * <p>
135 * Because of such problems it is recommended to perform updates only on the managed child configurations.
136 * </p>
137 * <p>
138 * Whenever the node structure of a {@code CombinedConfiguration} becomes invalid (either because one of the contained
139 * configurations was modified or because the {@code invalidate()} method was directly called) an event is generated. So
140 * this can be detected by interested event listeners. This also makes it possible to add a combined configuration into
141 * another one.
142 * </p>
143 * <p>
144 * Notes about thread-safety: This configuration implementation uses a {@code Synchronizer} object to protect instances
145 * against concurrent access. The concrete {@code Synchronizer} implementation used determines whether an instance of
146 * this class is thread-safe or not. In contrast to other implementations derived from
147 * {@link BaseHierarchicalConfiguration}, thread-safety is an issue here because the nodes structure used by this
148 * configuration has to be constructed dynamically when a child configuration is changed. Therefore, when multiple
149 * threads are involved which also manipulate one of the child configurations, a proper {@code Synchronizer} object
150 * should be set. Note that the {@code Synchronizer} objects used by the child configurations do not really matter.
151 * Because immutable in-memory nodes structures are used for them there is no danger that updates on child
152 * configurations could interfere with read operations on the combined configuration.
153 * </p>
154 *
155 * @since 1.3
156 */
157public class CombinedConfiguration extends BaseHierarchicalConfiguration implements EventListener<ConfigurationEvent> {
158    /**
159     * An internal helper class for storing information about contained configurations.
160     */
161    private final class ConfigData {
162        /** Stores a reference to the configuration. */
163        private final Configuration configuration;
164
165        /** Stores the name under which the configuration is stored. */
166        private final String name;
167
168        /** Stores the at information as path of nodes. */
169        private final Collection<String> atPath;
170
171        /** Stores the at string. */
172        private final String at;
173
174        /** Stores the root node for this child configuration. */
175        private ImmutableNode rootNode;
176
177        /**
178         * Creates a new instance of {@code ConfigData} and initializes it.
179         *
180         * @param config the configuration
181         * @param n the name
182         * @param at the at position
183         */
184        public ConfigData(final Configuration config, final String n, final String at) {
185            configuration = config;
186            name = n;
187            atPath = parseAt(at);
188            this.at = at;
189        }
190
191        /**
192         * Gets the at position of this configuration.
193         *
194         * @return the at position
195         */
196        public String getAt() {
197            return at;
198        }
199
200        /**
201         * Gets the stored configuration.
202         *
203         * @return the configuration
204         */
205        public Configuration getConfiguration() {
206            return configuration;
207        }
208
209        /**
210         * Gets the configuration's name.
211         *
212         * @return the name
213         */
214        public String getName() {
215            return name;
216        }
217
218        /**
219         * Gets the root node for this child configuration.
220         *
221         * @return the root node of this child configuration
222         * @since 1.5
223         */
224        public ImmutableNode getRootNode() {
225            return rootNode;
226        }
227
228        /**
229         * Obtains the root node of the wrapped configuration. If necessary, a hierarchical representation of the configuration
230         * has to be created first.
231         *
232         * @return the root node of the associated configuration
233         */
234        private ImmutableNode getRootNodeOfConfiguration() {
235            getConfiguration().lock(LockMode.READ);
236            try {
237                final ImmutableNode root = ConfigurationUtils.convertToHierarchical(getConfiguration(), conversionExpressionEngine).getNodeModel()
238                    .getInMemoryRepresentation();
239                rootNode = root;
240                return root;
241            } finally {
242                getConfiguration().unlock(LockMode.READ);
243            }
244        }
245
246        /**
247         * Gets the transformed root node of the stored configuration. The term &quot;transformed&quot; means that an
248         * eventually defined at path has been applied.
249         *
250         * @return the transformed root node
251         */
252        public ImmutableNode getTransformedRoot() {
253            final ImmutableNode configRoot = getRootNodeOfConfiguration();
254            return atPath == null ? configRoot : prependAtPath(configRoot);
255        }
256
257        /**
258         * Splits the at path into its components.
259         *
260         * @param at the at string
261         * @return a collection with the names of the single components
262         */
263        private Collection<String> parseAt(final String at) {
264            if (StringUtils.isEmpty(at)) {
265                return null;
266            }
267
268            final Collection<String> result = new ArrayList<>();
269            final DefaultConfigurationKey.KeyIterator it = new DefaultConfigurationKey(AT_ENGINE, at).iterator();
270            while (it.hasNext()) {
271                result.add(it.nextKey());
272            }
273            return result;
274        }
275
276        /**
277         * Prepends the at path to the given node.
278         *
279         * @param node the root node of the represented configuration
280         * @return the new root node including the at path
281         */
282        private ImmutableNode prependAtPath(final ImmutableNode node) {
283            final ImmutableNode.Builder pathBuilder = new ImmutableNode.Builder();
284            final Iterator<String> pathIterator = atPath.iterator();
285            prependAtPathComponent(pathBuilder, pathIterator.next(), pathIterator, node);
286            return new ImmutableNode.Builder(1).addChild(pathBuilder.create()).create();
287        }
288
289        /**
290         * Handles a single component of the at path. A corresponding node is created and added to the hierarchical path to the
291         * original root node of the configuration.
292         *
293         * @param builder the current node builder object
294         * @param currentComponent the name of the current path component
295         * @param components an iterator with all components of the at path
296         * @param orgRoot the original root node of the wrapped configuration
297         */
298        private void prependAtPathComponent(final ImmutableNode.Builder builder, final String currentComponent, final Iterator<String> components,
299            final ImmutableNode orgRoot) {
300            builder.name(currentComponent);
301            if (components.hasNext()) {
302                final ImmutableNode.Builder childBuilder = new ImmutableNode.Builder();
303                prependAtPathComponent(childBuilder, components.next(), components, orgRoot);
304                builder.addChild(childBuilder.create());
305            } else {
306                builder.addChildren(orgRoot.getChildren());
307                builder.addAttributes(orgRoot.getAttributes());
308                builder.value(orgRoot.getValue());
309            }
310        }
311    }
312
313    /**
314     * Constant for the event type fired when the internal node structure of a combined configuration becomes invalid.
315     *
316     * @since 2.0
317     */
318    public static final EventType<ConfigurationEvent> COMBINED_INVALIDATE = new EventType<>(ConfigurationEvent.ANY, "COMBINED_INVALIDATE");
319
320    /** Constant for the expression engine for parsing the at path. */
321    private static final DefaultExpressionEngine AT_ENGINE = DefaultExpressionEngine.INSTANCE;
322
323    /** Constant for the default node combiner. */
324    private static final NodeCombiner DEFAULT_COMBINER = new UnionCombiner();
325
326    /** Constant for a root node for an empty configuration. */
327    private static final ImmutableNode EMPTY_ROOT = new ImmutableNode.Builder().create();
328
329    /** Stores the combiner. */
330    private NodeCombiner nodeCombiner;
331
332    /** Stores a list with the contained configurations. */
333    private List<ConfigData> configurations;
334
335    /** Stores a map with the named configurations. */
336    private Map<String, Configuration> namedConfigurations;
337
338    /**
339     * An expression engine used for converting child configurations to hierarchical ones.
340     */
341    private ExpressionEngine conversionExpressionEngine;
342
343    /** A flag whether this configuration is up-to-date. */
344    private boolean upToDate;
345
346    /**
347     * Creates a new instance of {@code CombinedConfiguration} that uses a union combiner.
348     *
349     * @see org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.UnionCombiner
350     */
351    public CombinedConfiguration() {
352        this(null);
353    }
354
355    /**
356     * Creates a new instance of {@code CombinedConfiguration} and initializes the combiner to be used.
357     *
358     * @param comb the node combiner (can be <b>null</b>, then a union combiner is used as default)
359     */
360    public CombinedConfiguration(final NodeCombiner comb) {
361        nodeCombiner = comb != null ? comb : DEFAULT_COMBINER;
362        initChildCollections();
363    }
364
365    /**
366     * Adds a new configuration to this combined configuration. The new configuration is not given a name. Its properties
367     * will be added under the root of the combined node structure.
368     *
369     * @param config the configuration to add (must not be <b>null</b>)
370     */
371    public void addConfiguration(final Configuration config) {
372        addConfiguration(config, null, null);
373    }
374
375    /**
376     * Adds a new configuration to this combined configuration with an optional name. The new configuration's properties
377     * will be added under the root of the combined node structure.
378     *
379     * @param config the configuration to add (must not be <b>null</b>)
380     * @param name the name of this configuration (can be <b>null</b>)
381     */
382    public void addConfiguration(final Configuration config, final String name) {
383        addConfiguration(config, name, null);
384    }
385
386    /**
387     * Adds a new configuration to this combined configuration. It is possible (but not mandatory) to give the new
388     * configuration a name. This name must be unique, otherwise a {@code ConfigurationRuntimeException} will be thrown.
389     * With the optional {@code at} argument you can specify where in the resulting node structure the content of the added
390     * configuration should appear. This is a string that uses dots as property delimiters (independent on the current
391     * expression engine). For instance if you pass in the string {@code "database.tables"}, all properties of the added
392     * configuration will occur in this branch.
393     *
394     * @param config the configuration to add (must not be <b>null</b>)
395     * @param name the name of this configuration (can be <b>null</b>)
396     * @param at the position of this configuration in the combined tree (can be <b>null</b>)
397     */
398    public void addConfiguration(final Configuration config, final String name, final String at) {
399        if (config == null) {
400            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Added configuration must not be null!");
401        }
402
403        beginWrite(true);
404        try {
405            if (name != null && namedConfigurations.containsKey(name)) {
406                throw new ConfigurationRuntimeException("A configuration with the name '" + name + "' already exists in this combined configuration!");
407            }
408
409            final ConfigData cd = new ConfigData(config, name, at);
410            if (getLogger().isDebugEnabled()) {
411                getLogger().debug("Adding configuration " + config + " with name " + name);
412            }
413            configurations.add(cd);
414            if (name != null) {
415                namedConfigurations.put(name, config);
416            }
417
418            invalidateInternal();
419        } finally {
420            endWrite();
421        }
422        registerListenerAt(config);
423    }
424
425    /**
426     * {@inheritDoc} This implementation checks whether a combined root node is available. If not, it is constructed by
427     * requesting a write lock.
428     */
429    @Override
430    protected void beginRead(final boolean optimize) {
431        if (optimize) {
432            // just need a lock, don't construct configuration
433            super.beginRead(true);
434            return;
435        }
436
437        boolean lockObtained = false;
438        do {
439            super.beginRead(false);
440            if (isUpToDate()) {
441                lockObtained = true;
442            } else {
443                // release read lock and try to obtain a write lock
444                endRead();
445                beginWrite(false); // this constructs the root node
446                endWrite();
447            }
448        } while (!lockObtained);
449    }
450
451    /**
452     * {@inheritDoc} This implementation checks whether a combined root node is available. If not, it is constructed now.
453     */
454    @Override
455    protected void beginWrite(final boolean optimize) {
456        super.beginWrite(true);
457        if (optimize) {
458            // just need a lock, don't construct configuration
459            return;
460        }
461
462        boolean success = false;
463        try {
464            if (!isUpToDate()) {
465                getSubConfigurationParentModel().replaceRoot(constructCombinedNode(), this);
466                upToDate = true;
467            }
468            success = true;
469        } finally {
470            if (!success) {
471                endWrite();
472            }
473        }
474    }
475
476    /**
477     * Clears this configuration. All contained configurations will be removed.
478     */
479    @Override
480    protected void clearInternal() {
481        unregisterListenerAtChildren();
482        initChildCollections();
483        invalidateInternal();
484    }
485
486    /**
487     * Returns a copy of this object. This implementation performs a deep clone, i.e. all contained configurations will be
488     * cloned, too. For this to work, all contained configurations must be cloneable. Registered event listeners won't be
489     * cloned. The clone will use the same node combiner than the original.
490     *
491     * @return the copied object
492     */
493    @Override
494    public Object clone() {
495        beginRead(false);
496        try {
497            final CombinedConfiguration copy = (CombinedConfiguration) super.clone();
498            copy.initChildCollections();
499            configurations.forEach(cd -> copy.addConfiguration(ConfigurationUtils.cloneConfiguration(cd.getConfiguration()), cd.getName(), cd.getAt()));
500
501            return copy;
502        } finally {
503            endRead();
504        }
505    }
506
507    /**
508     * Creates the root node of this combined configuration.
509     *
510     * @return the combined root node
511     */
512    private ImmutableNode constructCombinedNode() {
513        if (getNumberOfConfigurationsInternal() < 1) {
514            if (getLogger().isDebugEnabled()) {
515                getLogger().debug("No configurations defined for " + this);
516            }
517            return EMPTY_ROOT;
518        }
519        final Iterator<ConfigData> it = configurations.iterator();
520        ImmutableNode node = it.next().getTransformedRoot();
521        while (it.hasNext()) {
522            node = nodeCombiner.combine(node, it.next().getTransformedRoot());
523        }
524        if (getLogger().isDebugEnabled()) {
525            final ByteArrayOutputStream os = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
526            final PrintStream stream = new PrintStream(os);
527            TreeUtils.printTree(stream, node);
528            getLogger().debug(os.toString());
529        }
530        return node;
531    }
532
533    /**
534     * Determines the configurations to which the specified node belongs. This is done by inspecting the nodes structures of
535     * all child configurations.
536     *
537     * @param node the node
538     * @return a set with the owning configurations
539     */
540    private Set<Configuration> findSourceConfigurations(final ImmutableNode node) {
541        final Set<Configuration> result = new HashSet<>();
542        final FindNodeVisitor<ImmutableNode> visitor = new FindNodeVisitor<>(node);
543
544        configurations.forEach(cd -> {
545            NodeTreeWalker.INSTANCE.walkBFS(cd.getRootNode(), visitor, getModel().getNodeHandler());
546            if (visitor.isFound()) {
547                result.add(cd.getConfiguration());
548                visitor.reset();
549            }
550        });
551
552        return result;
553    }
554
555    /**
556     * Gets the configuration at the specified index. The contained configurations are numbered in the order they were
557     * added to this combined configuration. The index of the first configuration is 0.
558     *
559     * @param index the index
560     * @return the configuration at this index
561     */
562    public Configuration getConfiguration(final int index) {
563        beginRead(true);
564        try {
565            final ConfigData cd = configurations.get(index);
566            return cd.getConfiguration();
567        } finally {
568            endRead();
569        }
570    }
571
572    /**
573     * Gets the configuration with the given name. This can be <b>null</b> if no such configuration exists.
574     *
575     * @param name the name of the configuration
576     * @return the configuration with this name
577     */
578    public Configuration getConfiguration(final String name) {
579        beginRead(true);
580        try {
581            return namedConfigurations.get(name);
582        } finally {
583            endRead();
584        }
585    }
586
587    /**
588     * Gets a List of the names of all the configurations that have been added in the order they were added. A NULL value
589     * will be present in the list for each configuration that was added without a name.
590     *
591     * @return A List of all the configuration names.
592     * @since 1.7
593     */
594    public List<String> getConfigurationNameList() {
595        beginRead(true);
596        try {
597            return configurations.stream().map(ConfigData::getName).collect(Collectors.toList());
598        } finally {
599            endRead();
600        }
601    }
602
603    /**
604     * Gets a set with the names of all configurations contained in this combined configuration. Of course here are only
605     * these configurations listed, for which a name was specified when they were added.
606     *
607     * @return a set with the names of the contained configurations (never <b>null</b>)
608     */
609    public Set<String> getConfigurationNames() {
610        beginRead(true);
611        try {
612            return namedConfigurations.keySet();
613        } finally {
614            endRead();
615        }
616    }
617
618    /**
619     * Gets a List of all the configurations that have been added.
620     *
621     * @return A List of all the configurations.
622     * @since 1.7
623     */
624    public List<Configuration> getConfigurations() {
625        beginRead(true);
626        try {
627            return configurations.stream().map(ConfigData::getConfiguration).collect(Collectors.toList());
628        } finally {
629            endRead();
630        }
631    }
632
633    /**
634     * Gets the {@code ExpressionEngine} for converting flat child configurations to hierarchical ones.
635     *
636     * @return the conversion expression engine
637     * @since 1.6
638     */
639    public ExpressionEngine getConversionExpressionEngine() {
640        beginRead(true);
641        try {
642            return conversionExpressionEngine;
643        } finally {
644            endRead();
645        }
646    }
647
648    /**
649     * Gets the node combiner that is used for creating the combined node structure.
650     *
651     * @return the node combiner
652     */
653    public NodeCombiner getNodeCombiner() {
654        beginRead(true);
655        try {
656            return nodeCombiner;
657        } finally {
658            endRead();
659        }
660    }
661
662    /**
663     * Gets the number of configurations that are contained in this combined configuration.
664     *
665     * @return the number of contained configurations
666     */
667    public int getNumberOfConfigurations() {
668        beginRead(true);
669        try {
670            return getNumberOfConfigurationsInternal();
671        } finally {
672            endRead();
673        }
674    }
675
676    /**
677     * Gets the number of child configurations in this combined configuration. The internal list of child configurations
678     * is accessed without synchronization.
679     *
680     * @return the number of child configurations
681     */
682    private int getNumberOfConfigurationsInternal() {
683        return configurations.size();
684    }
685
686    /**
687     * Gets the configuration source, in which the specified key is defined. This method will determine the configuration
688     * node that is identified by the given key. The following constellations are possible:
689     * <ul>
690     * <li>If no node object is found for this key, <b>null</b> is returned.</li>
691     * <li>If the key maps to multiple nodes belonging to different configuration sources, a
692     * {@code IllegalArgumentException} is thrown (in this case no unique source can be determined).</li>
693     * <li>If exactly one node is found for the key, the (child) configuration object, to which the node belongs is
694     * determined and returned.</li>
695     * <li>For keys that have been added directly to this combined configuration and that do not belong to the namespaces
696     * defined by existing child configurations this configuration will be returned.</li>
697     * </ul>
698     *
699     * @param key the key of a configuration property
700     * @return the configuration, to which this property belongs or <b>null</b> if the key cannot be resolved
701     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the key maps to multiple properties and the source cannot be determined, or if
702     *         the key is <b>null</b>
703     * @since 1.5
704     */
705    public Configuration getSource(final String key) {
706        if (key == null) {
707            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Key must not be null!");
708        }
709
710        final Set<Configuration> sources = getSources(key);
711        if (sources.isEmpty()) {
712            return null;
713        }
714        final Iterator<Configuration> iterator = sources.iterator();
715        final Configuration source = iterator.next();
716        if (iterator.hasNext()) {
717            throw new IllegalArgumentException("The key " + key + " is defined by multiple sources!");
718        }
719        return source;
720    }
721
722    /**
723     * Gets a set with the configuration sources, in which the specified key is defined. This method determines the
724     * configuration nodes that are identified by the given key. It then determines the configuration sources to which these
725     * nodes belong and adds them to the result set. Note the following points:
726     * <ul>
727     * <li>If no node object is found for this key, an empty set is returned.</li>
728     * <li>For keys that have been added directly to this combined configuration and that do not belong to the namespaces
729     * defined by existing child configurations this combined configuration is contained in the result set.</li>
730     * </ul>
731     *
732     * @param key the key of a configuration property
733     * @return a set with the configuration sources, which contain this property
734     * @since 2.0
735     */
736    public Set<Configuration> getSources(final String key) {
737        beginRead(false);
738        try {
739            final List<QueryResult<ImmutableNode>> results = fetchNodeList(key);
740            final Set<Configuration> sources = new HashSet<>();
741
742            results.forEach(result -> {
743                final Set<Configuration> resultSources = findSourceConfigurations(result.getNode());
744                if (resultSources.isEmpty()) {
745                    // key must be defined in combined configuration
746                    sources.add(this);
747                } else {
748                    sources.addAll(resultSources);
749                }
750            });
751
752            return sources;
753        } finally {
754            endRead();
755        }
756    }
757
758    /**
759     * Initializes internal data structures for storing information about child configurations.
760     */
761    private void initChildCollections() {
762        configurations = new ArrayList<>();
763        namedConfigurations = new HashMap<>();
764    }
765
766    /**
767     * Invalidates this combined configuration. This means that the next time a property is accessed the combined node
768     * structure must be re-constructed. Invalidation of a combined configuration also means that an event of type
769     * {@code EVENT_COMBINED_INVALIDATE} is fired. Note that while other events most times appear twice (once before and
770     * once after an update), this event is only fired once (after update).
771     */
772    public void invalidate() {
773        beginWrite(true);
774        try {
775            invalidateInternal();
776        } finally {
777            endWrite();
778        }
779    }
780
781    /**
782     * Marks this configuration as invalid. This means that the next access re-creates the root node. An invalidate event is
783     * also fired. Note: This implementation expects that an exclusive (write) lock is held on this instance.
784     */
785    private void invalidateInternal() {
786        upToDate = false;
787        fireEvent(COMBINED_INVALIDATE, null, null, false);
788    }
789
790    /**
791     * Returns a flag whether this configuration has been invalidated. This means that the combined nodes structure has to
792     * be rebuilt before the configuration can be accessed.
793     *
794     * @return a flag whether this configuration is invalid
795     */
796    private boolean isUpToDate() {
797        return upToDate;
798    }
799
800    /**
801     * Event listener call back for configuration update events. This method is called whenever one of the contained
802     * configurations was modified. It invalidates this combined configuration.
803     *
804     * @param event the update event
805     */
806    @Override
807    public void onEvent(final ConfigurationEvent event) {
808        if (event.isBeforeUpdate()) {
809            invalidate();
810        }
811    }
812
813    /**
814     * Registers this combined configuration as listener at the given child configuration.
815     *
816     * @param configuration the child configuration
817     */
818    private void registerListenerAt(final Configuration configuration) {
819        if (configuration instanceof EventSource) {
820            ((EventSource) configuration).addEventListener(ConfigurationEvent.ANY, this);
821        }
822    }
823
824    /**
825     * Removes the specified configuration from this combined configuration.
826     *
827     * @param config the configuration to be removed
828     * @return a flag whether this configuration was found and could be removed
829     */
830    public boolean removeConfiguration(final Configuration config) {
831        for (int index = 0; index < getNumberOfConfigurations(); index++) {
832            if (configurations.get(index).getConfiguration() == config) {
833                removeConfigurationAt(index);
834                return true;
835            }
836        }
837
838        return false;
839    }
840
841    /**
842     * Removes the configuration with the specified name.
843     *
844     * @param name the name of the configuration to be removed
845     * @return the removed configuration (<b>null</b> if this configuration was not found)
846     */
847    public Configuration removeConfiguration(final String name) {
848        final Configuration conf = getConfiguration(name);
849        if (conf != null) {
850            removeConfiguration(conf);
851        }
852        return conf;
853    }
854
855    /**
856     * Removes the configuration at the specified index.
857     *
858     * @param index the index
859     * @return the removed configuration
860     */
861    public Configuration removeConfigurationAt(final int index) {
862        final ConfigData cd = configurations.remove(index);
863        if (cd.getName() != null) {
864            namedConfigurations.remove(cd.getName());
865        }
866        unregisterListenerAt(cd.getConfiguration());
867        invalidateInternal();
868        return cd.getConfiguration();
869    }
870
871    /**
872     * Sets the {@code ExpressionEngine} for converting flat child configurations to hierarchical ones. When constructing
873     * the root node for this combined configuration the properties of all child configurations must be combined to a single
874     * hierarchical node structure. In this process, non hierarchical configurations are converted to hierarchical ones
875     * first. This can be problematic if a child configuration contains keys that are no compatible with the default
876     * expression engine used by hierarchical configurations. Therefore it is possible to specify a specific expression
877     * engine to be used for this purpose.
878     *
879     * @param conversionExpressionEngine the conversion expression engine
880     * @see ConfigurationUtils#convertToHierarchical(Configuration, ExpressionEngine)
881     * @since 1.6
882     */
883    public void setConversionExpressionEngine(final ExpressionEngine conversionExpressionEngine) {
884        beginWrite(true);
885        try {
886            this.conversionExpressionEngine = conversionExpressionEngine;
887        } finally {
888            endWrite();
889        }
890    }
891
892    /**
893     * Sets the node combiner. This object will be used when the combined node structure is to be constructed. It must not
894     * be <b>null</b>, otherwise an {@code IllegalArgumentException} exception is thrown. Changing the node combiner causes
895     * an invalidation of this combined configuration, so that the new combiner immediately takes effect.
896     *
897     * @param nodeCombiner the node combiner
898     */
899    public void setNodeCombiner(final NodeCombiner nodeCombiner) {
900        if (nodeCombiner == null) {
901            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Node combiner must not be null!");
902        }
903
904        beginWrite(true);
905        try {
906            this.nodeCombiner = nodeCombiner;
907            invalidateInternal();
908        } finally {
909            endWrite();
910        }
911    }
912
913    /**
914     * Removes this combined configuration as listener from the given child configuration.
915     *
916     * @param configuration the child configuration
917     */
918    private void unregisterListenerAt(final Configuration configuration) {
919        if (configuration instanceof EventSource) {
920            ((EventSource) configuration).removeEventListener(ConfigurationEvent.ANY, this);
921        }
922    }
923
924    /**
925     * Removes this combined configuration as listener from all child configurations. This method is called on a clear()
926     * operation.
927     */
928    private void unregisterListenerAtChildren() {
929        if (configurations != null) {
930            configurations.forEach(child -> unregisterListenerAt(child.getConfiguration()));
931        }
932    }
933}