Re: Design Question
slantedwalker@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,
A quick design question.
I've read that if you are going to do work you should do the work in
the place where the data resides. In this case this would mean that
adding the persist() method to the Record class would be the proper
thing to do.
However, I see lots of programmers use the "Util" class approach
shown above. What would be the advatage of using a Util class rather
than encapsulating the functionality in Record?
Hello Walker!
The first thing that occurs to me is that there is a practical limit to
the number of lines one wants in any given block of code. It's just a
maintenance issue. Once a chunk of code (whether {} block, method,
class or file) gets too big, it's just too tough to maintain.
So ideally, perhaps one could say that the persist() method really does
belong inside the Record class. But unless the Record class is fairly
small and simple, and expected to stay that way for a long time, it's
probably best to break out the functionality into smaller chunks where
it can be worked on, expanded, and generally mucked with easier.
What if your bean guy and your database gal are two different people?
Trying to change the same file is always a pain. Put those methods into
different files (and different classes) and you've got one less headache
to worry about. Of course, knowing how small of chunks to break your
functionality into is more of an art than a science.
There used to be a general guideline for the maximum size of a given
Java file, class, or method. I thought it was in the coding
conventions. I can't find it. You might look around on your own, to
see what kind of heuristics you can find.
And like you, I'm still rather a newbie. Further comments on my ideas
are welcome. :-)