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I want a `sealed class` where children share some common variables. how do I do this with the least ...
# getting-started
y
I want a 
sealed class
where children share some common variables. how do I do this with the least amount of boilerplate? what I was recommended is something like
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sealed class Parent {
    abstract val s: String

    data class Derived1(override val s: String, ...) : Parent()
    data class Derived2(override val s: String, ...) : Parent()
    
    sealed class Derived3() : Parent() {
        data class Derived4(override val s: String, ...) : Derived3()
    }
}
which repeats the 
val s
declaration
g
yes, version with abstract property is the shortest one, there is no version shorter
y
thanks.
e
there is another similar option,
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sealed class Parent(val s: String) {
    class Derived1(s: String) : Parent(s)
but it means something a bit different
y
yeah, that doesn’t disallow creating a 
Parent
class, right?
g
No, it’s not data class anymore. And you still cannot create parent
y
if I declare it that way, there’s only a single copy of 
s
, right?
no shadowing or anything like that?
e
if you were to write
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sealed class Parent(open val s: String) {
    class Derived(override val s: String) : Parent(s)
then you could potentially have a `data class`… but I would not recommend it. it's confusing and does lead to multiple fields internally shadowing
➕ 1
if you want 
data class
then stick with what you wrote originally
y
so if I don’t actually need 
data class
, the minimum boilerplate version would be the above version? (
open val
which is then passed to the 
Parent
constructor)
e
I would not use the 
open val
version
a closed 
val
passed to the 
Parent
constructor is the least boilerplate version if you only have normal 
class
and 
object
, yes
y
and in that case, no shadowing if I avoid 
data class
, right? sorry for asking again, this is just somewhat confusing.
e
taking 
sealed
out of the discussion for a moment,
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open class Parent(val s: String)
class Derived(s: String) : Parent(s)
what makes you think there's any shadowing?
y
just a coworker’s warning about how 
abstract
+ re-declarations is the right way, because otherwise shadowing might happen. I realize now that it’s a 
data class
thing. there’s actually no need for the sugar introduced by 
data
in my current use case
e
yes, for 
data class
(or any other time you want to have a concrete 
val
in the child) you should prefer an 
abstract val
over a concrete 
open val
in the parent
y
thanks for the help.
e
if you think about what's happening under the covers of the non-recommended
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open class Parent(open val s: String)
class Derived(override val s: String) : Parent(s)
it's equivalent to the following Java
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public class Parent {
    private final String s;
    public Parent(String s) {
        this.s = s;
    }
    public String getS() {
        return this.s;
    }
}
public final class Derived {
    private final String s;
    public Derived(String s) {
        super(s);
        this.s = s;
    }
    @Override
    public String getS() {
        return this.s;
    }
}
where you have two getters and two fields. the getters aren't problematic because virtual dispatch will always pick the more specific one, but the fields 
Parent.s
and 
Derived.s
are definitely both present in an object of type 
Derived
y
oh, that makes sense. 👍
s
in other news: if you use a sealed interface instead of a sealed class, using data class for the implementing classes is possible.
e
sealed interface { val s }
is the same as 
sealed class { abstract val s }
, as far as how the property is inherited
s
yes, but sealed interfaces have the added benefit of data classes being able to implement them.
e
data classes can implement sealed and abstract classes just fine
what data classes can't do, is have a non-property parameter in their primary constructor
but that's avoided with the pattern we're talking about here
s
I stand corrected! I was rather certain that it was otherwise 😅
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