Is creating an entity object expensive for wrapping search values..

Question

I am trying to create a very robust generic method that searches for entities that match the fields according to a enum of search types.
The easiest way I find is to wrap all the values into an instance of the entity class so that testing can be done on field values expected to be present.
So the question is if creating an entity object for the sole purpose of wrapping search values is considered expensive?

Answer 1

yawmark wrote:
User has the ability to search for a number by simply providing a number and then choosing to find all numbers that match, or especifically just a home, work or cell number that match.That requirement doesn't make any sense to me. Can you please elaborate on that use case? I understand phone number reverse look-ups, but those are typically looking for a person or business. One typically wouldn't search for a number by providing a matching number.
~But one could...
I think a point is being missed here and therefore I need to discuss a new design pattern I am using...
1) I create a entity class as per usual but I break a o-o rule with encapsulation. All of my fields are protected and not private. This allows me to create a subclass of the entity and inherit the members so that they can be used for the function of this class. The sole purpose of this subclass is to put an o-o framework around a String[] of search criteria provided according to the type of search to be done.
2) The method in my interface for finding is now extremely robust and is defined as follows...
@Local
public interface DBLocal<Entity, RecNo, T extends  Entity> {
     * Retuns a List of all {@code <Entity>} records that match the search
     * criteria based on the type of search.
     * @param entitySub the entity subclass object that contains the values
     * to be used in searching. These values <b>must</b> be in
     * the correct fields in order for the search to be accurate. Eg: If a
     * request is done to search for all records that have names that match
     * according to a persons name, then a <code>getName()</code> method on
     * the {@code entity} subclass would be expected to
     * <ol>
     * <li> not return null
     * </li>
     * <li> Return the value "Tom" if the user wishes to find all records
     * that have the name "Tom".
     * </ol>
     * @param typeOfSearch the <code>SearchType</code> that is to be done.
     * @return a List of all {@code <Entity>} records that match the search
     * criteria based on the type of search.
     * @see phonebook.util.SearchType
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the search criteria provided is
     * incorrect for the type of search requested.
     * @throws DataAccessException if an underlying error causes the search to
     * fail.
    public List findBySearchType(T entitySub, SearchType typeOfSearch)
            throws DataAccessException;As you can see I am aiming for an interface that I can use as a utility class. Type T is a subclass of the entity that this interface is mostly being used for and will always be a subclass created specifically to hold the search data. The SearchType is an enum that contains an enumeration of the search types allowed.
Yes it may not be normal to provide a phone number and then search but I have seen this functionality where one can go online and do a search based solely on the number entered. Anyway I thing I found a design that is reusable now and my problem is solved.
Many thanks
Yucca
Edited by: Yucca on Jul 17, 2009 8:33 PM