CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javadesign-patterns
Joseph_Marzbani
Joseph_Marzbani

Reputation: 1876

Java: Is it possible to hide a superinterface from the clients of its implementing class?

Let's take a look at the following code:

package A;

public interface MySuperInterface{
enum MyENUM { ...}
}

public class MyImplementingClass implements MySuperInterface{
public void someFunction(MyENUM e);
}

package B;

import A.MyImplementingClass;

public class MyClientClass{
MyImplementingClass mic = new MyImplementingClass();
mic.someFunction( /* here's my question. I need MyClientClass to know only about MyImplementingClass and nothing about MySuperInterface */);
}

As you can see above, in order to use someFunction(), MyClientClass needs to know about a (ENUM) type called MyENUM which is defined inside MySuperInterface. My question is, is it possible to design MyClientClass to know only about MyImplementingClass and nothing about MySuperInterface?

In other words, MyClientClass doesn't need to import MySuperInterface.

Update This code is for illustration only. The reason why I am asking this is to know about Maximum Encapsulation. In other words, I want to know if it's possible that a client can use a Class without knowing anything about its ancestors (superinterfaces, superclasses).

Upvotes: 1

Views: 59

Answers (1)

Brian McCutchon
Brian McCutchon

Reputation: 8594

All static members of MySuperInterface are also available on MyImplementingClass, so your client code can just do this:

mic.someFunction(MyImplementingClass.MyENUM.FOO)

Upvotes: 3

Related Questions