is there a feature in between it being a 'data' class and a normal class? how do i get kotlin to generate componentN's if it is not a data class?

it won't generate them, but you can write them by hand

operator fun component1()

yeah but you'd have to make a definition for it, yeah? that's a shame. seems like they should add that. not everything can be a data class

@sreich how do you decide whether to make

component1()

or not ? Do you suggest to add it to every class ?

I have a similar wish but for the copy method. Sometimes, I just need a copy method and have to change my whole regular class into a data class just to avoid writing copy by hand

Well, "just need a copy method" is a big deal.

Honestly, destructuring declarations are dangerous because they are position-based. I would only use

componentN

functions on very simple classes for which the properties' positions are obvious. For instance, a key-value

Pair

, a triple, a 2D point, etc. In those cases, very often

data class

makes sense.

i do see that there are some assumptions they can make if it is a data class (e.g. it cannot be open if it's data)

Exactly. Extending a class with new properties would make the order in the destructuring declarations even less obvious to the user

hmmm I see the validity in your points

not everything can be a data class

By the way, if what blocks you here is some limitation on

data class

like inheritance, you might also consider extracting the set of properties that you want to destructure as a separate

data class

and use that in your original class instead of the set of properties. Not sure if that makes sense in your specific case, though