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Re: looping through a list, starting at 1

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Andreas Leitgeb wrote:
> Lew wrote:
>> Volker Borchert wrote:
>>> if (l instanceof RandomAccess) {
>> Tests on type like this are an antipattern.
>> Like many antipatterns there are occasions when one might
>> consider its use anyway, but it's a red flag that we're
>> probably going about things the wrong way.
> 
> Are marker-interfaces (which RandomAccess is, iirc) already an
> antipattern, or is there a different way to check for them,
> or are marker-interfaces just one of the occasions where one
> would just acknowledge and consciously ignore the red flag?
> 
> PS: I fully agree with your judgement *outside* the context
>   of marker-interfaces, and am eager to learn *inside* that
>   context.

I would need some time with an SSCCE to know if there's a better way in this example, but generally even with marker interfaces you want to lock the type down at compile time rather than with a run-time check.  So if it's important that a method use a 'RandomAccess' argument, say, then you might want to declare it as 'method(RandomAccess arg)' and lock down your type assertions so that only the right type reaches the method.  With generics you can use type intersections so that something has to be both 'List' and 'RandomAccess' (again, say) even to reach the call or the class or whatever.

It's the run-time type check that one often wishes to avoid.  Of course, if the logic truly requires it, as it sometimes does, then the antipatternness goes away.  I just find that use of 'instanceof' in the world of types and generics frequently signals incompletely thought-out type assertions.

If there were an SSCCE for the particular use case, one might be able to discern a less run-timeish way forward or one might not.  I only wished to point out a general principle here.

-- 
Lew

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Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-08-01 20:32 -0400
  Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2011-08-02 02:42 -0700
    Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 v_borchert@despammed.com (Volker Borchert) - 2011-08-02 19:32 +0000
      Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-08-10 09:00 -0700
        Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-10 21:39 +0000
          Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-08-10 19:10 -0300
            Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-10 22:50 +0000
              Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-08-11 07:02 -0300
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-11 11:37 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-08-11 07:14 -0700
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-11 16:18 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-08-11 17:39 -0300
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-12 08:09 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations <supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations@averylongandannoyingdomainname.com> - 2011-08-11 09:52 -0400
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-08-11 17:26 -0300
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations <supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations@averylongandannoyingdomainname.com> - 2011-08-11 20:11 -0400
          Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-08-10 20:31 -0700
            Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-11 16:07 +0000
              Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-08-11 09:20 -0700
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-11 18:03 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-08-11 12:55 -0700
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-12 08:32 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations <supercalifragilisticexpialadiamaticonormalizeringelimatisticantations@averylongandannoyingdomainname.com> - 2011-08-12 09:09 -0400
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-12 14:38 +0000
                Re: looping through a list, starting at 1 Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-08-12 14:51 +0000

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