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  5. Java 8 vs MapStruct

Java 8 vs MapStruct

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Java 8
Java 8
Stacks685
Followers630
Votes0
MapStruct
MapStruct
Stacks54
Followers45
Votes1
GitHub Stars7.5K
Forks1.0K

Java 8 vs MapStruct: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss the key differences between Java 8 and MapStruct. Java 8 is a major release of the Java programming language that introduced several new features and enhancements, while MapStruct is a code generation tool that simplifies the implementation of mapping between Java beans.

  1. Null Safety: One of the key differences between Java 8 and MapStruct is the handling of null values. In Java 8, null values can cause NullPointerExceptions when performing operations on objects, while MapStruct provides built-in null safety checks during the mapping process, preventing such runtime exceptions.

  2. Code Generation: MapStruct is a code generation tool, whereas Java 8 is a programming language. MapStruct generates the mapping code at compile-time based on annotations and mappings defined in the source code. On the other hand, Java 8 requires manual implementation of mapping logic using code.

  3. Mapping Flexibility: In Java 8, mapping between beans requires explicit coding of the mapping logic, which can be time-consuming and error-prone for complex mappings. MapStruct, on the other hand, provides a declarative approach to mapping configuration. It offers automatic mapping of fields with the same name and allows customization of the mapping process through annotations and custom mappers.

  4. Support for Complex Mappings: Java 8 lacks built-in support for complex mappings, where multiple source fields are mapped to a single target field or vice versa. MapStruct, on the other hand, provides advanced mapping capabilities, such as parameterized mappings, mapping of nested fields, and support for custom conversions, making it more suitable for complex mapping scenarios.

  5. Support for Mapping Collections: When it comes to mapping collections of objects, Java 8 requires manual iteration and mapping of each element, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming. MapStruct simplifies this process by automatically mapping collections of objects, reducing the code complexity and improving developer productivity.

  6. Integration with IDEs: MapStruct offers seamless integration with popular IDEs, such as IntelliJ and Eclipse, providing features like code completion, refactoring, and error detection during the development process. Java 8, being a language itself, also provides IDE support, but it lacks the specific tooling features provided by MapStruct.

In summary, the key differences between Java 8 and MapStruct lie in null safety, code generation, mapping flexibility, support for complex mappings, handling of collections, and integration with IDEs. While Java 8 requires manual implementation of mapping logic, MapStruct automates the mapping process through code generation and provides additional features and flexibility for complex mappings and collections.

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Detailed Comparison

Java 8
Java 8
MapStruct
MapStruct

It is a revolutionary release of the world’s no 1 development platform. It includes a huge upgrade to the Java programming model and a coordinated evolution of the JVM, Java language, and libraries. Java 8 includes features for productivity, ease of use, improved polyglot programming, security and improved performance.

It is a code generator that greatly simplifies the implementation of mappings between Java bean types based on a convention over configuration approach. The generated mapping code uses plain method invocations and thus is fast, type-safe and easy to understand.

-
Mapping (immutable) objects using builders; Enhanced and more flexible update method (@MappingTarget) handling; Constructor injection for Annotation Based component models; Source policy for unmapped source properties (unmappedSourcePolicy); Support for defaultExpression; Limit mapping only to explicitly defined mappings; Performance improvement of constant / defaultValue primitive to String mappings; Warnings for precision loss
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
7.5K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
1.0K
Stacks
685
Stacks
54
Followers
630
Followers
45
Votes
0
Votes
1
Pros & Cons
No community feedback yet
Pros
  • 1
    Abstraction of the object conversion
Integrations
No integrations available
NetBeans IDE
NetBeans IDE
Eclipse
Eclipse
Java
Java
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA

What are some alternatives to Java 8, MapStruct?

Quarkus

Quarkus

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MyBatis

MyBatis

It is a first class persistence framework with support for custom SQL, stored procedures and advanced mappings. It eliminates almost all of the JDBC code and manual setting of parameters and retrieval of results. It can use simple XML or Annotations for configuration and map primitives, Map interfaces and Java POJOs (Plain Old Java Objects) to database records.

guava

guava

The Guava project contains several of Google's core libraries that we rely on in our Java-based projects: collections, caching, primitives support, concurrency libraries, common annotations, string processing, I/O, and so forth.

Thymeleaf

Thymeleaf

It is a modern server-side Java template engine for both web and standalone environments. It is aimed at creating elegant web code while adding powerful features and retaining prototyping abilities.

JSF

JSF

It is used for building component-based user interfaces for web applications and was formalized as a standard through the Java Community

JavaMelody

JavaMelody

It is used to monitor Java or Java EE application servers in QA and production environments. It is not a tool to simulate requests from users, it is a tool to measure and calculate statistics on real operation of an application depending on the usage of the application by users. It is mainly based on statistics of requests and on evolution charts.

RxJava

RxJava

A library for composing asynchronous and event-based programs by using observable sequences for the Java VM.

Apache FreeMarker

Apache FreeMarker

It is a "template engine"; a generic tool to generate text output (anything from HTML to auto generated source code) based on templates. It's a Java package, a class library for Java programmers.

Jackson

Jackson

It is a suite of data-processing tools for Java (and the JVM platform), including the flagship streaming JSON parser / generator library, matching data-binding library (POJOs to and from JSON) and additional data format modules to process data encoded in Avro, BSON, CBOR, CSV, Smile, (Java) Properties, Protobuf, XML or YAML; and even the large set of data format modules to support data types of widely used data types such as Guava, Joda.

Project Reactor

Project Reactor

It is a fourth-generation Reactive library for building non-blocking applications on the JVM based on the Reactive Streams Specification. It is a fully non-blocking foundation with efficient demand management. It directly interacts with Java functional API, Completable Future, Stream and Duration.

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