How to call setter methods in Java based on variable name

Question

Let's say that I have defined these variables

RDFNode bd= soln.get(SparqlConstants.BD) ;
RDFNode alias = soln.get(SparqlConstants.ALIAS) ;
RDFNode thumbnail = soln.get(SparqlConstants.THUMBNAIL) ;
RDFNode battingSide = soln.get(SparqlConstants.BATTING_SIDE) ;

And then for each one of them, I have to set in a value in a setter method like this

if (bd!= null)
   player.setBirthDate(bd.asNode().getIndexingValue().toString());

Is there a way to have a generic method, that I pass the value and the method to call so generically this could be done in Java?

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 03 '15 at 11:58

0

You can create a method and reuse it :

public String getIndexingValue(RDFNode node)
{
   return node.asNode().getIndexingValue().toString();
}

if(bd != null)
  player.setBirthDate(getIndexingValue(bd));
... and so on ...

answered Nov 03 '15 at 11:58

Abubakkar

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if i understood correctly, OP wanted to replace the setter `setBirthDate()` ,not the getter – Sharon Ben Asher Nov 03 '15 at 11:59
@sharonbn But I not using getter anywhere, I have mentioned setter only. – Abubakkar Nov 03 '15 at 12:05
you created a new `getIndexingValue()` getter instead of addressing explicit call to setter `setBirthDate()` – Sharon Ben Asher Nov 03 '15 at 12:36

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 03 '15 at 12:02

The only way to access/invoke a class/method based on textual name is through reflection. However, if your POJO adheres to the Java bean standard of getter/setter names, there are libraries, such as Apache Commons Beanutils that can hide away the reflection implementation.

Héctor · Answer 3 · 2015-11-03T14:37:31.697

0

With reflection you can do this:

public void set(RDFNode node, String propertyName) {

    String methodName = "set" + propertyName; // <-- propertyName must be in upper CamelCase

    String value = node.asNode().getIndexingValue().toString();

    Method setMethod = player.getClass().getMethod(methodName, String.class);
    setMethod.invoke(player, value);
}

edited Nov 03 '15 at 14:37

answered Nov 03 '15 at 12:04

Héctor

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`String methodName = "set" + propertyName;` will not work even if name is in camel case - you have to capitalize the name. but Apache bean utils takes care of that – Sharon Ben Asher Nov 03 '15 at 12:35

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:29

0

You could define a generic method on the player object and set the values using reflection.

public void setGenericValue(methodName, param) {
   this.getClass().getMethod(methodName, ...
}

Examples in this stackoverflow post: How do I invoke a Java method when given the method name as a string?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:29

Community

1
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answered Nov 03 '15 at 12:04

Fraction

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 03 '15 at 12:10

You can use a method as -

private void setBirthDate(Player player, RDFNode obj) {
        if (obj != null) {
               player.setBirthDate(obj.asNode().getIndexingValue().toString());
        }
    }

And then call it like -

RDFNode bd= soln.get(SparqlConstants.BD);
setBirthDate(player, bd);

How to call setter methods in Java based on variable name

5 Answers5