Automagic unit tests for upholding Object method contracts in Java?

Question

When developing Java applications, I often override Object methods (usually equals and hashCode). I would like some way to systematically check that I\'m adhering to the co

Answer 1

I think VonC's on the right track, but I would even settle for something less sophisticated, such as a parameterized test that takes in the .class object (for which the Object methods are being tested), followed by a variable number of constructor args. Then, you'd have to use reflection to find the constructor that matches the types for the passed-in arguments, and call the constructor. This test would assume that the parameters being passed into it would create a valid instance of the object.

The downside to this solution is that you have to "register" each class you want to test with this test class, and you have to make sure that valid input is given to the constructor, which would not always be easy. In that light, I'm on the fence as to whether or not this would be more or less work than manually writing all the tests for each class anyway.

Vote up if you think this could work...leave a comment if you want me to flush it out more (if it turns out to be a feasible solution, I may just do this anyway)