Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Mutable,
Immutable, and
Cloneable Objects
Chapter
30
Contents
Mutable and Immutable Objects
Creating a Read-Only Class
Companion Classes
Cloneable Objects
Cloning an Array
Cloning a Chain
A Sorted List of Clones
Prerequisites
Appendix C
Creating Classes from Other Classes
Appendix E
Exception Handling
Chapter
13
List Implementations That Use Arrays
Chapter
14
A List Implementation That Links Data
Chapter
15
Iterators
Chapter
16
Sorted Lists
Chapter
17
Inheritance and Lists
Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
•
Distinguish among mutable and immutable objects
•
Define a class of immutable objects
•
Define companion classes, one of immutable objects and the other of mutable objects
•
Define a method
clone
for a given class
•
Clone an array or chain of objects
•
Implement a collection such as a sorted list that clones the objects added to it
W
hen a class has public mutator, or set, methods, a client can use these methods to
alter objects of that class. Although this ability seems reasonable, it is unreasonable if
