Java – How to compare objects by multiple fields

javaoop

Assume you have some objects which have several fields they can be compared by:

public class Person {

    private String firstName;
    private String lastName;
    private String age;

    /* Constructors */

    /* Methods */

}

So in this example, when you ask if:

a.compareTo(b) > 0

you might be asking if a's last name comes before b's, or if a is older than b, etc…

What is the cleanest way to enable multiple comparison between these kinds of objects without adding unnecessary clutter or overhead?

java.lang.Comparable interface allows comparison by one field only
Adding numerous compare methods (i.e. compareByFirstName(), compareByAge(), etc…) is cluttered in my opinion.

So what is the best way to go about this?

Best Answer

With Java 8:

Comparator.comparing((Person p)->p.firstName)
          .thenComparing(p->p.lastName)
          .thenComparingInt(p->p.age);

If you have accessor methods:

Comparator.comparing(Person::getFirstName)
          .thenComparing(Person::getLastName)
          .thenComparingInt(Person::getAge);

If a class implements Comparable then such comparator may be used in compareTo method:

@Override
public int compareTo(Person o){
    return Comparator.comparing(Person::getFirstName)
              .thenComparing(Person::getLastName)
              .thenComparingInt(Person::getAge)
              .compare(this, o);
}

Related Solutions

Java – How to test a class that has private methods, fields or inner classes

Update:

Some 10 years later perhaps the best way to test a private method, or any inaccessible member, is via @Jailbreak from the Manifold framework.
@Jailbreak Foo foo = new Foo();
// Direct, *type-safe* access to *all* foo's members
foo.privateMethod(x, y, z);
foo.privateField = value;
This way your code remains type-safe and readable. No design compromises, no overexposing methods and fields for the sake of tests.

If you have somewhat of a legacy Java application, and you're not allowed to change the visibility of your methods, the best way to test private methods is to use reflection.

Internally we're using helpers to get/set private and private static variables as well as invoke private and private static methods. The following patterns will let you do pretty much anything related to the private methods and fields. Of course, you can't change private static final variables through reflection.

Method method = TargetClass.getDeclaredMethod(methodName, argClasses);
method.setAccessible(true);
return method.invoke(targetObject, argObjects);

And for fields:

Field field = TargetClass.getDeclaredField(fieldName);
field.setAccessible(true);
field.set(object, value);

Notes:
1. TargetClass.getDeclaredMethod(methodName, argClasses) lets you look into private methods. The same thing applies for getDeclaredField.
2. The setAccessible(true) is required to play around with privates.

Java – How to efficiently iterate over each entry in a Java Map

Map<String, String> map = ...
for (Map.Entry<String, String> entry : map.entrySet()) {
    System.out.println(entry.getKey() + "/" + entry.getValue());
}

On Java 10+:

for (var entry : map.entrySet()) {
    System.out.println(entry.getKey() + "/" + entry.getValue());
}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Java – How to test a class that has private methods, fields or inner classes

Java – How to efficiently iterate over each entry in a Java Map

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