Class GcEqualsBuilder
Assists in implementing Object.equals(Object)
methods.
This class provides methods to build a good equals method for any
class. It follows rules laid out in
Effective Java
, by Joshua Bloch. In particular the rule for comparing doubles
,
floats
, and arrays can be tricky. Also, making sure that
equals()
and hashCode()
are consistent can be
difficult.
Two Objects that compare as equals must generate the same hash code, but two Objects with the same hash code do not have to be equal.
All relevant fields should be included in the calculation of equals. Derived fields may be ignored. In particular, any field used in generating a hash code must be used in the equals method, and vice versa.
Typical use for the code is as follows:
public boolean equals(Object obj) { if (obj instanceof MyClass == false) { return false; } if (this == obj) { return true; } MyClass rhs = (MyClass) obj; return new GcEqualsBuilder() .appendSuper(super.equals(obj)) .append(field1, rhs.field1) .append(field2, rhs.field2) .append(field3, rhs.field3) .isEquals(); }
Alternatively, there is a method that uses reflection to determine
the fields to test. Because these fields are usually private, the method,
reflectionEquals
, uses AccessibleObject.setAccessible
to
change the visibility of the fields. This will fail under a security
manager, unless the appropriate permissions are set up correctly. It is
also slower than testing explicitly.
A typical invocation for this method would look like:
public boolean equals(Object obj) { return GcEqualsBuilder.reflectionEquals(this, obj); }
- Since:
- 1.0
- Version:
- $Id: GcEqualsBuilder.java 161243 2005-04-14 04:30:28Z ggregory $
-
Constructor Summary
Constructors -
Method Summary
Modifier and TypeMethodDescriptionappend
(boolean[] lhs, boolean[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofboolean
.append
(boolean lhs, boolean rhs) Test if twobooleans
s are equal.append
(byte[] lhs, byte[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofbyte
.append
(byte lhs, byte rhs) Test if twobyte
s are equal.append
(char[] lhs, char[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofchar
.append
(char lhs, char rhs) Test if twochar
s are equal.append
(double[] lhs, double[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofdouble
.append
(double lhs, double rhs) Test if twodouble
s are equal by testing that the pattern of bits returned bydoubleToLong
are equal.append
(float[] lhs, float[] rhs) Deep comparison of array offloat
.append
(float lhs, float rhs) Test if twofloat
s are equal byt testing that the pattern of bits returned by doubleToLong are equal.append
(int[] lhs, int[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofint
.append
(int lhs, int rhs) Test if twoint
s are equal.append
(long[] lhs, long[] rhs) Deep comparison of array oflong
.append
(long lhs, long rhs) Test if twolong
s are equal.append
(short[] lhs, short[] rhs) Deep comparison of array ofshort
.append
(short lhs, short rhs) Test if twoshort
s are equal.Performs a deep comparison of twoObject
arrays.Test if twoObject
s are equal using theirequals
method.appendSuper
(boolean superEquals) Adds the result ofsuper.equals()
to this builder.boolean
isEquals()
Returnstrue
if the fields that have been checked are all equal.static boolean
reflectionEquals
(Object lhs, Object rhs) This method uses reflection to determine if the twoObject
s are equal.static boolean
reflectionEquals
(Object lhs, Object rhs, boolean testTransients) This method uses reflection to determine if the twoObject
s are equal.static boolean
reflectionEquals
(Object lhs, Object rhs, boolean testTransients, Class reflectUpToClass) This method uses reflection to determine if the twoObject
s are equal.protected void
setEquals
(boolean isEquals) Sets theisEquals
value.
-
Constructor Details
-
GcEqualsBuilder
public GcEqualsBuilder()Constructor for GcEqualsBuilder.
Starts off assuming that equals is
true
.- See Also:
-
-
Method Details
-
reflectionEquals
This method uses reflection to determine if the two
Object
s are equal.It uses
AccessibleObject.setAccessible
to gain access to private fields. This means that it will throw a security exception if run under a security manager, if the permissions are not set up correctly. It is also not as efficient as testing explicitly.Transient members will be not be tested, as they are likely derived fields, and not part of the value of the Object.
Static fields will not be tested. Superclass fields will be included.
- Parameters:
lhs
-this
objectrhs
- the other object- Returns:
true
if the two Objects have tested equals.
-
reflectionEquals
This method uses reflection to determine if the two
Object
s are equal.It uses
AccessibleObject.setAccessible
to gain access to private fields. This means that it will throw a security exception if run under a security manager, if the permissions are not set up correctly. It is also not as efficient as testing explicitly.If the TestTransients parameter is set to
true
, transient members will be tested, otherwise they are ignored, as they are likely derived fields, and not part of the value of theObject
.Static fields will not be tested. Superclass fields will be included.
- Parameters:
lhs
-this
objectrhs
- the other objecttestTransients
- whether to include transient fields- Returns:
true
if the two Objects have tested equals.
-
reflectionEquals
public static boolean reflectionEquals(Object lhs, Object rhs, boolean testTransients, Class reflectUpToClass) This method uses reflection to determine if the two
Object
s are equal.It uses
AccessibleObject.setAccessible
to gain access to private fields. This means that it will throw a security exception if run under a security manager, if the permissions are not set up correctly. It is also not as efficient as testing explicitly.If the testTransients parameter is set to
true
, transient members will be tested, otherwise they are ignored, as they are likely derived fields, and not part of the value of theObject
.Static fields will not be included. Superclass fields will be appended up to and including the specified superclass. A null superclass is treated as java.lang.Object.
- Parameters:
lhs
-this
objectrhs
- the other objecttestTransients
- whether to include transient fieldsreflectUpToClass
- the superclass to reflect up to (inclusive), may benull
- Returns:
true
if the two Objects have tested equals.- Since:
- 2.0
-
appendSuper
Adds the result of
super.equals()
to this builder.- Parameters:
superEquals
- the result of callingsuper.equals()
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
- Since:
- 2.0
-
append
Test if two
Object
s are equal using theirequals
method.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left hand objectrhs
- the right hand object- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
long
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handlong
rhs
- the right handlong
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
int
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handint
rhs
- the right handint
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
short
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handshort
rhs
- the right handshort
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
char
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handchar
rhs
- the right handchar
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
byte
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handbyte
rhs
- the right handbyte
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
double
s are equal by testing that the pattern of bits returned bydoubleToLong
are equal.This handles NaNs, Infinities, and
-0.0
.It is compatible with the hash code generated by
HashCodeBuilder
.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handdouble
rhs
- the right handdouble
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
float
s are equal byt testing that the pattern of bits returned by doubleToLong are equal.This handles NaNs, Infinities, and
-0.0
.It is compatible with the hash code generated by
HashCodeBuilder
.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handfloat
rhs
- the right handfloat
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Test if two
booleans
s are equal.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handboolean
rhs
- the right handboolean
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Performs a deep comparison of two
Object
arrays.This also will be called for the top level of multi-dimensional, ragged, and multi-typed arrays.
- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handObject[]
rhs
- the right handObject[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
long
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(long, long)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handlong[]
rhs
- the right handlong[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
int
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(int, int)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handint[]
rhs
- the right handint[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
short
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(short, short)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handshort[]
rhs
- the right handshort[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
char
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(char, char)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handchar[]
rhs
- the right handchar[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
byte
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(byte, byte)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handbyte[]
rhs
- the right handbyte[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
double
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(double, double)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handdouble[]
rhs
- the right handdouble[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
float
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(float, float)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handfloat[]
rhs
- the right handfloat[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
append
Deep comparison of array of
boolean
. Length and all values are compared.The method
append(boolean, boolean)
is used.- Parameters:
lhs
- the left handboolean[]
rhs
- the right handboolean[]
- Returns:
- GcEqualsBuilder - used to chain calls.
-
isEquals
public boolean isEquals()Returns
true
if the fields that have been checked are all equal.- Returns:
- boolean
-
setEquals
protected void setEquals(boolean isEquals) Sets theisEquals
value.- Parameters:
isEquals
- The value to set.- Since:
- 2.1
-