Document StandardTypeLocator configuration to support user types

Prior to this commit, it was unclear to users and third parties that it
is necessary to manually configure a StandardTypeLocator with a
specific ClassLoader to ensure that the SpEL expression parser is able
to reliably locate user types.

For example, the StandardBeanExpressionResolver in the spring-context
module configures a StandardTypeLocator using the bean ClassLoader of
the corresponding BeanFactory.

This commit improves the documentation to raise awareness of this fact.

Closes gh-26253

framework-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/core/expressions/language-ref/types.adoc

@@ -38,5 +38,15 @@ Kotlin::
 ----
 ======
 
+[NOTE]
+====
+If your application or framework manages its own `EvaluationContext`, you may need to
+manually configure a `StandardTypeLocator` with a specific `ClassLoader` to ensure that
+the SpEL expression parser is able to reliably locate user types.
+
+For example, the `StandardBeanExpressionResolver` in the `spring-context` module
+configures a `StandardTypeLocator` using the bean `ClassLoader` of the corresponding
+`BeanFactory`.
+====
 
 

spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardEvaluationContext.java

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2018 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2023 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -39,12 +39,17 @@ import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 
 /**
  * A powerful and highly configurable {@link EvaluationContext} implementation.
- * This context uses standard implementations of all applicable strategies,
- * based on reflection to resolve properties, methods and fields.
  *
- * <p>For a simpler builder-style context variant for data-binding purposes,
+ * <p>This context uses standard implementations of all applicable strategies,
+ * based on reflection to resolve properties, methods, and fields. Note, however,
+ * that you may need to manually configure a {@code StandardTypeLocator} with a
+ * specific {@link ClassLoader} to ensure that the SpEL expression parser is able
+ * to reliably locate user types. See {@link #setTypeLocator(TypeLocator)} for
+ * details.
+ *
+ * <p>For a simpler, builder-style context variant for data-binding purposes,
  * consider using {@link SimpleEvaluationContext} instead which allows for
- * opting into several SpEL features as needed by specific evaluation cases.
+ * opting into several SpEL features as needed by specific use cases.
  *
  * @author Andy Clement
  * @author Juergen Hoeller
@@ -182,11 +187,29 @@ public class StandardEvaluationContext implements EvaluationContext {
 		return this.beanResolver;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Set the {@link TypeLocator} to use to find types, either by short or
+	 * fully-qualified name.
+	 * <p>By default, a {@link StandardTypeLocator} will be used.
+	 * <p><strong>NOTE</strong>: Even if a {@code StandardTypeLocator} is
+	 * sufficient, you may need to manually configure a {@code StandardTypeLocator}
+	 * with a specific {@link ClassLoader} to ensure that the SpEL expression
+	 * parser is able to reliably locate user types.
+	 * @param typeLocator the {@code TypeLocator} to use
+	 * @see StandardTypeLocator#StandardTypeLocator(ClassLoader)
+	 * @see #getTypeLocator()
+	 */
 	public void setTypeLocator(TypeLocator typeLocator) {
 		Assert.notNull(typeLocator, "TypeLocator must not be null");
 		this.typeLocator = typeLocator;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Get the configured {@link TypeLocator} that will be used to find types,
+	 * either by short or fully-qualified name.
+	 * <p>See {@link #setTypeLocator(TypeLocator)} for further details.
+	 * @see #setTypeLocator(TypeLocator)
+	 */
 	@Override
 	public TypeLocator getTypeLocator() {
 		if (this.typeLocator == null) {

spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardTypeLocator.java

@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 
 /**
  * A simple implementation of {@link TypeLocator} that uses the default
- * {@link ClassLoader} or a supplied {@link ClassLoader} to locate types.
+ * {@link #StandardTypeLocator() ClassLoader} or a supplied
+ * {@link #StandardTypeLocator(ClassLoader) ClassLoader} to locate types.
  *
  * <p>Supports <em>well-known</em> packages, registered as
  * {@linkplain #registerImport(String) import prefixes}. If a type cannot be found,
@@ -51,6 +52,9 @@ public class StandardTypeLocator implements TypeLocator {
 	/**
 	 * Create a {@code StandardTypeLocator} for the default {@link ClassLoader}
 	 * (typically, the thread context {@code ClassLoader}).
+	 * <p>Favor {@link #StandardTypeLocator(ClassLoader)} over this constructor
+	 * in order to provide a specific {@link ClassLoader} that is able to reliably
+	 * locate user types.
 	 * @see ClassUtils#getDefaultClassLoader()
 	 */
 	public StandardTypeLocator() {
@@ -59,6 +63,9 @@ public class StandardTypeLocator implements TypeLocator {
 
 	/**
 	 * Create a {@code StandardTypeLocator} for the given {@link ClassLoader}.
+	 * <p>Favor this constructor over {@link #StandardTypeLocator()} in order
+	 * to provide a specific {@link ClassLoader} that is able to reliably locate
+	 * user types.
 	 * @param classLoader the {@code ClassLoader} to delegate to
 	 */
 	public StandardTypeLocator(@Nullable ClassLoader classLoader) {