Is it possible to pass argument via method reference?

Question

I have the following code line:

MyClass{
    Runnable job; 
    ...    
}

and inside one of the method:

this.job = myImporter::importProducts;

Now importProducts is method without arguments:

public void importProducts() {
        ...
}

But I need to add argument to this method now.

After adding new argument, line:

this.job = myImporter::importProducts;

became broken.

Is it possible to fix it?

What type is `this.job`? And how does `importProducts` look after the change? — Eran, Jun 08 '15 at 08:41
`became broken?` You have a compiler error? How about sharing it? — Will, Jun 08 '15 at 08:42
Your question is very unclear. Can you provide example with actuall code which we could use to reproduce your problem? — Pshemo, Jun 08 '15 at 08:55

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 08 '15 at 10:49

It's not possible to "bind" and argument directly to the method reference. In this case you can easily use lambda:

this.job = () -> myImporter.importProducts(myNewArgument);

Alternatively if it fits your situation consider leaving the zero-arguments importProducts method which just calls the one-argument importProducts with proper argument value:

public void importProducts() {
    importProducts(myNewArgument);
}

private void importProducts(Type arg) {
    ...
}

This way your method reference will work as before.

Is it possible to pass argument via method reference?

1 Answers1