In this article, we will look at the difference between the inheritance and delegation concepts. Or, to put it better, why I prefer delegation and why I want to emphasize this rarely-used feature in Java.
The Challenge
The challenge we face today is quite common in the field of graphic user interfaces like desktop- or web-apps. Java is widely used as the development language for both worlds, and it does not matter if we are in the classic swing, JavaFX, or the field of web frameworks like Vaadin. Explicitly, I've opted for a pseudo-class model in core Java, as I'd like to look at the design patterns here without any technical details.
The goal is to create a custom component that consists of a text input field and a button. Both elements should be displayed next to each other, i.e. in a horizontal layout. The respective components have no function in this example. I want to be here exclusively to work towards the differences between inheritance and delegation.....
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://svenruppert.com/2021/02/18/delegation-versus-inheritance-in-graphical-user-interfaces/
