Package de.fraunhofer.iese.mydata.common

Class RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T>

java.lang.Object
de.fraunhofer.iese.mydata.common.RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T>
Type Parameters:
T - the generic type
All Implemented Interfaces:
com.google.gson.TypeAdapterFactory
public final class RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T> extends Object implements com.google.gson.TypeAdapterFactory
Adapts values whose runtime type may differ from their declaration type. This is necessary when a field's type is not the same type that GSON should create when deserializing that field. For example, consider these types: 
 {
   @code
   abstract class Shape {
     int x;

     int y;
   }
   class Circle extends Shape {
     int radius;
   }
   class Rectangle extends Shape {
     int width;

     int height;
   }
   class Diamond extends Shape {
     int width;

     int height;
   }
   class Drawing {
     Shape bottomShape;

     Shape topShape;
   }
 }

Without additional type information, the serialized JSON is ambiguous. Is the bottom shape in this drawing a rectangle or a diamond? 

    
   {
     "bottomShape": {
       "width": 10,
       "height": 5,
       "x": 0,
       "y": 0
     },
     "topShape": {
       "radius": 2,
       "x": 4,
       "y": 1
     }
   }
This class addresses this problem by adding type information to the serialized JSON and honoring that type information when the JSON is deserialized: 
    
   {
     "bottomShape": {
       "type": "Diamond",
       "width": 10,
       "height": 5,
       "x": 0,
       "y": 0
     },
     "topShape": {
       "type": "Circle",
       "radius": 2,
       "x": 4,
       "y": 1
     }
   }
Both the type field name ("type") and the type labels ( "Rectangle") are configurable.

Registering Types

Create a RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory by passing the base type and type field name to the of(java.lang.Class<T>) factory method. If you don't supply an explicit type field name, "type" will be used. 
 {
   @code
   RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<Shape$gt; shapeAdapterFactory = RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory.of(Shape.class, "type");
 }
Next register all of your subtypes. Every subtype must be explicitly registered. This protects your application from injection attacks. If you don't supply an explicit type label, the type's simple name will be used. 
    
   shapeAdapter.registerSubtype(Rectangle.class, "Rectangle");
   shapeAdapter.registerSubtype(Circle.class, "Circle");
   shapeAdapter.registerSubtype(Diamond.class, "Diamond");
Finally, register the type adapter factory in your application's GSON builder: 
 {
   @code
   Gson gson = new GsonBuilder().registerTypeAdapterFactory(shapeAdapterFactory).create();
 }
Like GsonBuilder, this API supports chaining: 
 {
   @code
   RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory shapeAdapterFactory = RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory.of(Shape.class).registerSubtype(Rectangle.class).registerSubtype(Circle.class).registerSubtype(Diamond.class);
 }

  • Method Details

    • of

      public static <T> RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T> of(Class<T> baseType)
      Creates a new runtime type adapter for baseType using "type" as the type field name.
      Type Parameters:
      T - the generic type
      Parameters:
      baseType - the base type
      Returns:
      the runtime type adapter factory

    • of

      public static <T> RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T> of(Class<T> baseType, String typeFieldName)
      Creates a new runtime type adapter using for baseType using typeFieldName as the type field name. Type field names are case sensitive.
      Type Parameters:
      T - the generic type
      Parameters:
      baseType - the base type
      typeFieldName - the type field name
      Returns:
      the runtime type adapter factory

    • create

      public <R> com.google.gson.TypeAdapter<R> create(com.google.gson.Gson gson, com.google.gson.reflect.TypeToken<R> type)
      Specified by:
      create in interface com.google.gson.TypeAdapterFactory

    • registerSubtype

      public RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T> registerSubtype(Class<? extends T> type)
      Registers type identified by its simple name. Labels are case sensitive.
      Parameters:
      type - the type
      Returns:
      the runtime type adapter factory
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if either type or its simple name have already been registered on this type adapter.

    • registerSubtype

      public RuntimeTypeAdapterFactory<T> registerSubtype(Class<? extends T> type, String label)
      Registers type identified by label. Labels are case sensitive.
      Parameters:
      type - the type
      label - the label
      Returns:
      the runtime type adapter factory
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if either type or label have already been registered on this type adapter.