eqlas() method

[Emmanuel Lécharny]

Hi guys,

I'm seeing a lot of equals() methods being implemented this way :

    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if (this == o) {
            return true;
        }
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) {
            return false;
        }

        EncryptedData that = (EncryptedData) o;
        ...

This is not the best practice. Here is what should be used instead :


    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if (this == o) {
            return true;
        }

        if (!(o instanceof EncryptedData) {
            return false;
        }

        EncryptedData that = (EncryptedData) o;
        ...

The (!(o instanceof <yourClass>)) test will always return false if 'o'
is not an instance of <yourClass> *and* when 'o' is null.