CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javaoop
user4292810
user4292810

Reputation:

Alternative for using set methods when creating a new object

So I am trying to create a program that helps me keep track of my expenses and i have a question to do with how I create my objects.

So far i have been creating my objects like so:

Grocery milk = new Grocery();

    milk.setName("Milk");
    milk.setCost(2.84);
    milk.setDate(30, 12, 2014);
    milk.setType("Food");

My grocery class extends this expense class:

public Expense(){}
public Expense(String name, Double cost, Calendar purchaseDate){
    name =  _name;
    cost = _cost;
    purchaseDate = _purchaseDate;

}

So far my grocery class only adds another string parameter that i call type, and so here is my question:

Instead of using set methods to set my paramters for each new created object i would like to do it like this:

Grocery milk = new Grocery("Milk", 2.84, ??Date??, "Food")

But the date parameter is a little more complicated than the other parameters that are just of type string and double, is there a way to do what I want or am i better off using the set methods?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 288

Answers (1)

Rudi Kershaw
Rudi Kershaw

Reputation: 12972

You can simply use an Object of type Date

DateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
Date date = formatter.parse("16/01/2015");

Grocery milk = new Grocery("Milk", 2.84, date, "Food")

Alternatives include using a Calendar object (which has more flexible/powerful date manipulation methods), or just storing your date as a String.

As for deciding whether you should use setX() methods or using a comprehensive constructor, unless there is a reason not to you can just have both available, and just use the most suitable at any one time.

Further reading:

Upvotes: 4

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