What's the nearest substitute for a function pointer in Java?

Question

I have a method that\'s about ten lines of code. I want to create more methods that do exactly the same thing, except for a small calculation that\'s going to change one li

Answer 1

One of the things I really miss when programming in Java is function callbacks. One situation where the need for these kept presenting itself was in recursively processing hierarchies where you want to perform some specific action for each item. Like walking a directory tree, or processing a data structure. The minimalist inside me hates having to define an interface and then an implementation for each specific case.

One day I found myself wondering why not? We have method pointers - the Method object. With optimizing JIT compilers, reflective invocation really doesn't carry a huge performance penalty anymore. And besides next to, say, copying a file from one location to another, the cost of the reflected method invocation pales into insignificance.

As I thought more about it, I realized that a callback in the OOP paradigm requires binding an object and a method together - enter the Callback object.

Check out my reflection based solution for Callbacks in Java. Free for any use.