How to create a variable that can be set only once but isn't final in Java

Question

I want a class that I can create instances of with one variable unset (the id), then initialise this variable later, and have it immutable after initial

Answer 1

Marking a field private and not exposing a setter should be sufficient:

public class Example{ 

private long id=0;  

   public Example(long id)  
   {  
       this.id=id;
   }    

public long getId()  
{  
     return this.id;
}  

if this is insufficient and you want someone to be able to modify it X times you can do this:

public class Example  
{  
    ...  
    private final int MAX_CHANGES = 1;  
    private int changes = 0;    

     public void setId(long id) throws Exception {
        validateExample(); 
        changes++; 
        if ( this.id == 0 ) {
            this.id = id;
        } else {
            throw new Exception("Can't change id once set");
        }
    }

    private validateExample  
    {  
        if(MAX_CHANGES==change)  
        {  
             throw new IllegalStateException("Can no longer update this id");   
        }  
    }  
}  

This approach is akin to design by contract, wherein you validate the state of the object after a mutator (something that changes the state of the object) is invoked.