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javastackextending

Creating a Deck Class extending Stack

first of all let me say that this is not so much a question of how to get it to work, it is more a question of whether this is good practice or not.

I want to implement a deck of cards (As seen in a lot of games, for example TCG games), with a custom shuffle() method... For now it uses a standard library method, but that may change in the future.

The code:

package model;

import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Stack;

/**
 *
 * @author Frank
*/
public class Deck<T> extends Stack<T> {
    public void shuffle() {
        Collections.shuffle(this);
    }
}

Current code where I use it:

private Deck<Card> deck;

Just wondering if this is good practice, eager to hear answers.

Solution

  • No this is not good practice. Your Deck class should contain a Stack, it should not be a Stack.

    I'm not sure you want Stack anyway. It is more likely you want ArrayList<Card> or something like it.