Question

I wrote the question as a comment in the code, I think its easier to understand this way.

public class Xpto{
    protected AbstractClass x;

    public void foo(){

       // AbstractClass y = new ????? Car or Person ?????

       /* here I need a new object of this.x's type (which could be Car or Person)
          I know that with x.getClass() I get the x's Class (which will be Car or 
          Person), however Im wondering how can I get and USE it's contructor */

       // ... more operations (which depend on y's type)
    }

}

public abstract class AbstractClass {
}

public class Car extends AbstractClass{
}

public class Person extends AbstractClass{
}

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

First of all, BalusC is right.

Secondly:

If you’re taking decisions based on the class type, you’re not letting the polymorphism do its job.

Your class structure may be wrong ( Like Car and Person should not be in the same hierarchy )

You could probably create an interface and code to it.

interface Fooable {
     Fooable createInstance();
     void doFoo();
     void doBar();
}

class Car implements Fooable {
     public Fooable createInstance() {
          return new Car();
     }
     public void doFoo(){
         out.println("Brroooom, brooooom");
     }
     public void doBar() {
          out.println("Schreeeeeeeekkkkkt");
      }
}
class Person implements Fooable {
     public Fooable createInstance(){   
         return new Person();
      }
      public void foo() {
           out.println("ehem, good morning sir");
      }
      public void bar() {
          out.println("Among the nations as among the individuals, the respect for the other rights means peace..");// sort of 
      }
}

Later …

public class Xpto{
    protected Fooable x;

    public void foo(){
         Fooable y = x.createInstance();
         // no more operations that depend on y's type.
         // let polymorphism take charge.
         y.foo();
         x.bar();
    }
}