Develop Reference

Add null-like value to String in Java

I am writing test method like setTask(Task task). And Task object has several fields, e.g.
public String vehicle;
Method setTask should be used in different test-cases, so I'd like to have an options for this field to accept values:
null - the method should not do anything in this particulare case;
some string value - e.g. "", "Hello, World!", "Iso Isetta", ...
random - a value that indicates (as well as null indicates "no changes") that a random value should be selected for a drop-down list corresponding to this field.
So what can I do to make String to be SpecialString which could accept values null, random & some string value? (BTW: I don't want to set it to string value "RANDOM", and chech whether the value is equal to "RANDOM"-string)
UPDATE: I don't mean random like random value from a set of values, I mean random as well as null and this is for setTask() to handle random (select random from drop-down), and not to pass a random string from a set of values.
Pseudocode:
Task task = new Task();
task.vehicle = random; // as well as null
setTask(task)
in setTask(Task task):
if (task.vehicle == null) {
//skip
} else if (task.vehicle == random) {
// get possible values from drop-down list
// select one of them
} else {
// select value from drop-down list which is equal to task.vehicle
}

Don't assign a fixed String but use a Supplier<String> which can generate a String dynamically:
public Supplier<String> vehicleSupplier;
This, you can assign a generator function as you request:
static Supplier<String> nullSupplier () { return () -> null; }
static Supplier<String> fixedValueSupplier (String value) { return () -> value; }
static Supplier<String> randomSupplier (String... values) {
int index = ThreadLocalRandom.current().nextInt(values.length) -1;
return index > 0 && index < values.length ? values[index] : null;
}
In use, this looks like:
task.setVehicleSupplier(nullSupplier()); // or
task.setVehicleSupplier(fixedValueSupplier("value")); // or
task.setVehicleSupplier(randomSupplier("", "Hello, World!", "Iso Isetta"));
and you can get the String by
String value = task.vehicleSupplier().get();
or hide the implementation in a getter function
class Task {
// ...
private Supplier<String> vehicleSupplier;
public void setVehicleSupplier(Supplier<String> s) {
vehicleSupplier = s;
}
public String getVehicle() {
return vehicleSupplier != null ? vehicleSupplier.get() : null;
}
// ...
}

What you may want to do is to create an object that wraps a string as well as some information about whether or not it's a special value. Something along the lines of...
public class Special<T> {
public enum Type {
NOTHING, RANDOM, SPECIFIC
}
private final Type type;
private final T specificValue;
public Special(Type type, T specificValue) {
this.type = type;
this.specificValue = specificValue;
}
public Type getType() {
return type;
}
public T getSpecificValue() {
if (type != SPECIFIC) {
throw new IllegalStateException("Value is not specific");
}
return specificValue;
}
}
The class above could be used like so:
Special<String> a = new Special<>(Special.Type.NOTHING, null);
Special<String> b = new Special<>(Special.Type.SPECIFIC, "Hello");
if (b.getType() == Special.Type.RANDOM) {
// do something
}else if (b.getType() == Special.Type.SPECIFIC) {
String val = b.getSpecificValue();
// do something else
}
A slightly more polished variant of the thing above is probably the best way, but there is a way, a much uglier way, to do it using nothing but a String field.
What you could do is to have a "magical" string instance that behaves differently from all other string instances, despite having the same value. This would be done by having something like
static final String SPECIAL_VALUE_RANDOM = new String("random");
Note the use of the String constructor, which ensures that the string becomes a unique, non-interned instance. You can then say if (vehicle == SPECIAL_VALUE_RANDOM) { ... } (note the use of == instead of .equals()) to check if that specific instance (rather than any other string that says "random") was used.
Again, this is not a particularly good way of doing this, especially if you intend to do this more than once ever. I would strongly suggest something closer to the first way.

How to enter arrays of varried dimensions into a method in java

My java program formats data from a string array into a string and can basically pull an inception and store these strings along other strings of the same format, in a way making a 2D array but in a string format. My issue is for a 1D array I roughly have the following methods in a class...
public static String parse(String data) {
return "#"+Integer.toString(data.length())+":"+data;
}
public static String parse(String[] data) {
String str="";
for (int i=1;i<=data.length;i++) {
str+=parse(data[i-1]);//parse() would receive a String
}
return str;
}
My problem is I want to make a singular method that can take in an array of ANY dimensions, but the closest I can get to doing this is declaring multiple methods with the same name but with higher array dimensions set for the input variable 'data' like so...
public static String parse(String[][] data) {//can take in a 2D array
String str="";
for (int i=1;i<=data.length;i++) {
str+=parse(data[i-1]);//parse() would receive a 1D array
}
return str;
}
public static String parse(String[][][] data) {//can take in a 3D array
String str="";
for (int i=1;i<=data.length;i++) {
str+=parse(data[i-1]);//parse() would receive a 2D array
}
return str;
}
//etc...
Is there a way to work arround this? Or is this the best way to program it?
PS:I'm new to this language and still dont know a lot of terminology, so keep it simple please.

The problem is the difference in types, 1 parse method takes a String[][][] and calls another parse method that takes a String[][]. That second call is different for each level, so you can't create 1 single method that works for all of them.
Something that you can do (but will be tricky to grasp for a beginner) is reduce some of the duplication. If you pass the next parse method to call as an argument to parse. You can then use lambdas to chain method calls together:
public static String parse0(String data) {
return "#" + Integer.toString(data.length()) + ":" + data;
}
// Method that contains the real logic
private static <T> String parseInternal(T[] data, Function<T, String> parser) {
String str = "";
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
str += parser.apply(data[i]);
}
return str;
}
// Methods that provide the call chain:
public static String parse3(String[][][] data) {
return parseInternal(data, arr2 -> parse2(arr2));
}
public static String parse2(String[][] data) {
return parseInternal(data, arr -> parse1(arr));
}
public static String parse1(String[] data) {
return parseInternal(data, str -> parse0(str));
}
Note: I gave all the methods a different name to show better what is going on. But you could give all of them the same name as well.
For more information about lambda expressions see the Oracle tutorial.

The solution is called recursion: that a method sometimes calls itself for doing some of its task:
public static String parse(Object data) {
if (data instanceof String) {
return "#" + Integer.toString(((String) data).length()) + ":" + data;
}
if (data instanceof Object[]) {
String str = "";
for (Object obj : (Object[]) data) {
str += parse(obj);
}
return str;
}
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot parse type " + data.getClass());
}
Now we may do for instance:
System.out.println(parse("str"));
System.out.println(parse(new String[] { "abc", "def" }));
System.out.println(parse(new String[][] { { "gh", "ij" }, { "kl" } }));
System.out.println(parse(new String[][][] { { { "mn" }, { "op", "qr", "st" }, { "uv" } } }));
This prints:
#3:str
#3:abc#3:def
#2:gh#2:ij#2:kl
#2:mn#2:op#2:qr#2:st#2:uv
In fact you can call it with a String array with any number of dimension.

Return all instance one variables in one call

I have this class that serves as a container which I will use the instance variable for processing later
class Data{
static int counter= 0;
boolean boolean1;
String string1;
public Data() {
counter++;
}
}
And I have this method that sets the values of Data
public Data setData()
{
Data data = null;
for (int i = 0; i < somecoutnerhere; i++) {
Data = new Data();
Data.boolean1 = some boolean put here;
Data.string1 = "some string to be put here";
}
return ProcessData(Data);
}
I also have this class ProcessData that will make use of Data and will construct the response
private class ProcessData
{
private final Map<String, List<?>> map = new HashMap<String, List<?>>();
int counter;
public ProcessData(Data data)
{
map.put("boolean1", data.boolean1);
map.put("String1", data.string1);
counter = data.counter;
}
public String someMethodToGenerateReturnData(){
// some code here to make use of the Data collected. Will basically use map to construct the return String
}
}
My problem is that I couldn't figure out how can I return all the instance variables created on the for-loop for Data on setData(). Any thoughts?

My problem is that I couldn't figure out how can I return all the instance variables created on the for-loop for Data on setData(). Any thoughts?
According to this your problem is not "returning all instance one variables in one call", as your title states, but rather a question about how returning all Data-Objects created in your for-loop, which is easier.
Your code is erronous though, so I went ahead & corrected it (I hope I didn't mess up). I also renamed a few things.
The changes I made are:
renamed "boolean1" and "string1" to "trueOrFalse" and "string"
added a public, fully parameterized constructor to the Data-class
added a ProcessData-list to the setData()-method, which is filled in the for-loop
(+ a comment)
However, I'd strongly recommend you to check your architecture, and also to learn a bit about naming conventions, or coding conventions in general. Names should point out the purpose or content of the method/variable/class, and "boolean1" isn't really doing that.
Regarding the architecture: The Data-class seems to exist solely for the counter, and you could easily change that, making the Data-class obsolete (unless it's used somewhere else).
Data class:
class Data {
static int counter = 0;
boolean trueOrFalse;
String string;
public Data() {
counter++;
}
public Data(boolean someBoolean, String someString) {
this.trueOrFalse= someBoolean;
this.string = someString;
counter++;
}
}
setData()-Method:
public List<ProcessData> setData() {
List<ProcessData> processedDataList = new ArrayList<ProcessData>();
for (int i = 0; i < someCounterHere; i++) {
processedDataList.add(new ProcessData(new Data(true, "testString"));
// a new Data-object is created (parameters true and "testString")
// a new ProcessData-object is created (parameter is the newly created Data-Object)
// the newly created ProcessData-object is added to the list
}
return processedDataList;
}
ProcessData-class:
private class ProcessData {
private final Map<String, List<?>> map = new HashMap<String, List<?>>();
int counter;
public ProcessData(Data data) {
map.put("trueOrFalse", data.trueOrFalse);
map.put("string", data.string);
counter = data.counter;
}
public String someMethodToGenerateReturnData() {
// some code here to make use of the Data collected. Will basically use map to construct the return String
}
}

Java Object Without a Class

I don't know if this is possible in Java but I was wondering if it is possible to use an object in Java to return multiple values without using a class.
Normally when I want to do this in Java I would use the following
public class myScript {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// initialize object class
cl_Object lo_Object = new cl_Object(0, null);
// populate object with data
lo_Object = lo_Object.create(1, "test01");
System.out.println(lo_Object.cl_idno + " - " + lo_Object.cl_desc);
//
// code to utilize data here
//
// populate object with different data
lo_Object = lo_Object.create(2, "test02");
System.out.println(lo_Object.cl_idno + " - " + lo_Object.cl_desc);
//
// code to utilize data here
//
}
}
// the way I would like to use (even though it's terrible)
class cl_Object {
int cl_idno = 0;
String cl_desc = null;
String cl_var01 = null;
String cl_var02 = null;
public cl_Object(int lv_idno, String lv_desc) {
cl_idno = lv_idno;
cl_desc = lv_desc;
cl_var01 = "var 01";
cl_var02 = "var 02";
}
public cl_Object create(int lv_idno, String lv_desc) {
cl_Object lo_Object = new cl_Object(lv_idno, lv_desc);
return lo_Object;
}
}
// the way I don't really like using because they get terribly long
class Example {
int idno = 0;
String desc = null;
String var01 = null;
String var02 = null;
public void set(int idno, String desc) {
this.idno = idno;
this.desc = desc;
var01 = "var 01";
var02 = "var 02";
}
public int idno() {
return idno;
}
public String desc() {
return desc;
}
public String var01() {
return var01;
}
public String var02() {
return var02;
}
}
Which seems like a lot of work considering in Javascript (I know they are different) I can achieve the same effect just doing
var lo_Object = f_Object();
console.log(lo_Object["idno"] + " - " + lo_Object[desc]);
function f_Object() {
var lo_Object = {};
lo_Object = {};
lo_Object["idno"] = 1;
lo_Object["desc"] = "test01";
return lo_Object;
}
NOTE
I know the naming convention is wrong but it is intentional because I have an informix-4gl program that runs with this program so the coding standards are from the company I work for

The best way to do this is to use HashMap<String, Object>
import java.util.HashMap;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
HashMap<String, Object> person =
new HashMap<String, Object>();
// add elements dynamically
person.put("name", "Lem");
person.put("age", 46);
person.put("gender", 'M');
// prints the name value
System.out.println(person.get("name"));
// asures that age element is of integer type before
// printing
System.out.println((int)person.get("age"));
// prints the gender value
System.out.println(person.get("gender"));
// prints the person object {gender=M, name=Lem, age=46}
System.out.println(person);
}
}
The advantage of doing this is that you can add elements as you go.
The downside of this is that you will lose type safety like in the case of the age. Making sure that age is always an integer has a cost. So to avoid this cost just use a class.

No, there is no such a feature, you have to type out the full type name(class name).
Or use may use val :
https://projectlombok.org/features/val.html
Also, if you use IntelliJ IDEA
try this plugin :
https://bitbucket.org/balpha/varsity/wiki/Home

I am not sure if it's possible with Java. Class is the primitive structure to generate Object. We need a Class to generate object. So, for the above code, i don't think there is a solution.

Java methods only allow one return value. If you want to return multiple objects/values consider returning one of the collections. Map, List, Queue, etc.
The one you choose will depend on your needs. For example, if you want to store your values as key-value pairs use a Map. If you just want to store values sequentially, use a list.
An example with a list:
list<Object> myList = new ArrayList<Object>();
myList.add("Some value");
return myList;
As a side note, your method create is redundant. You should use getters and setters to populate the object, or populate it through the constructor.
cl_Object lo_Object = new cl_Object(1, "test01");
The way you have it set up right now, you're creating one object to create another of the same type that has the values you want.
Your naming convention is also wrong. Please refer to Java standard naming convention:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/documentation/codeconventions-135099.html#367

Print Tree components

I am new to java and I want to create a very simple "word completion " program. I will be reading in a dictionary file and recursively adding the words into a Node array (size 26). I believe I have managed to do this successfully but I am not sure how to go through and print the matches. For the sake of testing, I am simply inserting 2 words at the moment by calling the function. Once everything is working, I will add the method to read the file in and remove junk from the word.
For example: If the words "test" and "tester" are inside the tree and the user enters "tes", it should display "test" and "tester".
If somebody could please tell me how to go through and print the matches (if any), I would really appreciate it. Full code is below.
Thank you

What you implemented is called "trie". You might want to look at the existing implementations.
What you used to store child nodes is called a hash table and you might want to use a standard implementations and avoid implementing it yourself unless you have very-very specific reasons to do that. Your implementation has some limitations (character range, for example).
I think, your code has a bug in method has:
...
else if (letter[val].flag==true || word.length()==1) {
return true;
}
If that method is intended to return true if there are strings starting with word then it shouldn't check flag. If it must return true if there is an exact match only, it shouldn't check word.length().
And, finally, addressing your question: not the optimal, but the simplest solution would be to make a method, which takes a string and returns a node matching that string and a method that composes all the words from a node. Something like this (not tested):
class Tree {
...
public List<String> matches(CharSequence prefix) {
List<String> result = new ArrayList<>();
if(r != null) {
Node n = r._match(prefix, 0);
if(n != null) {
StringBuilder p = new StringBuilder();
p.append(prefix);
n._addWords(p, result);
}
}
return result;
}
}
class Node {
...
protected Node _match(CharSequence prefix, int index) {
assert index <= prefix.length();
if(index == prefix.length()) {
return this;
}
int val = prefix.charAt(index) - 'a';
assert val >= 0 && val < letter.length;
if (letter[val] != null) {
return letter[val].match(prefix, index+1);
}
return null;
}
protected void _addWords(StringBuilder prefix, List<String> result) {
if(this.flag) {
result.add(prefix.toString());
}
for(int i = 0; i<letter.length; i++) {
if(letter[i] != null) {
prefix.append((char)(i + 'a'));
letter[i]._addWords(prefix, result);
prefix.delete(prefix.length() - 1, prefix.length());
}
}
}
}

Maybe a longshot here, but why don't you try regexes here? As far as i understand you want to match words to a list of words:
List<String> getMatches(List<String> list, String regex) {
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(regex);
ArrayList<String> matches = new ArrayList<String>();
for (String s:list) {
if (p.matcher(s).matches()) {
matches.add(s);
}
}
return matches
}