Java Pass Method as Parameter
Edit: as of Java 8, lambda expressions are a nice solution as other answers have pointed out. The answer below was written for Java 7 and earlier...
Take a look at the command pattern.
// NOTE: code not tested, but I believe this is valid java...public class CommandExample { public interface Command { public void execute(Object data); } public class PrintCommand implements Command { public void execute(Object data) { System.out.println(data.toString()); } } public static void callCommand(Command command, Object data) { command.execute(data); } public static void main(String... args) { callCommand(new PrintCommand(), "hello world"); }}
Edit: as Pete Kirkham points out, there's another way of doing this using a Visitor. The visitor approach is a little more involved - your nodes all need to be visitor-aware with an acceptVisitor()
method - but if you need to traverse a more complex object graph then it's worth examining.
In Java 8, you can now pass a method more easily using Lambda Expressions and Method References. First, some background: a functional interface is an interface that has one and only one abstract method, although it can contain any number of default methods (new in Java 8) and static methods. A lambda expression can quickly implement the abstract method, without all the unnecessary syntax needed if you don't use a lambda expression.
Without lambda expressions:
obj.aMethod(new AFunctionalInterface() { @Override public boolean anotherMethod(int i) { return i == 982 }});
With lambda expressions:
obj.aMethod(i -> i == 982);
Here is an excerpt from the Java tutorial on Lambda Expressions:
Syntax of Lambda Expressions
A lambda expression consists of the following:
A comma-separated list of formal parameters enclosed in parentheses. The CheckPerson.test method contains one parameter, p, which represents an instance of the Person class.
Note: You can omit the data type of the parameters in a lambda expression. In addition, you can omit the parentheses if there is only one parameter. For example, the following lambda expression is also valid:
p -> p.getGender() == Person.Sex.MALE && p.getAge() >= 18 && p.getAge() <= 25
The arrow token,
->
A body, which consists of a single expression or a statement block. This example uses the following expression:
p.getGender() == Person.Sex.MALE && p.getAge() >= 18 && p.getAge() <= 25
If you specify a single expression, then the Java runtime evaluates the expression and then returns its value. Alternatively, you can use a return statement:
p -> { return p.getGender() == Person.Sex.MALE && p.getAge() >= 18 && p.getAge() <= 25;}
A return statement is not an expression; in a lambda expression, you must enclose statements in braces ({}). However, you do not have to enclose a void method invocation in braces. For example, the following is a valid lambda expression:
email -> System.out.println(email)
Note that a lambda expression looks a lot like a method declaration; you can consider lambda expressions as anonymous methods—methods without a name.
Here is how you can "pass a method" using a lambda expression:
interface I { public void myMethod(Component component);}class A { public void changeColor(Component component) { // code here } public void changeSize(Component component) { // code here }}
class B { public void setAllComponents(Component[] myComponentArray, I myMethodsInterface) { for(Component leaf : myComponentArray) { if(leaf instanceof Container) { // recursive call if Container Container node = (Container)leaf; setAllComponents(node.getComponents(), myMethodInterface); } // end if node myMethodsInterface.myMethod(leaf); } // end looping through components }}
class C { A a = new A(); B b = new B(); public C() { b.setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), component -> a.changeColor(component)); b.setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), component -> a.changeSize(component)); }}
Class C
can be shortened even a bit further by the use of method references like so:
class C { A a = new A(); B b = new B(); public C() { b.setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), a::changeColor); b.setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), a::changeSize); }}
Since Java 8 there is a Function<T, R>
interface (docs), which has method
R apply(T t);
You can use it to pass functions as parameters to other functions. T is the input type of the function, R is the return type.
In your example you need to pass a function that takes Component
type as an input and returns nothing - Void
. In this case Function<T, R>
is not the best choice, since there is no autoboxing of Void type. The interface you are looking for is called Consumer<T>
(docs) with method
void accept(T t);
It would look like this:
public void setAllComponents(Component[] myComponentArray, Consumer<Component> myMethod) { for (Component leaf : myComponentArray) { if (leaf instanceof Container) { Container node = (Container) leaf; setAllComponents(node.getComponents(), myMethod); } myMethod.accept(leaf); } }
And you would call it using method references:
setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), this::changeColor);setAllComponents(this.getComponents(), this::changeSize);
Assuming that you have defined changeColor() and changeSize() methods in the same class.
If your method happens to accept more than one parameter, you can use BiFunction<T, U, R>
- T and U being types of input parameters and R being return type. There is also BiConsumer<T, U>
(two arguments, no return type). Unfortunately for 3 and more input parameters, you have to create an interface by yourself. For example:
public interface Function4<A, B, C, D, R> { R apply(A a, B b, C c, D d);}