Tool to reduce the noise of Functor/Filter creation

[kbwelker]

As I have started to invest in using functional idioms in Java, I
discovered that oftentimes the creation of function-type objects like
a Functor often add as much noise and complexity to the source code as
they reduce when they are used to replace for-loops. This bothered
me, since often the function I am trying to create is simply a wrapper
around a simple method that already exists. I know Jedi has the very
nice @Jedi/@Sith annotations to help, but some project teams may wish
to avoid the usage of APT that complicates project builds and requires
adherence to a strict naming convention or else using String-args in
the annotation which are harder to refactor using tools.

So I have created a library, Funcito, to simplify function creation in
existing functional libraries such as Jedi Core. It is found at:

http://funcito.googlecode.com

As an example take the following code before Funcito (and assuming non-
usage of @Jedi*):

Functor<String, Integer> lengthFunction = new Functor<String,
Integer>() {
public Integer execute(String string) {
return string.length();
}
};

With Funcito this gets replaced by:

Functor<String, Integer> lengthFunction =
functorFor( callsTo(CharSequnce.class).length() );

If you have more than one method you want to wrap on the same
interface or class, notation can be expressed even more concise and
readable:

CharSequence callsTo = callsTo(CharSequence.class);
Functor<CharSequence, Integer> length =
functorFor( callsTo.length() );
Functor<CharSequence, String> toString =
functorFor( callsTo.toString() );

[kbwelker]

Sorry, text-wrapping obscures the beauty quite a bit. Hopefully you
get the picture anyway.

[Lance Walton]

This is very nice. I'll soon update the Jedi pages to reference functito as an alternative method of creating the Functors and Filters.

Regards,

Lance

[kbwelker]

Thanks and glad you like it. I hope to expand my support to Commands
as well, and who knows what else. Btw, it's "Funcito" not
"Functito" :-)

-- Kevin

[kbwelker]

For those who are interested, Funcito v 1.0.2 has been released.  This release fixes a bug that inadvertently left a run-time dependency on Google Guava, even if you were using Funcito as an add-on for
Jedi (or Functional Java).  The project is still located at:

http://funcito.googlecode.com

This version has also been deployed to Maven Central:

http://search.maven.org

and search for "funcito ".

I thought I posted this once before a few days ago.  If it was deleted as SPAM, please let me know and I will gladly stop posting release-updates.  I just thought this update in particular was especially helpful to the Jedi user community, as it removed a dependency that Jedi users should not be forced to have.

[Channing Walton]

Excellent stuff. 

We are interested in updates to your project, keep them coming.

Channing