Java – can annotation processors be used for code generation?

Suppose I define an annotation named @ myannotation

One class X is declared as:

@MyAnnotation
class X { .... }

Now when compiling, I want to check all classes annotated with @ myannotation and generate some code for more java source files that need to be compiled in the same process

Is this possible using a Java annotation processor or some other tool?

Solution

You can look at this Java apt (annotation processing tool)

You can find an article on how to use it to generate code on the getting started page (1, 2, 3)