Joshua Bloch Item #1 Static Factory Methods Instead of Constructors - Object creation

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I was wondering about the following advantage of Static Factory Methods described by Joshua Blochs "Effective Java", 3rd edition in item #1:

A second advantage of static factory methods is that, unlike constructors, they are not required to create a new object each time they’re invoked. This allows immutable classes (Item 15) to use preconstructed instances, or to cache instances as they’re constructed, and dispense them repeatedly to avoid creating unnecessary duplicate objects. The Boolean.valueOf(boolean) method illustrates this technique: it never creates an object.

See extract here.

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What got my attention was the last line about valueOf(boolean) not creating an object. According to the book

public static Boolean valueOf(boolean b) {
    return b ? Boolean.TRUE : Boolean.FALSE;
}

and the Javadoc

public static Boolean valueOf(boolean b)

Returns a Boolean instance representing the specified boolean value. If the specified boolean value is true, this method returns Boolean.TRUE; if it is false, this method returns Boolean.FALSE. If a new Boolean instance is not required, this method should generally be used in preference to the constructor Boolean(boolean), as this method is likely to yield significantly better space and time performance.

So from my understanding and the Javadoc ("Returns a Boolean instance...") the static method returns indeed a Boolean and therefore an object - as it is literally the return type. In the following case:

public class MyClass {
    public static void main(String args[]) {
        Boolean booleanWrapped = Boolean.valueOf(true);
        System.out.println(booleanWrapped);
    }
}

booleanWrapped is my object I can use e.g. like in the prinln() statement.

So what am I missing here if Joshua states

The Boolean.valueOf(boolean) [...] never creates an object

I'm aware of a similar question with an existing answer but it doesn't seem to fully answer my question as in my example above there isn't an "pre-existing" instance.?!

The method doesn't create any objects, it just returns the values of `Boolean.TRUE` or `Boolean.FALSE` that were created once when the `Boolean` class was loaded. — QBrute, Jan 21 '23 at 15:37
There is a difference between **returning** an object which already exists (`Boolean.TRUE` or `Boolean.FALSE`) vs. **creating** a new object. — andrewJames, Jan 21 '23 at 15:41
booleanWrapped does not reference a newly *created* object. It references the static Boolean.TRUE created the first time the Boolean class loads. — John Williams, Jan 21 '23 at 15:48
A `Boolean` is an _immutable_ object (its internal state cannot be changed). There are only two possible boolean values. When class `Boolean` is loaded and initialized it creates two static instances, TRUE and FALSE. Therefore, there is never any reason to instantiate a `Boolean` object, every `Boolean` reference can point to one of the two static values created at `Boolean` class initialization time. `valueOf()` returns one of those two references. — Jim Garrison, Jan 21 '23 at 17:57

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 21 '23 at 15:50

2

Your booleanWrapped variable does not reference a newly created object. It references the static Boolean.TRUE created the first time the Boolean class loads. All calls to Boolean.valueOf(true) simply reuse that single object.

answered Jan 21 '23 at 15:50

John Williams

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WJS · Accepted Answer · 2023-01-21T17:33:02.083

As of Java 9, Boolean has a deprecated constructor. But this still demonstrates the difference.

So Boolean b1 = new Boolean(true). creates a new instance and stores it in b1.

Boolean b1 = new Boolean(true);
Boolean b2 = new Boolean(true);
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b1));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b2));

Two different identity hashcodes imply different objects

804564176
1421795058

Now use the existing static instance.

Boolean b1 = Boolean.TRUE;
Boolean b2 = Boolean.TRUE;
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b1));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b2));

Sharing the same object - same hashcode.

804564176
804564176

Within the Boolean class you have the following:

public static final Boolean TRUE = new Boolean(true);
public static final Boolean FALSE = new Boolean(false);

So they are created when the class is loaded.

knittl · Answer 3 · 2023-01-21T17:21:49.007

The method valueOf never creates a new object (there is no new expression and no other method call that could transitively call a constructor). The method simply returns one of 2 static fields (Boolean.TRUE or Boolean.FALSE). These fields already exist and the objects they reference were already created (outside and before the method valueOf).

Obviously, the objects have to be created somewhere; but they are not created in the method valueOf.

And "returning an object" != "creating an object".

public static Object demo() {
  final Object obj = new Object(); // `new` creates the object
  return obj; // `return` returns the object, it does not create a new one
}

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 21 '23 at 16:19

Both Boolean.TRUE and Boolean.FALSE are pre-existing static members defined by the Boolean class.

One important concept to not overlook in understanding the benefit of static factory methods over traditional constructors is why Josh Bloch specifies that immutable classes can be cached or pre-constructed. The point isn't really about whether or not a single object is constructed at the time that static factory method is called the first time, but rather how it can conserve resources when used multiple times. The savings is all about returning a pre-existing immutable instance rather than constructing a new one.

Joshua Bloch Item #1 Static Factory Methods Instead of Constructors - Object creation

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