5

I hope I picked the right group for this question...

I have this little framework I want to implement and I would like to have an opinion on it. In particular I am more concerned about the succinctness and style of the solution. My class sketch looks like this:

public interface Builder<T> {

    T build();
}

public interface RootObject {


    public static abstract class MutableBuilder<T> implements Builder<T> {

        protected MutableBuilder() { }

        protected abstract void setA(A a);

        protected abstract void setB(B b);

        protected abstract void setC(C c);

        protected abstract void setD(D d);
    }
}

The goal is to have a Builder which returns an instance of (hopefully) immutable objects. The whole implementation is left to the client code, but I still want to give the imprinting of the Effective Java's fluent interface.

If it was just for this, I would not be that puzzled. The problem comes into lay when I add the requirements:

  • the framework needs to reflectively search through a generic RootObject implementation in order to find if the MutableBuilder static inner class has been implemented.
  • if found, the framework instantiates one or more MutableBuilder dynamically (that is the reason why I have an abstract class with a constructor and return it or them to the client code.

The mere talking about reflection makes me wonder if I am doing the right thing. It looks a reasonable solution to me (of course).

4
  • The RootObject interface has no variables. How are you going to find a MutableBuilder object?
    – eric w
    Mar 21, 2013 at 8:29
  • 1
    You might want to have a read of this: gary-rowe.com/agilestack/2012/07/11/how-to-build-a-builder. Always keep it simple.
    – Gary
    Mar 21, 2013 at 10:50
  • @ericw: Probably the question is not really clear but I am trying for fun to develop a little framework, all the objects are going to be implemented by client code. RootObject has no variables because it is an Interface. Mar 21, 2013 at 13:43
  • 1
    By the way I solved this by making the user explicitly passing Builder objects to the framework. The whole point was to detect the presence of inner MutableBuilder subclasses in the definition so that the framework could call build() and automatically create instances of the outer one. Jan 15, 2014 at 2:02

1 Answer 1

3

If possible, go natural

I want to start by saying Java has built-in ("natural") object creation techniques. Forcing your clients to declare types specifically for object creation for no specific reason will result in your framework being far from "easy-to-use".

Avoid introspection if possible.


You're misusing the (accepted) term "builder".

A builder should only be used if a type has optional parameters. Not all types have this, so requiring a builder for every object is abuse of the pattern.

If you're using the builder to decouple an implementation, the correct pattern to implement would be the factory method pattern

Prefer a factory over your current solution

In the comments of your post, you mentioned your framework now requires the client to pass in a builder. Although it's nice you found a solution, there seems to be a bigger problem with your current design.

Builders should not define required properties, since the client isn't forced to execute the behaviors provided by it. This turns the requirement into a (critically) recommended option, and is why builders still utilize class constructors. Your design currently misuses the pattern, and by the sound of the behavior you're attempting to achieve, a factory would be better suited.

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