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Message:

Re: Is It Possible to implement Class references in Java

Posted by Gavin Kingsley on August 17, 2000 at 5:03 PM

Hello Kishori,

Thanks for your reply.

> You have a method and which takes a parameter of a class, say Shape.
> void aMethod ( Shape obj ) ; now since Circle is also a shape then can you pass an object of Circle class to aMethod.
> If this is your quesry then please rean on else never mind.

No, that is not my query. I want to write a method that takes a reference to a Class definition rather than an Object instance. The object has not yet been instantiated. So my method signature might look like:

void aMethod(ClassOfShape classReference) {
Shape myShape = new classReference(int someParameter);
// etc
}

Note that the instance of Shape does not exist before I call aMethod(). I have solved this problem by having an abstract factory:

void aMethodTwo(ShapeFactory factory) {
Shape myShape = factory.giveMeAShape;
// etc
}

But that seems a bit clumsy compared to the Delphi way I am used to. I was just wondering if there is a Java equivalent to the Delphi approach.

Best Regards,
Gavin Kingsley.

• Re: Creating object from class reference Kishori Sharan August 18, 2000 at 12:33 PM (1)
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