Using a string or char as a class when calling a method

Question

Is there a way to take the string.charAt(int) method and use it as a stand in for a class that is one character long? (Examples below, as I'm sure that question makes no sense out of context.)
Something like (note the last line):
import java.util.Scanner;
public class DRV
     public static void main(String[] args)
          Scanner inpt = new Scanner(System.in);
          String stringy;
          A a = new A();
          System.out.println("Enter 'a': ");
          stringy = inpt.next();
          [stringy.charAt(0)].lineOne();
}Or will I just have to use a lot of if statements:
import java.util.Scanner;
public class DRV
     public static void main(String[] args)
          Scanner inpt = new Scanner(System.in);
          String stringy;
          A a = new A();
          System.out.println("Enter 'a': ");
          stringy = inpt.next();
          if (stringy.charAt(0) == 'a')
               a.lineOne();
               System.out.println();
}I doubt this is possible, but it would be totally awesome if there was something like [stringy.charAt(0)].classmethod();. This would allow me to just use a couple for loops instead of a cluster of if's.
Thanks for any help.
Edited by: 797223 on Sep 28, 2010 11:21 PM

Answer 1

What Kayaman said.
Another suggestion, slightly more elaborate, is to use class.forName() and reflection to create an instance of the correct class:
stringy = inpt.next();
Class clazz = Class.forName(makeClassCase(stringy));
Object o = clazz.newInstance();
SomeInterface i = (SomeInterface)o;
i.lineOne();This assumes that you write a method private String makeClassCase(String s) that returns the correctly cased class name (e.g. transforms 'a' to 'A') and adds the appropriate package name if applicable, and that you define method lineOne() in an interface SomeInterface and in all classes that implement it (assuming I have correctly understood that all your classes do expose the same lineOne() method).
You'll have to make special provisions for error cases (e.g. the user types a class name that doesn't exist, or that doesn't implement the common interface).