I wonder if it is possible to require that a java method parameter is of any type from finite set of types. For example - I am using a library where two (or more) types have common methods, but their lowest common ancestor in the type hierarchy is Object. What I mean here:
public interface A {
void myMethod();
}
public interface B {
void myMethod();
}
...
public void useMyMethod(A a) {
// code duplication
}
public void useMyMethod(B b) {
// code duplication
}
I want to avoid the code duplication. What I think of is something like this:
public void useMyMethod(A|B obj){
obj.myMethod();
}
There is similar type of syntax in java already. For example:
try{
//fail
} catch (IllegalArgumentException | IllegalStateException e){
// use e safely here
}
Obviously this is not possible. How can I achieve well designed code using such type of uneditable type hierarchy ?
What about passing the function as a parameter to your useMyMethod function?
If you are using Java < 8:
public interface A {
void myMethod();
}
public interface B {
void myMethod();
}
public void useMyMethod(Callable<Void> myMethod) {
try {
myMethod.call();
} catch(Exception e) {
// handle exception of callable interface
}
}
//Use
public void test() {
interfaceA a = new ClassImplementingA();
useMyMethod(new Callable<Void>() {
public call() {
a.myMethod();
return null;
}
});
interfaceB b = new ClassImplementingB();
useMyMethod(new Callable<Void>() {
public call() {
b.myMethod();
return null;
}
});
}
For Java >= 8, you could use Lambda Expressions:
public interface IMyMethod {
void myMethod();
}
public void useMyMethod(IMyMethod theMethod) {
theMethod.myMethod();
}
//Use
public void test() {
interfaceA a = new ClassImplementingA();
useMyMethod(() -> a.myMethod());
interfaceB b = new ClassImplementingB();
useMyMethod(() -> b.myMethod());
}