Book Image

Java Coding Problems - Second Edition

By : Anghel Leonard
Book Image

Java Coding Problems - Second Edition

By: Anghel Leonard

Overview of this book

The super-fast evolution of the JDK between versions 12 and 21 has made the learning curve of modern Java steeper, and increased the time needed to learn it. This book will make your learning journey quicker and increase your willingness to try Java’s new features by explaining the correct practices and decisions related to complexity, performance, readability, and more. Java Coding Problems takes you through Java’s latest features but doesn’t always advocate the use of new solutions — instead, it focuses on revealing the trade-offs involved in deciding what the best solution is for a certain problem. There are more than two hundred brand new and carefully selected problems in this second edition, chosen to highlight and cover the core everyday challenges of a Java programmer. Apart from providing a comprehensive compendium of problem solutions based on real-world examples, this book will also give you the confidence to answer questions relating to matching particular streams and methods to various problems. By the end of this book you will have gained a strong understanding of Java’s new features and have the confidence to develop and choose the right solutions to your problems.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
1
Text Blocks, Locales, Numbers, and Math
Free Chapter
2
Objects, Immutability, Switch Expressions, and Pattern Matching
14
Other Books You May Enjoy
15
Index

61. Tackling type patterns for instanceof and generics

Consider the following snippet of code that uses instanceof in the old-school fashion:

public static <K, V> void process(Map<K, ? extends V> map) {
  if (map instanceof EnumMap<?, ? extends V>) {
    EnumMap<?, ? extends V> books 
     = (EnumMap<?, ? extends V>) map;
    if (books.get(Status.DRAFT) instanceof Book) {
      Book book = (Book) books.get(Status.DRAFT);
      book.review();
    }
  }
}
// use case
EnumMap<Status, Book> books = new EnumMap<>(Status.class);
books.put(Status.DRAFT, new Book());
books.put(Status.READY, new Book());
process(books);

As we know from Problem 56, we can combine instanceof with generic types via unbounded wildcards, such as our EnumMap<?, ? extends V> (or EnumMap<?, ?>, but not EnumMap<K, ? extends V>, EnumMap<K, ?>, or EnumMap<K, V>).

This code can be written more concisely via the type pattern for instanceof as follows:

public static <K, V> void process(Map<K, ? extends V> map) {
  if (map instanceof EnumMap<?, ? extends V> books
    && books.get(Status.DRAFT) instanceof Book book) {
      book.review();
  }
}

In the example based on plain instanceof, we can also replace EnumMap<?, ? extends V> with Map<?, ? extends V>. But, as we know from Problem 53, this is not possible with type patterns because the expression type cannot be a subtype of pattern type (upcasting is allowed). However, this is not an issue anymore starting with JDK 21.