Array as object or param?

[überfuzz]

Hi!

If I have an array of objects, lets say NULL Object in this example. Is it possible to call actions, or methods if you will, upon it using this syntax: objects.method().

I tried to populate the array using different methods. I couldn't get objestc.method() working. Instead I had to do it like this, passing the array as a param:

populate(arrayOfTypeObject);  //usage of method "on" array.

How should I go about this?

Edit, I think I got it working if I looped through the array.

for(loop with index i)
object[i].populate();

But I preferred a method iterating instead of iterating a method...

Edit2, comments of this please... :-)

[Petr]

So Maybe I not correct understand question.
No you can't do it. because compiler need not null reference on the object that invoke anything methods.

[pbrockway2]

Some languages provide a syntax that lets you take an array and do things to each of its elements. Something along the lines of:

arrayOfTypeObject.each(populate);

Java doesn't do this: arrays have very limited behaviour, and there is no type corresponding to the sort of thing populate would have to be.

As you have found you have to loop through the array, either using an index or with an enhanced for loop:

for(SomeClass sc :arrayOfTypeObject) {
    sc.populate();
}

(I am assuming the array is declared to actually contain things that implement populate(). An array of Object is a poor choice of array because Object also has very little behaviour.)

--------------------------

As far as null is concerned, you generally have to keep in mind that two things can be null: the variable representing the array AND a variable or expression representing the object at a given index. You can't use an expression like arr[i] unless you are sure that arr is not null, and you can't use a expression like arr[i].populate() unless you are sure that arr[i] is not null.

[quad64bit]

So yeah, you def. need to check for null. However, if you have a mixed bag of types and need to call the same method on all of them, you can use an interface to allow this behavior between mixed types.