My Java style definitely changed since I learned Scala, and for the better. I
can give one clear example.
Whereas I used to write traditional beans, I'm now tending to favour public
final fields and constructor initialisation.
So instead of this:
class Foo {
int x;
String y;
int getX() {
return x;
}
void setX(int x) {
this.x = x;
}
String getY() {
return y;
}
void setX(String y) {
this.y = y;
}
}
I'm now writing this:
class Foo {
public final int x;
public final String y;
public Foo(final int x, final String y) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
}
It's smaller, immutable, easier to maintain and easier to use. After all,
nobody could realistically argue that:
foo.getX()
is nicer than
foo.x
This style even works with spring by using constructor injection. My only
real issues are:
- working against frameworks that really do demand full "bean" compliance
- implementing an interface (interfaces only have methods, not fields)
But so long as I'm not in either of those scenarios, I find this approach to
be much more usable.
On 30 April 2010 11:12, Rakesh <[email protected]> wrote:
> I can see on disadvantage to learning multiple languages - abandonment
> of established idioms in favour of so-called "better code".
>
> Let me explain, in Java a lot of people complain about the amount of
> boiler plate we have to write. However, that boiler plate is something
> a lot experienced Java devs are used to and recognise and aid their
> understanding of a new code base and hopefully allow them to extend it
> further correctly.
>
> People I work with have come from a Ruby background predominately (and
> some have done some Lisp-like development).
>
> The code written by these people is very strange to a Java-only dev
> and I don't think for the better. Source code is for HUMANS and
> writing code that abandons established Java idioms is doing a
> dis-service to the next Java dev who comes along and has to maintain
> that code.
>
> A small example is the use of final everywhere. Is the code really
> better? Really? How did you cope before? Did you find lots of bugs
> that were due to not using final?
>
> A bigger example is the desire to create internal frameworks/dsls. I
> like the idea of a dsl but its very hard and almost next to impossible
> to extend unless you are the original author.
>
> We have internal dsls that are completely alien to me
> (functors/frankenstien generics) and a nightmare to understand and
> extend - all so at some top-level, you can write a statement that
> (almost, but not quite) reads like English. Grrr!
>
> So, in summary, I think learning about other languages is ultimately
> good experience from a personal point of view but be very careful how
> it affects the code you write in other languages.
>
> Cheers
>
> Rakesh
>
> PS I am off on a Scala course in June (with M. Odersky no less) so I
> am not against other languages per se.
>
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 4:52 PM, Chris Adamson <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> > Oddly, and this was a long time ago, I found that LISP helped me
> > understand OO when I was learning Java. I had previously done all
> > procedural languages -- BASIC, Pascal, C -- and the "indirectness" of
> > LISP was helpful for me in letting go of my need to own the program
> > counter at all times. I had done a little AppleScript, and that was
> > an early OO gateway for a lot of people too.
> >
> > One of the things that's really helpful about learning new languages
> > is mental flexibility. My favorite example is to ask "how do you add
> > 1 to every item in a list?" Most developers will think in terms of a
> > while or for-next loop. In LISP, the cleanest way to do it is to
> > write a function that adds 1 to the first member and then calls itself
> > recursively with the rest of the list. Which would be batty in Java,
> > of course, but after a deep dunk in LISP's recursion-land, you'll be
> > more willing to adopt it elsewhere when it makes sense to (like
> > parsing a tree structure, even in a procedural or OO language).
> >
> > The Prags put up a wiki to help pick the 7 languages. I'm pleased as
> > punch they picked Prolog, even if it did almost flunk me out of
> > college. Anyone who's been intrigued by Drools for Java should be
> > interested too.
> >
> > That said, the language I voted for was assembly. I think it's wrong
> > that developers don't even know what a register is anymore, or have a
> > sense of how their code is going to be compiled for and executed on
> > the CPU.
> >
> > --Chris
> >
> > On Apr 29, 9:56 am, Wildam Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> I have learned about Lisp in school but that was one of the languages
> >> I was sure I would never use in a real project. Maybe it is my kind of
> >> thinking or just a personal preference but I really don't like that
> >> functional stuff. I find it less readable and have a few other
> >> complaints I can hardly put into words. Maybe I should give such a
> >> language really a try. But it is not that I didn't look at them at
> >> all.
> >
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