How to handle similar classes nicely

Question

Suppose I have a function and it should be able to do the same operation to the references. The references can be int[], byte[] or float[]. How can the function to handle this problem nicely? To make it simple, let's say the function will increase each element in the array 1. The best way I can think of is
function(Object array, String key){
if (key.equals("int")){
for (int i = 0; i < ((int[])array).length; i++)
((int[])array)++;
if (key.equals("float")){
for (int i = 0; i < ((float[])array).length; i++)
((float[])array)[i]++;
But that looks silly since each time I am typing array I have to cast it's class. Can I cast it once and use it everywhere? Is there any better way to do that? thanks a lot.
zl2k

Answer 1

Write overloaded methods:function(int[] array) {
  for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++)
    array[i]++;
function(float[] array) {
  for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++)
    array[i]++;
}Have a look at java.util.Arrays if you want to see a full-blown example of this sort of thing in action.