nameof equivalent in Java

Question

C# 6.0 introduced the nameof() operator, that returns a string representing the name of any class / function / method / local-variable / property identifier put inside it.

If I have a class like this:

class MyClass
{
    public SomeOtherClass MyProperty { get; set; }

    public void MyMethod()
    {
        var aLocalVariable = 12;
    }
}

I can use the operator like this:

// with class name:
var s = nameof(MyClass); // s == "MyClass"

// with properties:
var s = nameof(MyClass.OneProperty); // s == "OneProperty"

// with methods:
var s = nameof(MyClass.MyMethod); // s == "MyMethod"

// with local variables:
var s = nameof(aLocalVariable); // s == "aLocalVariable".

This is useful since the correct string is checked at compile time. If I misspell the name of some property/method/variable, the compiler returns an error. Also, if I refactor, all the strings are automatically updated. See for example this documentation for real use cases.

Is there any equivalent of that operator in Java? Otherwise, how can I achieve the same result (or similar)?

Answer 1

It can be done using runtime byte code instrumentation, for instance using Byte Buddy library.

See this library: https://github.com/strangeway-org/nameof

The approach is described here: http://in.relation.to/2016/04/14/emulating-property-literals-with-java-8-method-references/

Usage example:

public class NameOfTest {
    @Test
    public void direct() {
        assertEquals("name", $$(Person.class, Person::getName));
    }

    @Test
    public void properties() {
        assertEquals("summary", Person.$(Person::getSummary));
    }
}