depends-on is local only?

[jbetancourt]

Is the depends-on attribute of a bean just indicating a bean within the local config or anywhere like a <ref bean.... /> would be?

The DTD says: The names of the beans that this bean depends on being initialized.
The bean factory will guarantee that these beans get initialized before.

[irbouho]

Is the depends-on attribute of a bean just indicating a bean within the local config or anywhere like a <ref bean.... /> would be?

yes, depends-on looks for bean in local and parent contexts.