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How To Make A Java Class Immutable

To make a class immutable: 1. Make the class final so it cannot be subclassed. 2. Make all fields final and private and initialize them in the constructor. 3. Do not provide any setters, and ensure that any mutable objects contained cannot be changed. This ensures the class's state cannot change after construction, making it thread-safe and avoiding inconsistent states. Immutable objects can also be easily shared or cached.

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27 views

How To Make A Java Class Immutable

To make a class immutable: 1. Make the class final so it cannot be subclassed. 2. Make all fields final and private and initialize them in the constructor. 3. Do not provide any setters, and ensure that any mutable objects contained cannot be changed. This ensures the class's state cannot change after construction, making it thread-safe and avoiding inconsistent states. Immutable objects can also be easily shared or cached.

Uploaded by

krn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to make a java class immutable

Immutable class is a class which once created, it’s contents can not be changed. Immutable
objects are the objects whose state can not be changed once constructed. e.g. String class

An immutable class is one whose state can not be changed once created. There are certain
guidelines to create an class immutable.

Guidelines to make a class immutable-


1. Create a final class.
2. Set the values of properties using constructor only.
3. Make the properties of the class final and private
4. Do not provide any setters for these properties.
5. If the instance fields include references to mutable objects, don’t allow those objects
to be changed:
1. Don’t provide methods that modify the mutable objects.
2. Don’t share references to the mutable objects. Never store references to
external, mutable objects passed to the constructor; if necessary, create copies,
and store references to the copies. Similarly, create copies of your internal
mutable objects when necessary to avoid returning the originals in your
methods.

public final class FinalPersonClass {

private final String name;

private final int age;

public FinalPersonClass(final String name, final int age) {

super();

this.name = name;

this.age = age;

public int getAge() {


return age;

public String getName() {

return name;

All wrapper classes in java.lang are immutable –


String, Integer, Boolean, Character, Byte, Short, Long, Float, Double, BigDecimal, BigInteger

What are the advantages of immutability?


The advantages are:
1) Immutable objects are automatically thread-safe, the overhead caused due to use of
synchronisation is avoided.
2) Once created the state of the immutable object can not be changed so there is no
possibility of them getting into an inconsistent state.
3) The references to the immutable objects can be easily shared or cached without having
to copy or clone them as there state can not be changed ever after construction.
4) The best use of the immutable objects is as the keys of a map.

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