How to only allow certain values as parameter for a method in Java?

Question

I want to write a method that only takes certain values for a parameter, like f.e. in the Toast class in Android. You can only use Toast.LENGTH_SHORT or Toast.LENGTH_LONG as duration for the method makeText(Context context, int resId, int duration). I had a look at the source code of the Toast class but found nothing there. How can I achieve that?

Answer 1

You can use @IntDef or @StringDef annotations for your methods like this:

@Retention(SOURCE)
@IntDef({NAVIGATION_MODE_STANDARD, NAVIGATION_MODE_LIST, NAVIGATION_MODE_TABS})
public @interface NavigationMode {}
public static final int NAVIGATION_MODE_STANDARD = 0;
public static final int NAVIGATION_MODE_LIST = 1;
public static final int NAVIGATION_MODE_TABS = 2;
...
public abstract void setNavigationMode(@NavigationMode int mode);
@NavigationMode
public abstract int getNavigationMode();