DuraSoft  TechLet 06, 2002

In this issue
Welcome to the June, 2002 TechLet. This will be the last issue you receive unless you subscribe. To receive future issues, please subscribe by sending an email to techlet@durasoftcorp.com with a subject subscribe.

In this issue, we discuss about overriding the equals method of a Java class. This topic has been discussed in "Effective Java" by Joshua Bloch. Here we present his discussion, his argument and conclusion. We then go further to show a very simple approach to solving the problem he has raised in his book. While the discussion here is in Java, it equally applies to C# and any other OO languages.

In depth
"Effective Java Programming Language Guide" by Joshua Bloch presents fifty seven items for a Java developer to keep in mind while developing quality code. There are a number of very interesting suggestions and gochas raised in it, including issues with cloning, problems with automatic garbage collection, benefits and usage of immutable objects, when to avoid inheritance, to mention a few. This is a very good book to read and we strongly recommend it to any serious Java developer. In this article, we bring to you Johua's discussions about the effective implementation of the equals method (Item #7). While we agree with the problems he has raised, we do not agree with his final conclusion. We go further to present how the concerns could be easily addressed. The complete article can be found at http://www.durasoftcorp.com/download/articles/equals062002.html
Quiz Corner
This questions was posted by one of the attendees of our classes. We took that question and modified it slightly.
Write a Java program that meets the following criteria:
  • It should be a command line application that you will run by typing java MyApp
  • It should have no main static method
  • It should print Hello there! on the window and absolutely nothing else

    The answer will be in the next issue!

    • Message from us
    If you like any question to be addressed or topic to be discussed, please send us an email to techlet@durasoftcorp.com. At the end of the year, one person will be randomly selected from the list of respondents for a special prize. We would like to hear from you.

    Please send suggestions, corrections, comments to techlet@durasoftcorp.com.

    DuraSoft cordially invites you to register for the Lone Star Software Symposium, presented by The Complete Programmer Network. This three day conference will be offered in Houston, TX on June 21-23, 2002. The event is designed for Java developers, Java Architects, and technical managers, and is co-sponsored by DuraSoft. more information