Java – Explicitly calling a default method in Java

default-methodinheritanceinterfacejavajava-8

Java 8 introduces default methods to provide the ability to extend interfaces without the need to modify existing implementations.

I wonder if it's possible to explicitly invoke the default implementation of a method when that method has been overridden or is not available because of conflicting default implementations in different interfaces.

interface A {
    default void foo() {
        System.out.println("A.foo");
    }
}

class B implements A {
    @Override
    public void foo() {
        System.out.println("B.foo");
    }
    public void afoo() {
        // how to invoke A.foo() here?
    }
}

Considering the code above, how would you call A.foo() from a method of class B?

Best Answer

As per this article you access default method in interface A using

A.super.foo();

This could be used as follows (assuming interfaces A and C both have default methods foo())

public class ChildClass implements A, C {
    @Override    
    public void foo() {
       //you could completely override the default implementations
       doSomethingElse();
       //or manage conflicts between the same method foo() in both A and C
       A.super.foo();
    }
    public void bah() {
       A.super.foo(); //original foo() from A accessed
       C.super.foo(); //original foo() from C accessed
    }
}

A and C can both have .foo() methods and the specific default implementation can be chosen or you can use one (or both) as part of your new foo() method. You can also use the same syntax to access the default versions in other methods in your implementing class.

Formal description of the method invocation syntax can be found in the chapter 15 of the JLS.

Related Solutions

Java – What are the differences between a HashMap and a Hashtable in Java

There are several differences between HashMap and Hashtable in Java:

Hashtable is synchronized, whereas HashMap is not. This makes HashMap better for non-threaded applications, as unsynchronized Objects typically perform better than synchronized ones.
Hashtable does not allow null keys or values. HashMap allows one null key and any number of null values.
One of HashMap's subclasses is LinkedHashMap, so in the event that you'd want predictable iteration order (which is insertion order by default), you could easily swap out the HashMap for a LinkedHashMap. This wouldn't be as easy if you were using Hashtable.

Since synchronization is not an issue for you, I'd recommend HashMap. If synchronization becomes an issue, you may also look at ConcurrentHashMap.

Java – Is Java “pass-by-reference” or “pass-by-value”

Java is always pass-by-value. Unfortunately, when we deal with objects we are really dealing with object-handles called references which are passed-by-value as well. This terminology and semantics easily confuse many beginners.

It goes like this:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    Dog aDog = new Dog("Max");
    Dog oldDog = aDog;

    // we pass the object to foo
    foo(aDog);
    // aDog variable is still pointing to the "Max" dog when foo(...) returns
    aDog.getName().equals("Max"); // true
    aDog.getName().equals("Fifi"); // false
    aDog == oldDog; // true
}

public static void foo(Dog d) {
    d.getName().equals("Max"); // true
    // change d inside of foo() to point to a new Dog instance "Fifi"
    d = new Dog("Fifi");
    d.getName().equals("Fifi"); // true
}

In the example above aDog.getName() will still return "Max". The value aDog within main is not changed in the function foo with the Dog "Fifi" as the object reference is passed by value. If it were passed by reference, then the aDog.getName() in main would return "Fifi" after the call to foo.

Likewise:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    Dog aDog = new Dog("Max");
    Dog oldDog = aDog;

    foo(aDog);
    // when foo(...) returns, the name of the dog has been changed to "Fifi"
    aDog.getName().equals("Fifi"); // true
    // but it is still the same dog:
    aDog == oldDog; // true
}

public static void foo(Dog d) {
    d.getName().equals("Max"); // true
    // this changes the name of d to be "Fifi"
    d.setName("Fifi");
}

In the above example, Fifi is the dog's name after call to foo(aDog) because the object's name was set inside of foo(...). Any operations that foo performs on d are such that, for all practical purposes, they are performed on aDog, but it is not possible to change the value of the variable aDog itself.

For more information on pass by reference and pass by value, consult the following SO answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/430958/6005228. This explains more thoroughly the semantics and history behind the two and also explains why Java and many other modern languages appear to do both in certain cases.

Best Answer

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Java – What are the differences between a HashMap and a Hashtable in Java

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