Spring Service Method Logic

Question

I am learning spring and am wondering about this service class's method. Is there a way to split this method up? Is there a way to use spring framework to make this method more readable? Should I move any of it to the controller or the DAO or should I split it into more service methods?

// UserBean has fields: username, password, first name, last name, etc.
// The UserBean parameter has 2 non-null fields: username and password.
public UserBean getUserDetails(UserBean bean) {
 UserEntity entity = new UserEntity();
 BeanUtils.copyProperties(bean, entity);
 // Gets user from DB based on UserBean's username and password.
 // Returns null if not found.
 entity = this.userDao.getUser(entity);
 if (entity == null) {
 return null;
 }
 // Fill in the rest of the UserBean's data from the DB
 UserBean userBean = new UserBean();
 BeanUtils.copyProperties(entity, userBean);
 // calculate time since last login based on DB timestamp
 userBean.setTimeSinceLastLogin(this.getSecondsSinceLastLogin(entity.getLastLogin()));
 // update DB with new timestamp
 entity.setLastLogin(new Date());
 this.userDao.updateUser(entity);
 return userBean;
}

• outoftime: Are you shure that you need to use copyProperties twice or at least at once? As fo me It can be ommited.
• rys: How do you omit it?

Answer 1

Perhaps if this method:

this.userDao.getUser(entity);

Accepted just a String as input (the username?) and possibly a password, you could then call it without having to mess around creating the UserEntity beans.

So this:

UserEntity entity = new UserEntity();
BeanUtils.copyProperties(bean, entity);
// Gets user from DB based on UserBean's username and password.
// Returns null if not found.
entity = this.userDao.getUser(entity);

Would become

UserEntity entity = this.userDao.getUser(bean.getUserName());

Maybe rename the entity/bean variable too to some thing that makes it a bit clearer what they are.

Also in the second half of the method, there seems to be no need to copy the properties to a UserBean and then back again. Just update the time since last login on the UserEntity directly.

• rys: Can you add code for the last paragraph? Not following it exactly.