Java equivalent of .NET constructs

Question

I've been writing .NET software for years but have started to dabble a bit in Java. While the syntax is similar the methodology is often different so I'm asking for a bit of help in these concept translations.

Properties

I know that properties are simply abstracted get_/set_ methods - the same in C#. But, what are the commonly accepted naming conventions? Do you use 'get_' with an underscode or just 'get' by itself.

Constructors

In C# the base constructor is called automatically. Is this also true in Java?

Events

Like properties, events in .NET are abstracted add_/remove_/fire_ methods that work on a Delegate object. Is there an equivalent in Java? If I want to use some sort of subscriber pattern do you simply define an interface with an Invoke/Run method and collect objects or is there some built-in support for this pattern?

Update: One more map:

String Formatting

Is there an equivalent to String.Format?

Answer 1

Wikipedia has a nice in depth comparison here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_C_Sharp_and_Java

Answer 2

A bean property in java is preceeded by a get followed by the bean name starting with a capital letter. For instance the property 'color' would be associated with the methods 'getColor()' and 'setColor(int color)' (assuming the property is of type int). There is a special case for boolean properties, the getter will be called 'is'... as in 'isWhite()', 'isBlack()'. The setter remains the same.

When a class is created in java, all its parent class constructors are called in order, parents before children.

Events in Java are specific to a given event model, and not a core part of the language. Examine the documentation for Swing or SWT for information on the event models of those GUI toolkits.

Answer 3

Sun's Code Conventions are a great reference for the Java way of doing and naming things.

Answer 4

To answer your specific questions:

Properties

By convention, Java uses "get" or "set" followed by the variable name in upper camel case. For example, "getUserIdentifier()". booleans often will use "is" instead of "get"

Constructors

In Java, superclass constructors are called first, descending down the type hierarchy.

Events

By convention (this is the one you'll get the least agreement on...different libraries do it slightly differently), Java uses methods named like "addEventTypeListener(EventTypeListener listener)" and "removeEventTypeListener(EventTypeListener listener)", where EventType is a semantic name for the type of event (like MouseClick for addMouseClickListener) and EventTypeListener is an interface (usually top-level) that defines the methods available on the receivers - obviously one or more of those references is essentially a "fire" method.

Additionally, there is usually an Event class defined (for example, "MouseClickEvent"). This event class contains the data about the event (perhaps x,y coordinates, etc) and is usually an argument to the "fire" methods.

Answer 5

Java from a C# developer's perspective

Although for you its the other way round :)

Answer 6

Property getters and setters can go by whichever naming convention you desire, or that your organization has standardized. A good naming convention is simply one that is common among those who will use/see it. That said, most in the Java community use 'getSomething/setSomething' as the naming convention on getters and setters.

Base constructors are called automatically, just like C#.