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Re: @Override

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Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> Robert Klemme wrote:
>> Silvio Bierman wrote:
>>> Using an annotation is, as with
>>> almost all uses of annotations, a poor attempt at making up for the lack
>>> of a proper language feature.
>>
>> That is nonsense.  The mere fact that users can define their own
>> annotations along with handling these annotations demonstrates that
>> annotations solve problems which cannot be tackled by changing a
>> language's syntax.  Annotations add *arbitrary* meta data to language
>> constructs; if all these would have to be handled by a language change
>> you would need a new Java for every custom library which requires
>> additional meta data.
>
> True.
>
> There are two types of annotations:
> * those acting as a supplement to the language
> * those intended for runtime reflection

In many respects and for many purposes annotations obviate the need for 
byte-weaving approachs like AspectJ's. Annotations arguably are the most 
significant improvement to Java ever.

They make life ridiculously easy compared to not having them. For example, 
JUnit4 tests are simpler than JUnit3 and safer because annotations replace 
fragile and non-compiler-enforceable spelling conventions for method names. 
JPA uses annotations to define object-to-RDBMS correlations. For Android 
testing, annotations allow one to create multiple test suites off the same 
code base with no recompilation. The topical '@Override' is a significant 
assistance.

So many good things have come out of Java's adoption of annotations.

Silvio's opinion flies in the face of the evidence. It's an easy kind of thing 
to say - wave your hands about "proper" language features without having to 
say what the damage to the language might be or what such features might look 
like or whether they're even feasible. It would be a much harder claim to make 
if one were to enumerate all the "proper" language features that would be 
needed to approximate the functionality of annotations. That exercise might 
even force the retraction of the opinion, Gods forfend.

-- 
Lew
Honi soit qui mal y pense.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Friz.jpg

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@Override bob smith <bob@coolfone.comze.com> - 2012-07-23 11:30 -0700
  Re: @Override Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-07-23 20:52 +0200
  Re: @Override markspace <-@.> - 2012-07-23 11:54 -0700
    Re: @Override Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-07-23 13:05 -0700
    Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-23 19:54 -0400
  Re: @Override "John B. Matthews" <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2012-07-23 15:56 -0400
    Re: @Override Peter Duniho <NpOeStPeAdM@NnOwSlPiAnMk.com> - 2012-07-23 14:19 -0700
      Re: @Override rossum <rossum48@coldmail.com> - 2012-07-24 13:09 +0100
        Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-24 21:29 -0400
      Re: @Override Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-07-24 09:04 -0400
  Re: @Override Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-07-23 16:35 -0400
    Re: @Override Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-07-23 13:59 -0700
      Re: @Override Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-07-23 23:40 +0200
        Re: @Override Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-07-23 14:51 -0700
          Re: @Override Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-07-24 00:08 +0200
            Re: @Override Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-07-23 16:57 -0700
      Re: @Override Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-07-24 09:46 +0200
    Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-23 19:58 -0400
      Re: @Override Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-07-23 22:16 -0400
        Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-23 22:57 -0400
          Re: @Override Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-07-23 23:47 -0400
            Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-24 21:35 -0400
    Re: @Override Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-07-26 20:00 -0600
  Re: @Override Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-07-23 14:01 -0700
  Re: @Override Silvio Bierman <silvio@moc.com> - 2012-07-24 00:22 +0200
    Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-23 19:53 -0400
      Re: @Override Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-07-23 18:59 -0700
      Re: @Override Silvio Bierman <silvio@moc.com> - 2012-07-24 22:57 +0200
        Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-24 21:24 -0400
    Re: @Override Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-07-24 15:36 +0200
      Re: @Override Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-07-24 09:54 -0700
      Re: @Override Silvio Bierman <silvio@moc.com> - 2012-07-24 23:14 +0200
        Re: @Override Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-07-25 07:57 +0200
          Re: @Override Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-07-25 10:34 -0700
          Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-25 14:54 -0400
            Re: @Override Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2012-07-30 14:42 +0200
      Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-24 21:20 -0400
        Re: @Override Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2012-07-25 06:26 -0700
          Re: @Override Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-07-25 17:16 -0400
  Re: @Override Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-07-23 20:59 -0700
  Re: @Override Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2012-07-24 16:06 +0200

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