Dart using Json_object to produce strong typing - dart

Using the ideas outlined in ding the article Using Dart with JSON Web Services at https://www.dartlang.org/articles/json-web-service/, I have been trying to implement the section on using JsonObject and interfaces to produce a strong typing of JSON data.
The article indicates that one should write something like.
abstract class Language {
String language;
List targets;
Map website;
}
class LanguageImpl extends JsonObject implements Language {
LanguageImpl();
factory LanguageImpl.fromJsonString(string) {
return new JsonObject.fromJsonString(string, new LanguageImpl());
}
}
However the compiler 'fail' at the definition of the class LanguageImpl with the message
Missing inherited members: 'Language.website', 'Language.targets' and
'Language.language'
Even more confusing the code will run without a problem....

In Darteditor you get Quick fix support for this.
Set the caret at LanguageImpl and press ctrl+1 or use the context menu > Quick fix.
You get the missing concrete implementations you inherit from the abstract base class generated automatically.
Dart is a dynamic language and therefor very flexible.
The tools support you and try to give meaningful warnings and hints about what could go wrong
but don't prevent you running a program even when it is not yet finished.
You can use the #proxy annotation on the class to silent the warnings.
This also needs the class to have a noSuchMethod() implementation.

Related

Access static Java variables from js code in Nashorn engine

While trying to port old code running Rhino engine to Nashorn in Java 8, I got the trouble, static properties/methods cannot be accessed from running js script. If I use Rhino, it runs perfectly. I don't know what happens with the implementation of the new Nashorn engine.
import javax.script.*;
public class StaticVars {
public static String myname = "John\n";
public static void main(String[] args) {
try{
ScriptEngine engine;
ScriptEngineManager manager = new ScriptEngineManager();
engine=System.getProperty("java.version").startsWith("1.8")?
manager.getEngineByName("Nashorn") : //j1.8_u51
manager.getEngineByName("JavaScript"); //j1.7
engine.put("staticvars", new StaticVars());
engine.eval("print(staticvars.myname);");
//print "John" if ran with java 7
//print "undefined" if ran with java 8
} catch(Exception e){e.printStackTrace();}
}
}
In Nashorn, you can't access class static members through class instances. There are multiple ways to get at statics. You can obtain a type object that acts as both a constructor and as a static namespace, much like a type name acts in Java:
var StaticVars = Java.type("StaticVars"); // use your full package name if you have it
print(StaticVars.myname);
Or, pass in a java.lang.Class object and use the .static pseudo-property to access the statics:
engine.put("StaticVarsClass", StaticVars.class);
followed by:
var StaticVars = StaticVarsClass.static;
print(StaticVars.myname);
in the script. In general, .static is the inverse operation to .class:
var BitSet = Java.type("java.util.BitSet");
var bitSetClass = BitSet.class; // produces a java.lang.Class object, just like in Java
print(BitSet === bitSetClass.static); // prints true
var bitSet = new BitSet(); // type object creates a new bitset when used as a constructor
var thisWontWork = new bitSetClass(); // java.lang.Class can't be used as a constructor.
As you can see, we distinguish three concepts:
the runtime class objects, which are instances of java.lang.Class. They aren't special, and you only can use the Class API on them (.getSuperclass(), .getName(), etc.)
instances of classes themselves (normal objects that you can access instance members on)
type objects, which are both namespaces for static members of classes they represent, as well as constructors. The closest equivalent in Java to them is the name of the class as used in source code; in JavaScript they are actual objects.
This actually produces least ambiguity, as everything is in its place, and maps most closely to Java platform idioms.
This is not the way js should work. I think this is a design bug in Nashorn. Assume you have a mixed util passing vars from some java runtime system to the js script. This object contains one static method fmtNumber(someString) and one object method jutil.getFormVar(someString). The users don't need to know that Java is serving this platform. You simply tell them jutil is a "system hook" belonging to the framework foo. As a user of this framework I don't care about if its static or not. I am a js developer, i don't know about static or not. I want to script something real quick. This is how the code in rhino looks like.
var x = jutil.getFormVar("x");
print(jutil.fmtNumber(x));
Now in nashorn I have to distinguish between them. Even worse I even have to educate my users to distinguish between them and teach them java terms, which they might not know because this is what an abstraction layer is all about: a self containing system without the need to know the underlying mechanisms. This distinction is way to much cognitive overload and you did not think about other usecases than java developers scripting for them self which they probably wont to because the already know a good language called Java. You are thinking form your implementation as a Java developer when instead you should think how you could use the power of the Java Plattform in the background, hiding all the nasty details from JS developers. What would a webdeveloper say if he needs to distinguish between the static C++ implementation in the browser?

What its the first, the annotated class (egg) or used class (chicken)?

certainly I have not read something fundamental, and it seems very strange, but I wonder.
Suppose you use
#SharedPref
public interface SharedPreferencesInterface {
#DefaultBoolean(true)
boolean showDeviceName();
I have the IDE (idea) configured with Gradle, and I generated the SharedPreferencesInterface_ class that I can use in another class as
#Pref
SharedPreferencesInterface_ prefs;
But suppose someone now download the project, how can the use? Because the class where used SharedPreferencesInterface_ not compile because the class does not exist, and the class does not exist because compilation errors ...
How it's made? Surely there is a way ... configured to compile certain classes first?
Help is appreciated.
A greeting.
But suppose someone now download the project, how can the use? Because
the class where used SharedPreferencesInterface_ not compile because
the class does not exist, and the class does not exist because
compilation errors ...
This is the same situation when you compile a project in a full build (when no classes are generated yet). Actually Gradle always does a full build currently in Android projects. No configuration is needed at all in addition to the standard AndroidAnnotaions config.
Actually this works because the compiler does not fully compiles your class before passing it to annotations processing. It is clear it should not to, because the class may reference generated classes, which are only available after the processing. So first the compiler creates a model of the classes, only parses the structure of the them (fields, methods, return types, parameter types, etc), but not the implementations. Also it allows missing types even on fields. If it finds a missing type, it assigns to TypeKind.ERROR, but the name of the type is still available for the annotation processor. After the processor is done, it generates the missing class, so the kind of the class is no longer TypeKind.ERROR, and the compilation can succeed.

how do I make analysis warnings trigger runtime failure

In the following example, main is allowed to call a sniff function on Dog that I would prefer would somehow break. If I say exactly what a Dog can do, but somehow the client knows more and can get the object to do more with that special knowledge - I think that is an encapsulation leak. I don't necessarily want it to die in the general case, but is there a flag or way to run that would enforce that only methods be called if they exist. I know the language supports the knowledge that something is wrong since the Dart Editor displays a warning: The method 'sniff' is not defined for the class 'Dog'. Even when run with --checked flag, this runs fine.
So suppose similar code were invoked by a test. Is there a flag in Dart or some code to cause it to fail when the test is run?
abstract class Dog {
void run();
void bark();
}
class BigDog implements Dog {
void run() => print("Big dog running");
void bark() => print("Woof");
void sniff() => print("Sniff");
}
main() {
Dog bd = new BigDog();
bd.run();
bd.bark();
bd.sniff();
}
You should ensure to run the tests in checked mode dart -c testfile.dart then type annotations are taken into account. You shouldn't use checked mode in production though because it slows down your application.
This isn't possible. The problem is that your instance really is a BigDog; and therefore it really has a sniff method. An important goal in Dart is that type annotations do not affect runtime behaviour; therefore your Dog annotation is unable to change the behaviour.
The tooling is able to highlight this because it does use the type annotations.
This sort of question comes up a lot in the Dart bug tracker; but it would be a pretty fundamental change to allow type annotations to change behaviour, so it's not something I expect would ever be considered; confusing as it might be. See here for some more info on this.

Attributes in Dart

Are there any plans to introduce attributes
for classes, methods, parameters of methods,
something like C# or Java attributes ?
[Test]
class SomeClass
{
[Test]
someMethod()
}
or
#Test
class SomeClass
{
#Test
someMethod(#Test int param)
}
For many frameworks it would be very useful
In dart, they are called metadata / annotation. The syntax is quite close to java. Here's a example :
#Test testMethod() {}
In Dart Specification you can read :
Metadata consists of a series of annotations, each of which begin with the character #, followed a constant expression that starts with an identifier. It is a compile time error if the expression is not one of the following:
A reference to a compile-time constant variable.
A call to a constant constructor.
[....]
Metadata can appear before a library, class, typedef, type parameter, constructor, factory, function, field, parameter, or variable declaration and before an import or export directive.
There're already some annotations predifined in dart:core. Particulary #override, #deprecated and #proxy.
Dart already has annotations, similar to Java in some ways, they're just not used in very many places yet, and they're not accessible from reflection yet either.
See this article: http://news.dartlang.org/2012/06/proposal-to-add-metadata-to-dart.html
Here's a brief introduction to the two metadata annotations currently available in the Dart meta library:
Dart Metadata is your friend.
This doesn't preclude you from using your own, but these are the two that have tooling integration with the Dart Editor.

Groovy - How to replace methods of existing java classes

How do I replace methods of an existing java class (GrailsDataBinder in my case).
I read that method calls for java classes doesnt go through invokeMethod, and hence it doesn't work, but I think there would be some solution.
I just tried this
GrailsDataBinder.metaClass.static.createBinder = {Object target, String objectName ->
throw new RuntimeException()
}
And this
GrailsDataBinder.class.metaClass.static.createBinder = {Object target, String
objectName -> throw new RuntimeException()
}
But that did not seem to have replaced the method, as my closure isn't being invoked, but instead the original method executes.
update
I just found that the closure is being executed if I call the createBinder from the test class itself - so it works and method is replaced
void testDataBinder() {
GrailsDataBinder.createBinder(null, null)
}
However When it is invoked from DataBindingUtils, it always executes original method (DataBindingUtils is also a java class)
Following is the code inside DataBindingUtils that invokes the method.
binder = GrailsDataBinder.createBinder(object, object.getClass().getName());
Note : There are some similar questions asked earlier, but none of them have worked for me.
This is disappointing once you see the power of Groovy. However, as you already know, many of the cool metaclass etc. features available in Groovy simply don't work as you would like on Java classes.
If you are trying to override, stub or mock stuff on a Java class for unit testing etc., I advise looking into Spock, because it uses 'magic' that actually works on Java classes also.
If you are try to override methods for some other reason, you should try extending the Java class with a Groovy class or 'wrapping' the Java class with a Groovy class to gain the metaclass features you want when external classes call you classes methods. Unfortunately this still won't allow you to intercept calls that the Java class makes to itself.

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