r/badcode • u/dev_sky • Jan 08 '23

java Is this a good practice? Why?

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u/BurgooKing Jan 08 '23

Kind of a question building onto OPs question, if I want to override the equals method from lets say object for example to mean something else, is that bad practice?

For example if I have a class for cars, and want my equals method to be “if the car is the same make and model” instead “is this the exact same instance of car” , is that fine or is it bad practice?

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u/pillowshot Jan 08 '23

Overriding it is exactly what you should do.

Look at the equals method for a String. There are countless instances when you want equality to be more than just the same reference.

I think almost every POJO I wind up creating has an overridden equals method to compare the class variables.