OOPad : original

Download OOPad.zip from simtel.

OOPad is a learning tool. Some of the lessons include:

Find the ugly byte loop (an actual bug in the original used for teaching, here just ugly code) by inspection. This shows how debuggers can be made unnecessary in Java code. Consider how big a source file should be and how many things it should do.
Uncouple the EditorMenu and the EditorGui. Make the changes in the correct one and you only need to change an object to an interface and make a class cast. Why do we program to interfaces?
When you compile, the build breaks on the ishitai.bots.* import. But the jar file runs. Do not simply put the jar on the classpath. Why should we release our code in jar files, even within development projects?
Packages in Java are the logical equivalents of Class Categories. Are these classes cohesive or should the name space be reworked?
The class ishitai.files.FileOfText is deprecated. Who is using this class and where does this object really belong? Should it even be a class in any package? Get rid of it.
When we look at Sun's Notepad.java and its inner classes, we can see how potentially reusable classes should be uncoupled. But what is the more immediate effect of inner classes on the heap if we consider how Java collects garbage?

OOPad is a simple text editor that is built upon my best understanding of object-oriented design. I work for a company that is known for its OO work and was developing a class to train C programmers in Java. I had intended to take the Notepad.java example from the JDK from Sun. I was going to strip out the inner classes and create an example of OOD for the class. The problem that quickly arose is that these inner classes are tightly coupled to the enclosing class. This prevents them from being removed or reused.

These inner classes, I claim, are serious threats to any OO project, harming both the architecture and the runtime. They have nothing to do with the principles of object design. I further claim that you will never deal with some important issues of OOA/OOD unless you adhere to the principle of one class-one source file (this is Java.)

I have included:

javadocs of the source
a brief design description
a page to link your alterations into
a history of changes

Feel free to contact me:
Richard Harris
paladin@i1.net
PO Box 276
Martindale TX 78655