AWS SDK for Java 2.x - Amazon DynamoDB

Overview

Provides DynamoDB patterns using AWS SDK for Java 2.x with Enhanced Client for type-safe CRUD, queries, batch operations, transactions, and Spring Boot integration.

When to Use

• CRUD operations on DynamoDB items
• Querying tables with sort keys or GSI
• Batch operations for multiple items
• Atomic transactions across tables
• Spring Boot integration with DynamoDB

Instructions

1. Add AWS SDK DynamoDB dependencies to pom.xml
2. Configure client setup (low-level or Enhanced Client)
3. Define entity classes with @DynamoDbBean annotations
4. Perform operations using DynamoDbTable (CRUD, query, scan, batch, transactions)
5. Handle partial failures with retry logic and exponential backoff
6. Use repository pattern for Spring Boot integration

Dependencies

Add to pom.xml:

<!-- Low-level DynamoDB client -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
    <artifactId>dynamodb</artifactId>
</dependency>

<!-- Enhanced client (recommended) -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
    <artifactId>dynamodb-enhanced</artifactId>
</dependency>

Client Setup

Low-Level Client

import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.dynamodb.DynamoDbClient;

DynamoDbClient dynamoDb = DynamoDbClient.builder()
    .region(Region.US_EAST_1)
    .build();

Enhanced Client (Recommended)

import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.DynamoDbEnhancedClient;

DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient = DynamoDbEnhancedClient.builder()
    .dynamoDbClient(dynamoDb)
    .build();

Entity Mapping

@DynamoDbBean
public class Customer {

    @DynamoDbPartitionKey
    private String customerId;

    @DynamoDbAttribute("customer_name")
    private String name;

    private String email;

    @DynamoDbSortKey
    private String orderId;

    // Getters and setters
}

For complex entity mapping with GSIs and custom converters, see Entity Mapping Reference.

CRUD Operations

Basic Operations

// Create or update item
DynamoDbTable<Customer> table = enhancedClient.table("Customers", TableSchema.fromBean(Customer.class));
table.putItem(customer);

// Get item
Customer result = table.getItem(Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build());

// Update item
return table.updateItem(customer);

// Delete item
table.deleteItem(Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build());

Composite Key Operations

// Get item with composite key
Order order = table.getItem(Key.builder()
    .partitionValue(customerId)
    .sortValue(orderId)
    .build());

Query Operations

Basic Query

import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.model.QueryConditional;

QueryConditional queryConditional = QueryConditional
    .keyEqualTo(Key.builder()
        .partitionValue(customerId)
        .build());

List<Order> orders = table.query(queryConditional).items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

Advanced Query with Filters

import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.Expression;

Expression filter = Expression.builder()
    .expression("status = :pending")
    .putExpressionValue(":pending", AttributeValue.builder().s("PENDING").build())
    .build();

List<Order> pendingOrders = table.query(r -> r
    .queryConditional(queryConditional)
    .filterExpression(filter))
    .items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

For detailed query patterns, see Advanced Operations Reference.

Scan Operations

Warning: Scan reads entire table and consumes read capacity for all items. Prefer Query operations with partition keys or GSIs whenever possible.

Validation before scan:

• Confirm query with partition key is not feasible for your access pattern
• Verify table has sufficient provisioned read capacity or use on-demand mode
• Consider using pagination with limit() to control capacity consumption

// Scan all items
List<Customer> allCustomers = table.scan().items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

// Scan with filter
Expression filter = Expression.builder()