how to generically compare entire java beans?

java javabeans
ysouter picture ysouter · Jan 23, 2009 · Viewed 21.1k times · Source

I've been trying to grok the org.apache.commons.beanutils library for a method/idiom to evaluate for equality all properties between 2 instances i.e. a generic equals() method for beans.
Is there a simple way to do this usnig this library? Or am I going about this the wrong way? Thanks.

Answer

Aaron Digulla picture Aaron Digulla · Jan 23, 2009

Try EqualsBuilder.reflectionEquals() of commons-lang. EqualsBuilder has a set of methods to include all fields, all non-transient fields and all but certain fields.

If all else fails, the code could serve as a good example how to implement this.

Related questions

What is a JavaBean exactly?

I understood, I think, that a "Bean" is a Java class with properties and getters/setters. As much as I understand, it is the equivalent of a C struct. Is that true? Also, is there a real syntactic difference between …

Read More
Difference between DTO, VO, POJO, JavaBeans?

Have seen some similar questions: What is the difference between a JavaBean and a POJO? What is the Difference Between POJO (Plain Old Java Object) and DTO (Data Transfer Object)? Can you also please tell me the contexts in which …

Read More
How to convert a Java object (bean) to key-value pairs (and vice versa)?

Say I have a very simple java object that only has some getXXX and setXXX properties. This object is used only to handle values, basically a record or a type-safe (and performant) map. I often need to covert this object …

Read More