Question

I have this abstract class that is used as data repository.

public abstract class AbstractDataSource {
    public abstract DataRow getDataRow(Key key); //or just dataRow(Key key)???
}

public class CSVDataSource extends AbstractDataSource {
    @Override
    public DataRow getDataRow(Key key) { //or just dataRow(Key key)??
        //fetch row from file and return dataRow
        //....
        return dataRow;
    }
}

More specific classes (i.e. subclasses of this class) implement methods for different data source, e.g. CSV, ARFF and other formats.

I was wondering if the “get”-Keyword is appropriate here, as the data retrieval is not just returning a variable, but could also require filesystem access or whatsoever.

So should I use the “get”-prefix or not?

Thanks

Answer 1

I agree that using the get keyword can sometimes seem non-intuitive when there’s real logic behind. In your case lookup or find prefixes could be good substitues. There’s also retrieve as suggested by @Thomas.

This question might seem off topic at first. But naming is, at least to me, an integral part of good application design.