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Java How can I have a method return either a child or parent class object

I have two classes where one class inherits the other one as given below:
public class UserData {
protected final String emailAddress;
protected final String name;
public UserData(final String emailAddress, final String name) {
this.emailAddress = emailAddress;
this.name = name;
}
public Optional<String> getEmailAddress() {
return Optional.ofNullable(this.emailAddress);
}
public Optional<String> getName() {
return Optional.ofNullable(this.name);
}
}
public class EmployeeData extends UserData {
protected final String designation;
public EmployeeData(
final String emailAddress,
final String name,
final String designation
) {
super(emailAddress, name);
this.designation = designation;
}
public Optional<String> getDesignation() {
return Optional.ofNullable(this.designation);
}
}
I need to create method in another class that can return either one of these objects and have all getters accessible. I already tried making the return type UserData for both kinds of objects (example given below) but that way, I cannot access the getDesignation getter for EmployeeData. Is there a better way inheritance can be setup to avoid this problem where I cannot access child-specific properties?
public UserData getData() {
if (...some condition) {
return new EmployeeData("address#provider.com", "myName", "Dev")
}
else {
return new UserData("address#provider.com", "myName");
}
}
I did look into these stackoverflow questions but couldn't quite figure it out for my use case
C# how to make a function that can return either child or parent class
What's the equivalent of C# IEnumerable in Java? The covariant-capable one, not the Iterable

Because the object we are returning is of type UserData, we will be unable to call methods that are added within the child class, EmployeeData. You could create the getDesignation() method inside the UserData class and have it return an empty optional object.
public Optional<String> getDesignation() {
return Optional.empty();
}
In this case, you can now override the method within the EmployeeData class to return designation as an Optional like this,
#Override
public Optional<String> getDesignation() {
return Optional.ofNullable(this.designation);
}
Now you will have access to the getDestination() method from returned object of getData(), but you will have to be careful and understand that if the returned type is of UserData, then when calling getDesignation() you will be receiving an Optional.empty() object.

Should getters have validation in java? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Can I write validation logic in setter methods?
(7 answers)
Closed 7 years ago.
Should getters have validation in java(for example. checking if something is null)? or should they simply get whatever it is suppose to get with one return statement. To me this is how i usually do it.
public class GetterDemo
{
private String name;
private int age;
public GetterDemo(String name, int age)
{
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}
public String getName()
{
return this.name;
}
public int getAge()
{
return this.age;
}
}
Now suppose that the constructor has an array of hobbies from a class called hobbies.
public class Hobbies
{
private String hobby;
private String category;
public Hobbies(String hobby, String category)
{
this.hobby = hobby;
this.category = category;
}
public String getHobby()
{
return this.hobby;
}
public String getCategory()
{
return this.category;
}
}
Now, lets update version of GetterDemo with an array of hobbies in the constructor as i said above. and it has a next method to get the next hobby in the array everytime its called.
public class GetterDemo
{
private String name;
private int age;
private int count = 0;
private Hobbies[] hobbies;
public GetterDemo(String name, int age, Hobbies[] hobbies)
{
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.hobbies = hobbies
}
public Hobbies getNextHobby()
{
//Create a counter.
Hobbies result;
if (this.hobbies == null || this.hobbies.length == 0
|| this.count >= this.hobbies.length) //Called more then length times.
return null;
result = this.hobbies[count];
count++;
return result;
}
public String getName()
{
return this.name;
}
public int getAge()
{
return this.age;
}
public void reset()
{
this.count = 0;
}
}
Okay so thats a little code example. There might be errors, probably many as I blankly coded it.
To explain in terms of testing for null(JUnit testing). If I call getNextHobby() hobby length times or more it will return null and I can AssertNull() and it will pass. However, for example, if I do AssertNull where the array of hobbies is Null and I try getNextHobby.getCategory(), it will throw a NullPointerException even though I want it to be null. Would the only way to fix this would be to create a method that checks for this? or a getter that checks for null somehow? Possibly the code below?
public boolean checkNull()
{
boolean result = false;
if (getNextHobby().getCategory() == null || getNextHobby().getHobby())
result = true;
return result;
}

I assume that it is a matter of taste.
I prefer that setters and getters do only what they suppose to do which means set some value or get some value. My reasons are the following:
The signature of the method should explain what this method is doing and as we know good method should do one thing well. Thus when you start adding some validation I would assume that you need to change the signature otherwise the caller might assume that only set/get operation happens.
Every IDE has an opportunity to generate getters and setters and for some reason they don't generate some validations for the parameters of the getter method thus I assume that you shouldn't do it as well.
I try to separate getters and setters from other methods, thus if I need to kind of get the value, however, it is not exactly a getter because you need to do some other actions, I prefer to use other words like fetch, retrieve, obtain. In this case it will be very clear that you don't need to test getters and setters because they don't really do anything, however, fetch and others you must.

Java: Adding fields and methods to existing Class?

Is there, in Java, a way to add some fields and methods to an existing class?
What I want is that I have a class imported to my code, and I need to add some fields, derived from the existing fields, and their returning methods.
Is there any way to do this?

You can create a class that extends the one you wish to add functionality to:
public class sub extends Original{
...
}
To access any of the private variables in the superclass, if there aren't getter methods, you can change them from "private" to "protected" and be able to reference them normally.
Hope that helps!

You can extend classes in Java. For Example:
public class A {
private String name;
public A(String name){
this.name = name;
}
public String getName(){
return this.name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
public class B extends A {
private String title;
public B(String name, String title){
super(name); //calls the constructor in the parent class to initialize the name
this.title= title;
}
public String getTitle(){
return this.title;
}
public void setTitle(String title) {
this.title= title;
}
}
Now instances of B can access the public fields in A:
B b = new B("Test");
String name = b.getName();
String title = b.getTitle();
For more detailed tutorial take a look at Inheritance (The Java Tutorials > Learning the Java Language > Interfaces and Inheritance).
Edit: If class A has a constructor like:
public A (String name, String name2){
this.name = name;
this.name2 = name2;
}
then in class B you have:
public B(String name, String name2, String title){
super(name, name2); //calls the constructor in the A
this.title= title;
}

The examples only really apply if the class you're extending isn't final. For example, you cannot extend java.lang.String using this method. There are however other ways, such as using byte code injection using CGLIB, ASM or AOP.

Assuming this question is asking about the equivalent of C# extension methods or JavaScript prototypes then technically it is possible as this one thing that Groovy does a lot. Groovy compiles Java and can extend any Java class, even final ones. Groovy has metaClass to add properties and methods (prototypes) such as:
// Define new extension method
String.metaClass.goForIt = { return "hello ${delegate}" }
// Call it on a String
"Paul".goForIt() // returns "hello Paul"
// Create new property
String.metaClass.num = 123
// Use it - clever even on constants
"Paul".num // returns 123
"Paul".num = 999 // sets to 999
"fred".num // returns 123
I could explain how to do the same way as Groovy does, but maybe that would be too much for the poster. If they like, I can research and explain.

Convert Userdefined Object to a String Object

I have a user defined class, say
import java.util.Calendar;
public class Employee{
private String name;
private int age;
private Calendar dob;
private Address address;
private boolean married;
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
public int getAge() {
return age;
}
public void setAge(int age) {
this.age = age;
}
public Calendar getDob() {
return dob;
}
public void setDob(Calendar dob) {
this.dob = dob;
}
public Address getAddress() {
return address;
}
public void setAddress(Address address) {
this.address = address;
}
public boolean isMarried() {
return married;
}
public void setMarried(boolean married) {
this.married = married;
}
}
class Address{
private int doorNo;
private String streetName;
private String city;
public int getDoorNo() {
return doorNo;
}
public void setDoorNo(int doorNo) {
this.doorNo = doorNo;
}
public String getStreetName() {
return streetName;
}
public void setStreetName(String streetName) {
this.streetName = streetName;
}
public String getCity() {
return city;
}
public void setCity(String city) {
this.city = city;
}
}
I am creating an object of Employee and populating it with setters. I have to represent the above object to string (encrypted or human-readable) and parse back to get similar object. Actually, I want to save the string equivalent of java object in a file and to read back them to get a java object. I know we have object writing, but they are sensitive to edit. I would prefer if a java object can be converted to String of human readable form. Thanks.

To keep your flattened object human readable and hand editable consider encoding your object into a JSON string using one of the popular JSON libraries. Same JSON library will also provide you APIs to decode a JSON string into your object.
One of the popular JSON library is Gson. Here's an use example: Converting JSON to Java

You should override toString() to convert instances of your class to string. As for recreating instances based on their string representation you can define a static factory method for this.
public class Employee {
...
#Override
public String toString() {
...
}
public static Employee fromString(String str) {
...
}
}
You use these methods like this:
To obtain string representation of an instance to string:
Employee john = ...
String johnString = john.toString();
Note that your toString() method will also be called implicitly whenever there is a need to obtain string representation of one of the instances.
To recreate an instance from string:
Employee john = Employee.fromString(johnString);
If you often need to store instances of the class in a file and read them back, you may also consider serialization. See documentation for Serializable interface as well as ObjectInputStream and ObjectOutputStream. You may also want to familiarize yourself with caveats surrounding serialization by reading the last chapter ("Serialization") in Effective Java, second edition. Most importantly be aware that the serialized form of your class becomes part of your public API.

You might be looking for the toString method:
Returns a string representation of the object. In general, the
toString method returns a string that "textually represents" this
object. The result should be a concise but informative representation
that is easy for a person to read. It is recommended that all
subclasses override this method.
In your case you would be doing something of the sort (to be added in each of your classes):
#Override
public String toString()
{
return "Name = " + name + ...
}
The string can be of any format you wish. To save the object, all that you need to do is to write the text that the toString method returns to a file.
To read them back, however, you will have to implement your own logic. On the other hand, what you can do, is to use something such as XStream (instructions here) which will automatically convert your object to XML.
XML is human readable so that your users can modify whatever they need. Once this is done, you can re-use XStream to read back your object.

Try this
Employee em = new Employee;
//Your code
str obj= JavaScriptSerializer.Serialize();
// whenever you want to get object again
Employee emp = (Employee)JavaScriptSerializer.Deserialize();

How to create a POJO?

Recently I've started hearing about "POJOs" (Plain Old Java Objects). I googled it, but still don't understand the concept well. Can anyone give me a clear description of a POJO?
Consider a class "Person" with variables "id, name, address, salary" -- how would I create a POJO for this scenario? Is the code below a POJO?
public class Person {
//variables
People people = new People();
private int id;
private String name;
private String address;
private int salary;
public int getId() {
return id;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public String getAddress() {
return address;
}
public int getSalary() {
return salary;
}
public void setId() {
this.id = id;
}
public void setName() {
this.name = name;
}
public void setAddress() {
this.address = address;
}
public void setSalary() {
this.salary = salary;
}
}

A POJO is just a plain, old Java Bean with the restrictions removed. Java Beans must meet the following requirements:
Default no-arg constructor
Follow the Bean convention of getFoo (or isFoo for booleans) and setFoo methods for a mutable attribute named foo; leave off the setFoo if foo is immutable.
Must implement java.io.Serializable
POJO does not mandate any of these. It's just what the name says: an object that compiles under JDK can be considered a Plain Old Java Object. No app server, no base classes, no interfaces required to use.
The acronym POJO was a reaction against EJB 2.0, which required several interfaces, extended base classes, and lots of methods just to do simple things. Some people, Rod Johnson and Martin Fowler among them, rebelled against the complexity and sought a way to implement enterprise scale solutions without having to write EJBs.
Martin Fowler coined a new acronym.
Rod Johnson wrote "J2EE Without EJBs", wrote Spring, influenced EJB enough so version 3.1 looks a great deal like Spring and Hibernate, and got a sweet IPO from VMWare out of it.
Here's an example that you can wrap your head around:
public class MyFirstPojo
{
private String name;
public static void main(String [] args)
{
for (String arg : args)
{
MyFirstPojo pojo = new MyFirstPojo(arg); // Here's how you create a POJO
System.out.println(pojo);
}
}
public MyFirstPojo(String name)
{
this.name = name;
}
public String getName() { return this.name; }
public String toString() { return this.name; }
}

POJO:- POJO is a Java object not bound by any restriction other than those forced by the Java Language Specification.
Properties of POJO
All properties must be public setter and getter methods
All instance variables should be private
Should not Extend prespecified classes.
Should not Implement prespecified interfaces.
Should not contain prespecified annotations.
It may not have any argument constructors
Example of POJO
public class POJO {
private String value;
public String getValue() {
return value;
}
public void setValue(String value) {
this.value = value;
}
}

A POJO is a Plain Old Java Object.
From the wikipedia article I linked to:
In computing software, POJO is an
acronym for Plain Old Java Object. The
name is used to emphasize that a given
object is an ordinary Java Object, not
a special object, and in particular
not an Enterprise JavaBean
Your class appears to already be a POJO.

POJO class acts as a bean which is used to set and get the value.
public class Data
{
private int id;
private String deptname;
private String date;
private String name;
private String mdate;
private String mname;
public int getId() {
return id;
}
public void setId(int id) {
this.id = id;
}
public String getDeptname() {
return deptname;
}
public void setDeptname(String deptname) {
this.deptname = deptname;
}
public String getDate() {
return date;
}
public void setDate(String date) {
this.date = date;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
public String getMdate() {
return mdate;
}
public void setMdate(String mdate) {
this.mdate = mdate;
}
public String getMname() {
return mname;
}
public void setMname(String mname) {
this.mname = mname;
}
}

When you aren't doing anything to make your class particularly designed to work with a given framework, ORM, or other system that needs a special sort of class, you have a Plain Old Java Object, or POJO.
Ironically, one of the reasons for coining the term is that people were avoiding them in cases where they were sensible and some people concluded that this was because they didn't have a fancy name. Ironic, because your question demonstrates that the approach worked.
Compare the older POD "Plain Old Data" to mean a C++ class that doesn't do anything a C struct couldn't do (more or less, non-virtual members that aren't destructors or trivial constructors don't stop it being considered POD), and the newer (and more directly comparable) POCO "Plain Old CLR Object" in .NET.

According to Martin Fowler
The term was coined while Rebecca Parsons, Josh MacKenzie and I were preparing for a talk at a conference in September 2000. In the talk, we were pointing out the many benefits of encoding business logic into regular java objects rather than using Entity Beans. We wondered why people were so against using regular objects in their systems and concluded that it was because simple objects lacked a fancy name. So we gave them one, and it’s caught on very nicely.
Generally, a POJO is not bound to any restriction and any Java object can be called a POJO but there are some directions. A well-defined POJO should follow below directions.
Each variable in a POJO should be declared as private.
Default constructor should be overridden with public accessibility.
Each variable should have its Setter-Getter method with public accessibility.
Generally POJO should override equals(), hashCode() and toString() methods of Object (but it's not mandatory).
Overriding compare() method of Comparable interface used for sorting (Preferable but not mandatory).
And according to Java Language Specification, a POJO should not have to
Extend pre-specified classes
Implement pre-specified interfaces
Contain pre-specified annotations
However, developers and frameworks describe a POJO still requires the use prespecified annotations to implement features like persistence, declarative transaction management etc. So the idea is that if the object was a POJO before any annotations were added would return to POJO status if the annotations are removed then it can still be considered a POJO.
A JavaBean is a special kind of POJO that is Serializable, has a no-argument constructor, and allows access to properties using getter and setter methods that follow a simple naming convention.
Read more on Plain Old Java Object (POJO) Explained.

there are mainly three options are possible for mapping purpose
serialize
XML mapping
POJO mapping.(Plain Old Java Objects)
While using the pojo classes,it is easy for a developer to map with the database.
POJO classes are created for database and at the same time value-objects classes are created with getter and setter methods that will easily hold the content.
So,for the purpose of mapping in between java with database, value-objects and POJO classes are implemented.

import java.io.Serializable;
public class Course implements Serializable {
protected int courseId;
protected String courseName;
protected String courseType;
public Course() {
courseName = new String();
courseType = new String();
}
public Course(String courseName, String courseType) {
this.courseName = courseName;
this.courseType = courseType;
}
public Course(int courseId, String courseName, String courseType) {
this.courseId = courseId;
this.courseName = courseName;
this.courseType = courseType;
}
public int getCourseId() {
return courseId;
}
public void setCourseId(int courseId) {
this.courseId = courseId;
}
public String getCourseName() {
return courseName;
}
public void setCourseName(String courseName) {
this.courseName = courseName;
}
public String getCourseType() {
return courseType;
}
public void setCourseType(String courseType) {
this.courseType = courseType;
}
#Override
public int hashCode() {
return courseId;
}
#Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (obj != null || obj instanceof Course) {
Course c = (Course) obj;
if (courseId == c.courseId && courseName.equals(c.courseName)
&& courseType.equals(c.courseType))
return true;
}
return false;
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return "Course[" + courseId + "," + courseName + "," + courseType + "]";
}
}

public class UserInfo {
String LoginId;
String Password;
String FirstName;
String LastName;
String Email;
String Mobile;
String Address;
String DOB;
public String getLoginId() {
return LoginId;
}
public void setLoginId(String loginId) {
LoginId = loginId;
}
public String getPassword() {
return Password;
}
public void setPassword(String password) {
Password = password;
}
public String getFirstName() {
return FirstName;
}
public void setFirstName(String firstName) {
FirstName = firstName;
}
public String getLastName() {
return LastName;
}
public void setLastName(String lastName) {
LastName = lastName;
}
public String getEmail() {
return Email;
}
public void setEmail(String email) {
Email = email;
}
public String getMobile() {
return Mobile;
}
public void setMobile(String mobile) {
Mobile = mobile;
}
public String getAddress() {
return Address;
}
public void setAddress(String address) {
Address = address;
}
public String getDOB() {
return DOB;
}
public void setDOB(String DOB) {
this.DOB = DOB;
}
}

File-setting-plugins-Browse repositories
Search RoboPOJOGenerator and install, Restart Android studio
Open Project and right click on package select on Generate POJO from JSON
Paste JSON in dialogbox and select option according your requirements
Click on Generate button

If a class is not bogged down from a framework or a library, then an object created from that class is recognized as a POJO.
Let's see some examples:
class MyServlet extends HttpServlet{
//....
}
The sole meaning of MyServlet class is given by the HttpServlet class. Therefore the objects created from the MyServlet are not POJOs.
class MyClass implements Serializable{
//...
}
The Serializable interface does not give a meaning to the class MyClass. Therefore the objects created from the MyClass are POJOs.