Validate superclass property in subclass

ittayd · **Joined:** Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:09 am **Posts:** 5

I have a superclass with property 'foo'. It has several subclasses. Only in some subclasses do I want to validate that foo is @NotNull

Is there a way to do it other than override the getter method?

Regards,
Ittay

hardy.ferentschik · **Posted:** Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:25 am

Maybe default group sequences could be a solution. It depends really on your exact usecase. Maybe you could post some code? But my basic idea would be to redefine the default group sequence for some of the sub classes.

--Hardy

ittayd · **Joined:** Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:09 am **Posts:** 5

Thanks Hardy, here's a sample code:

Code:

abstract class Super {
  String foo;
  public String getFoo() {
    return foo;
  }
}

class Sub1 extends Super {

}

class Sub2 extends Super {

}

I want foo to be validated for @NotNull only in Sub1

Gunnar · **Joined:** Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:46 pm **Posts:** 388

Hi,

you could override getFoo() in Sub1 and put the constraint there instead adding it to the base class:

Code:

public abstract class Super {
  private String foo;
  public String getFoo() {
    return foo;
  }
}

class Sub1 extends Super {

  @Override
  @NotNull
  public String getFoo() {
    return super.getFoo();
  }

}

class Sub2 extends Super {

}

Hth,

--Gunnar