Thread: Type mismatch assigning factory class result to subclass

I have a base class with a factory method as follows. It looks for a database record and returns it if found, or creates it if not.

public  class Animal {
	public static Animal factory(String id) {
               Animal a = Database.get(id);
               if (a==null) 
                   a = Database.make(id);
               return a;
	}
}

I have a bunch of subclasses eg:

public class Panda extends Animal {
// etc etc
}

And I want to be able to use the parent's factory method to make basic instances of these subclasses, but of course I get a "Type mismatch: cannot convert from Animal to Panda"

public class test {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		Panda p = Panda.factory("panda123");
	}
}

It seems I have to repeat the code of the parent factory method (which is more complex than I show above) in all the subclasses, otherwise maybe I'm missing something in the use of factory classes in cases like this?

Any advice much appreciated!

thanks,

Hello.
Just try this and let me know.
Panda p = (Panda)Panda.factory("panda123");

Thanks,
Syed.

Thanks Syed, but this gives a runtime class cast error...

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ClassCastException: test.Animal cannot be cast to test.Panda
at test.test.main(test.java:7)

Originally Posted by syedbhai

Hello.
Just try this and let me know.
Panda p = (Panda)Panda.factory("panda123");

Thanks,
Syed.

I see.
Then I think you have some extra variables or methods in the subclasses. Because of that it will throw class cast exception.
Then you will have to do it this way.
Make the method in the superclass as abstract. Provide the specific implemention in every subclass. When writing to database create an object of desired subclass and invoke the method w.r.t to that object.
Let me know if you have understood what I am saying.

Thanks,
Syed.

Originally Posted by Junky

Casting to a Panda will not work. What happens if the factory method returns a Monkey object? Obviously it cannot be cast to a Panda. Since a parent class has no idea about what subclasses there are this is not possible. You might want to rethink your design.

Thanks Junky, and sorry if it was I who made you grumpy! :-)

I guess I expected that Java would instantiate a Panda, eg using the default no-arg constructor (which is provided) to allow the cast to happen. I also would have expected a run-time error where the cast is not up or down the class hierarchy (as in the cast from monkey to panda). But, I'm just showing my ignorance again i guess!

OK so I have a new approach, with a factory class that takes a generic:

public class AnimalFactory <T extends Animal> {
 
	private Class<T> thisClass;
 
	public AnimalFactory(Class<T> c) {
		thisClass = c;
	}
	public T make() throws Exception {
		final T animal;
		animal = thisClass.newInstance();
		return animal;
	}	
}

Then I can do something like

		AnimalFactory<Panda> pandaFactory = new AnimalFactory<Panda>(Panda.class);
		Panda p = pandaFactory.make();

Does that look like a more standard approach?

It works so far, but I find that I'll need to use some reflection if I want to actually do other things with the class I am making. Since java doesn't allow me to access methods or variables of "T" directly...