Question

Can eclipse do this refactoring?

Say I have a class that has a List:

class DomainObject {
    private List list;
    public List getList() { return list; }
}

Then some code that uses the class needs to do this:

domainObject.getList().get(23);

I’d like to refactor to this (and have all other references do the same):

domainObject.get(23);

I’ve tried a few options but can’t seem to find a way of doing this (other than manually)

Answer 1

Try this:

1. Let DomainObject correctly implement List (using list as a delegate)
2. Let getList() return this
3. Refactor-Inline getList()
4. Optionally, remove "implements List" again keeping the get() method

Another (simpler) option:

1. Refactor-Rename getList() to getMyListWithAUniqueNameAcrossTheProject() (let Eclipse update all references)
2. Search-replace "getMyListWithAUniqueNameAcrossTheProject()." by ""
3. Add and implement DomainObject.get(int)