Is static metaprogramming possible in Java?

Question

I am a fan of static metaprogramming in C++. I know Java now has generics. Does this mean that static metaprogramming (i.e., compile-time program execution) is possible in

Answer 1

What do you exactly mean by "static metaprogramming"? Yes, C++ template metaprogramming is impossible in Java, but it offers other methods, much more powerful than those from C++:

• reflection
• aspect-oriented programming (@AspectJ)
• bytecode manipulation (Javassist, ObjectWeb ASM, Java agents)
• code generation (Annotation Processing Tool, template engines like Velocity)
• Abstract Syntax Tree manipulations (APIs provided by popular IDEs)
• possibility to run Java compiler and use compiled code even at runtime

There's no best method: each of those methods has its strengths and weaknesses. Due to flexibility of JVM, all of those methods in Java can be used both at compilation time and runtime.