How to re-factor a common String comparison

Question

Code below is scattered all over the code base :

if (StringUtils.contains(manager.getName, "custom")){

}

It just checks if an object attribute contains a predefined String and if it does, enter condition.

Is there a more elegant way of achieving above, perhaps using an enum?

Answer 1

1. It seems data envy. I'd create nameContains method in the Manager class.

   public boolean nameContains(final String searchText) {
       if (StringUtils.contains(name, searchText)) {
           return true;
       }
       return false;
   }
   

2. Instance variables (fields) should be private. See: why instance variables in java are always private

Answer 2

You can use a static reference for "custom" :

    // In References.class declared 'final'
public final class References{
    static String refSearched = "custom";

    public static boolean methodControl1(final String s){
        return s.contains(refSearched);
    }    
    .... // other fields/methods
}

    // In other classes
    if(References.methodControl1(newStringToSearchIn)){
        ..;
    }

Answer 3

Are the strings like "custom" pre-defined? If the number of such strings are limited, then you would also profit by making them into methods such as Manager.hasCustom() if not, you can go for Manager.has(Manager.CUSTOM) where CUSTOM could be an attribute in the Manager class.

Consider memoizing the lookup.

class Manager {
  public final String CUSTOM = "custom";
  public boolean has(String key) {
    if (!map.containsKey(key)) map.put(StringUtils.contains(name, key))
    return map.get(key);
  }
  public boolean hasCustom() { return has(CUSTOM); }
}

Finally, if your class takes decisions based on a flag in another class, you might want to rewrite it to reduce coupling. And perhaps use a pattern like Strategy.