SDSU CS 535 Object-Oriented Programming & Design
Fall Semester, 2001
An Example
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Contents of Doc 20, An Example 


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 2
An Example

Here is an example, which we will examine. The windowSpec for the class has been removed to save space. Read the source code and write down what you think are the problems in this class. 

Smalltalk.CS535 defineClass: #Customer
   superclass: #{UI.ApplicationModel}
   indexedType: #none
   private: false
   instanceVariableNames: 'name phone id '
   classInstanceVariableNames: '
   imports: ''
   category: 'UIApplications-New'

Class Method 
name: aName phone: aNumberString id: aNumber
   ^self new 
      setName: aName
      setPhone: aNumberString
      setID: aNumber
Instance methods 
id
   ^id isNil
      ifTrue: [id := 0 asValue]
      ifFalse: [id]


id: anInteger
   self id value: anInteger


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 3
name
   ^name isNil
      ifTrue: [name := String new asValue]
      ifFalse: [name]


name: aString
   self name value: aString


phone
   ^phone isNil
      ifTrue: [phone := String new asValue]
      ifFalse: [phone]


phone: aString 
   self phone value: aString 


printOn: aStream
   aStream
      print: 'Customer(';
      print: self name;
      print: ', ';
      print: self phone;
      print: ', ';
      print: self id;
      print: ')' 


setName: aNameString setPhone: aPhoneString setID: aNumber
   self name value:  aNameString.
   self phone value: aPhoneString.
   self id value: aNumber 


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 4
find
   | separator dataFile stream names readingBlock |
   dataFile := 'names.txt' asFilename.
   stream := dataFile readStream.
   separator := $;.
   names := OrderedCollection new.
   readingBlock := 
         [[stream atEnd] whileFalse: 
               [stream next = Graphics.TextConstants.CR 
                  ifFalse: 
                     [names add: (Customer 
                              name: (stream upTo: separator)
                              phone: (stream upTo: separator)
                              id: (stream upTo: Graphics.TextConstants.CR))]]].
   readingBlock valueNowOrOnUnwindDo: [stream close].
   names do: 
         [:each | 
         each name value = self name value 
            ifTrue: 
               [self setPhone: each phone value.
               self setID: each id value]]


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 5
Comments

Before you read further write down what you think are the problems with this class. 

Doc 20, An Example Slide # 6
Class as Struct

The class has very little intelligence. It is just a struct.

Lack of Information Hiding

Each instance variable has a method to get and a method to set its value

The accessor methods expose all users to the internal representation of the instance variable: value holders. So each access becomes: 

aCustomer name value

rather than 

aCustomer name


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 7
The Find method

A number of problems

Find is an operation on a collection of customers not a single customer. It does not belong in the customer class

The name of the data file is hard coded. This is something the commonly changes.

The method does a number of different things:


A method should do only one conceptual thing. 


Doc 20, An Example Slide # 8
Some Solutions

Class as Struct

When you have just a struct usually the data is the struct is being used somewhere. Look at those locations and see if those operations really belong in the struct-like class. Look for things that are not being done yet.

Lack of Information Hiding

Do you really need methods that set and get the value for each instance variable? Remove those that are not being used. Look at what the others are being used for. It may be those operations belong in the Customer class.

The problem with the value holders has a number of solutions. One is to provide special methods for access to the instance variable for the GUI. These methods can return either a value holder or an aspect adapter. The normal access methods return the actual instance variable, not the value holder.

The Find Method

The find method does not belong in the Customer class. It also should be broken up into a number of methods.

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2000 SDSU & Roger Whitney, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-7700 USA.
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