Entity Inheritance
How to inherit properties from entity super classes.
ObjectBox - Entity Super Classes
Only available for Java/Kotlin at the moment
ObjectBox allows entity inheritance to share persisted properties in super classes. The base class can be an entity or non-entity class. For this purpose the
@Entity annotation is complemented by the @BaseEntity annotation. There are three types of super classes, which are defined via annotations:- No annotation: The base class and its properties are not considered for persistence.
- @BaseEntity: Properties are considered for persistence in sub classes, but the base class itself cannot be persisted.
- @Entity: Properties are considered for persistence in sub classes, and the base class itself is a normally persisted entity.
For example:
Java
Kotlin
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// Superclass:
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@BaseEntity
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public abstract class Base {
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@Id long id;
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String baseString;
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public Base() {
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}
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public Base(long id, String baseString) {
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this.id = id;
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this.baseString = baseString;
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}
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}
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// Subclass:
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@Entity
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public class Sub extends Base {
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String subString;
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public Sub() {
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}
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public Sub(long id, String baseString, String subString) {
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super(id, baseString);
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this.subString = subString;
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}
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}
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// Note: Kotlin data classes do not support inheritance,
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// so this example uses regular Kotlin classes.
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// Superclass:
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@BaseEntity
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abstract class Base {
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@Id
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var id: Long = 0
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var baseString: String? = null
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constructor()
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constructor(id: Long, baseString: String?) {
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this.id = id
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this.baseString = baseString
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}
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}
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// Subclass:
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@Entity
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class Sub : Base {
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var subString: String? = null
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constructor()
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constructor(id: Long,
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baseString: String?,
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subString: String?) : super(id, baseString) {
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this.subString = subString
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}
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}
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The model for Sub, Sub_, will now include all properties:
id , baseString and subString .It is also possible to inherit properties from another entity:
Java
Kotlin
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// Entities inherit properties from super entities.
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@Entity
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public class SubSub extends Sub {
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String subSubString;
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public SubSub() {
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}
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public SubSub(long id, String baseString,
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String subString, String subSubString) {
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super(id, baseString, subString);
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this.subSubString = subSubString;
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}
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}
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// Entities inherit properties from super entities.
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@Entity
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class SubSub : Sub {
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var subSubString: String? = null
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constructor()
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constructor(id: Long,
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baseString: String?,
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subString: String?,
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subSubString: String?) : super(id, baseString, subString) {
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this.subSubString= subSubString
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}
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}
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Notes on usage
- It is possible to have classes in the inheritance chain that are not annotated with @BaseEntity. Their properties will be ignored and will not become part of the entity model.
- It is not generally recommend to have a base entity class consisting of an ID property only. E.g. Java imposes an additional overhead to construct objects with a sub class.
- Depending on your use case using interfaces may be more straightforward.
Restrictions
- Superclasses annotated with @BaseEntity can not be part of a library.
- There are no polymorphic queries (e.g. you cannot query for a base class and expect results from sub classes).
- Currently any superclass, whether it is an @Entity or @BaseEntity, can not have any relations (like a ToOne or ToMany property).
Java
Kotlin
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// THIS DOES NOT WORK
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@BaseEntity
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public abstract class Base {
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@Id long id;
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ToOne<OtherEntity> other;
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ToMany<OtherEntity> others;
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}
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// THIS DOES NOT WORK
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@BaseEntity
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abstract class Base {
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@Id
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var id: Long = 0
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lateinit var other: ToOne<OtherEntity>
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lateinit var others: ToMany<OtherEntity>
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}
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Last modified 1yr ago
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