Keith Bennett wrote:
Recently I started using Velocity and JEXL for expression evaluation
so that users can write templates that format the data the way they
like. I figured it would be really handy to give them access to
StringUtils, WordUtils, DurationFormatUtils, etc. But these
templating tools require that you pass an instance into the context
and call static methods via that instance reference; one cannot call
ClassName.staticMethodName().
Unfortunately, instantiating these utility classes is not recommended.
The StringUtils constructor Javadoc at
http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/lang/api-release/org/apache/commons/lang/StringUtils.html
says "StringUtils instances should NOT be constructed in standard
programming."
The only reason that the constructor is public at all is so it can be
used in Velocity. So, go ahead and use it :-)
Stephen
Of course I could write my own object that delegates to every single
method in the respective class, but that seems kind of silly. Is
there any reason why it would be a bad idea to support creating
instances of the utility classes? I realize that naive programmers
use instances when it is better to use classes, but I think I have a
legitimate need here. Also, if the class were made final, then the
confusion of static methods not following the same rules as nonstatic
methods with inheritance could be avoided.
How can I find out if there has already been discussion of this, or if
not, how can I submit a request? Do you have any suggestions how to
deal with this issue?
Thanks.
- Keith Bennett
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