AWS SDK for Java 2.x - Amazon DynamoDB

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Creating, updating, or deleting DynamoDB tables
• Performing CRUD operations on DynamoDB items
• Querying or scanning tables
• Working with Global Secondary Indexes (GSI) or Local Secondary Indexes (LSI)
• Implementing batch operations for efficiency
• Using DynamoDB transactions
• Integrating DynamoDB with Spring Boot applications
• Working with DynamoDB Enhanced Client for type-safe operations

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

To define DynamoDB entities, use @DynamoDbBean annotation:

@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

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

// Scan with filter
Expression filter = Expression.builder()
    .expression("points >= :minPoints")
    .putExpressionValue(":minPoints", AttributeValue.builder().n("1000").build())
    .build();

List<Customer> vipCustomers = table.scan(r -> r.filterExpression(filter))
    .items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

Batch Operations

Batch Get

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

List<Key> keys = customerIds.stream()
    .map(id -> Key.builder().partitionValue(id).build())
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

ReadBatch.Builder<Customer> batchBuilder = ReadBatch.builder(Customer.class)
    .mappedTableResource(table);

keys.forEach(batchBuilder::addGetItem);

BatchGetResultPageIterable result = enhancedClient.batchGetItem(r ->
    r.addReadBatch(batchBuilder.build()));

List<Customer> customers = result.resultsForTable(table).stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

Batch Write

WriteBatch.Builder<Customer> batchBuilder = WriteBatch.builder(Customer.class)
    .mappedTableResource(table);

customers.forEach(batchBuilder::addPutItem);

enhancedClient.batchWriteItem(r -> r.addWriteBatch(batchBuilder.build()));

Transactions

Transactional Write

enhancedClient.transactWriteItems(r -> r
    .addPutItem(customerTable, customer)
    .addPutItem(orderTable, order));

Transactional Read

TransactGetItemsEnhancedRequest request = TransactGetItemsEnhancedRequest.builder()
    .addGetItem(customerTable, customerKey)
    .addGetItem(orderTable, orderKey)
    .build();

List<Document> results = enhancedClient.transactGetItems(request);

Spring Boot Integration

Configuration

@Configuration
public class DynamoDbConfiguration {

    @Bean
    public DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient() {
        return DynamoDbClient.builder()
            .region(Region.US_EAST_1)
            .build();
    }

    @Bean
    public DynamoDbEnhancedClient dynamoDbEnhancedClient(DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient) {
        return DynamoDbEnhancedClient.builder()
            .dynamoDbClient(dynamoDbClient)
            .build();
    }
}

Repository Pattern

@Repository
public class CustomerRepository {

    private final DynamoDbTable<Customer> customerTable;

    public CustomerRepository(DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient) {
        this.customerTable = enhancedClient.table("Customers", TableSchema.fromBean(Customer.class));
    }

    public void save(Customer customer) {
        customerTable.putItem(customer);
    }

    public Optional<Customer> findById(String customerId) {
        Key key = Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build();
        return Optional.ofNullable(customerTable.getItem(key));
    }
}

For comprehensive Spring Boot integration patterns, see Spring Boot Integration Reference.

Testing

Unit Testing with Mocks

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class CustomerServiceTest {

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient;

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient;

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbTable<Customer> customerTable;

    @InjectMocks
    private CustomerService customerService;

    @Test
    void saveCustomer_ShouldReturnSavedCustomer() {
        // Arrange
        when(enhancedClient.table(anyString(), any(TableSchema.class)))
            .thenReturn(customerTable);

        Customer customer = new Customer("123", "John Doe", "john@example.com");

        // Act
        Customer result = customerService.saveCustomer(customer);

        // Assert
        assertNotNull(result);
        verify(customerTable).putItem(customer);
    }
}

Integration Testing with LocalStack

@Testcontainers
@SpringBootTest
class DynamoDbIntegrationTest {

    @Container
    static LocalStackContainer localstack = new LocalStackContainer(
        DockerImageName.parse("localstack/localstack:3.0"))
        .withServices(LocalStackContainer.Service.DYNAMODB);

    @DynamicPropertySource
    static void configureProperties(DynamicPropertyRegistry registry) {
        registry.add("aws.endpoint",
            () -> localstack.getEndpointOverride(LocalStackContainer.Service.DYNAMODB).toString());
    }

    @Autowired
    private DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient;

    @Test
    void testCustomerCRUDOperations() {
        // Test implementation
    }
}

For detailed testing strategies, see Testing Strategies.

Best Practices

1. Use Enhanced Client: Provides type-safe operations with less boilerplate
2. Design partition keys carefully: Distribute data evenly across partitions
3. Use composite keys: Leverage sort keys for efficient queries
4. Create GSIs strategically: Support different access patterns
5. Use batch operations: Reduce API calls for multiple items
6. Implement pagination: For large result sets use pagination
7. Use transactions: For operations that must be atomic
8. Avoid scans: Prefer queries with proper indexes
9. Handle conditional writes: Prevent race conditions
10. Use proper error handling: Handle exceptions like ProvisionedThroughputExceeded

Common Patterns

Conditional Operations

PutItemEnhancedRequest request = PutItemEnhancedRequest.builder(table)
    .item(customer)
    .conditionExpression("attribute_not_exists(customerId)")
    .build();

table.putItemWithRequestBuilder(request);

Pagination

ScanEnhancedRequest request = ScanEnhancedRequest.builder()
    .limit(100)
    .build();

PaginatedScanIterable<Customer> results = table.scan(request);
results.stream().forEach(page -> {
    // Process each page
});

Performance Considerations

• Monitor read/write capacity units
• Implement exponential backoff for retries
• Use proper pagination for large datasets
• Consider eventual consistency for reads
• Use ReturnConsumedCapacity to monitor capacity usage

Related Skills

• aws-sdk-java-v2-core - Core AWS SDK patterns
• spring-data-jpa - Alternative data access patterns
• unit-test-service-layer - Service testing patterns
• unit-test-wiremock-rest-api - Testing external APIs

References

• AWS DynamoDB Documentation
• AWS SDK for Java Documentation
• DynamoDB Examples
• LocalStack for Testing

For detailed implementations, see the references folder:

• Entity Mapping Reference
• Advanced Operations Reference
• Spring Boot Integration Reference
• Testing Strategies