Last Updated: February 25, 2016

Java Tip #2. Start to use "has*" methods!

Use "has*" methods instead of "get & check".

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

class SomeObject {
 private List<String> aliases;

 public List<String> getAliases() {
 return aliases;
 }

 public void setAliases(List<String> aliases) {
 this.aliases = aliases;
 }

 public boolean hasAliases() {
 List<String> currentAliases = getAliases();

 return (currentAliases != null) && !currentAliases.isEmpty();
 }
}

public class Main {
 public static void main(String[] args) {
 SomeObject someObject = new SomeObject();

 someObject.setAliases(Arrays.asList(
 "first-alias", "second-alias", "third-alias"
 ));

 // bad!
 List<String> someObjectAliases = someObject.getAliases();

 if (someObjectAliases != null && !someObjectAliases.isEmpty()) {
 /* ... */
 }

 // good!
 if (someObject.hasAliases()) {
 /* ... */
 }
 }
}

Using hasAliases method make the code more clear and human-oriented. Also, the method encapsulates check logic and prevents code duplication.

#java

#clean code

#checking