How to dynamically invoke a method with parameters instead of using Apache Commons BeanUtils PropertyUtils.getProperty()?

I'm currently using PropertyUtils.getProperty() from Apache Commons BeanUtils to evaluate nested property paths at runtime:

Object result = PropertyUtils.getProperty(object, "a.b.c");

This works well for standard JavaBean-style no-arg getter chains.

Now I have a method that requires a parameter, like this:

public String getInactiveReason(String customer);

And I need to dynamically invoke this method as part of a property path evaluation like: "a.b.c.inactiveReason"

But PropertyUtils.getProperty() does not support method calls with parameters, and throws a NoSuchMethodException if the method expects arguments.

Is there any library that supports this out of the box, or do I need to fully replace PropertyUtils with a custom evaluator?

Just use Object Graph Navigation Library ognl:ognl, although it is a bit tricky with type castings.

class ObjectGraphTest {
  @Test
  void givenPersonWithNestedChild_whenGetNestedPropertyWithParameter_thenProperStringIsReturned() throws OgnlException {
    var person = new Person();
    person.setChild(new Child());
    Object root = person;
    Map<String, Object> values = Map.of("customer", "EXAMPLE CUSTOMER");
    var context = Ognl.createDefaultContext(root, values);

    var value = (String) Ognl.getValue("child.getInactiveReason(#customer)", context, person);

    assertThat(value).isEqualTo("Inactive reason for customer EXAMPLE CUSTOMER");
  }

  @Getter
  @Setter
  private static class Person {
    private Child child;
  }

  public static class Child {
    public String getInactiveReason(String customer) {
      return "Inactive reason for customer %s".formatted(customer);
    }
  }
}

Source: https://github.com/orphan-oss/ognl.