Java Detect Variable Change Using PropertyChangeSupport and PropertyChangeListener
- by Sam
I'm trying to print out debug statements when some third party code changes a variable. For example, consider the following:
public final class MysteryClass {
private int secretCounter;
public synchronized int getCounter() {
return secretCounter;
}
public synchronized void incrementCounter() {
secretCounter++;
}
}
public class MyClass {
public static void main(String[] args) {
MysteryClass mysteryClass = new MysteryClass();
// add code here to detect calls to incrementCounter and print a debug message
}
I don't have the ability to change the 3rd party MysteryClass, so I thought that I could use PropertyChangeSupport and PropertyChangeListener to detect changes to the secretCounter:
public class MyClass implements PropertyChangeListener {
private PropertyChangeSupport propertySupport = new PropertyChangeSupport(this);
public MyClass() {
propertySupport.addPropertyChangeListener(this);
}
public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
System.out.println("property changing: " + evt.getPropertyName());
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MysteryClass mysteryClass = new MysteryClass();
// do logic which involves increment and getting the value of MysteryClass
}
}
Unfortunately, this did not work and I have no debug messages printed out. Does anyone see what is wrong with my implementation of the PropertyChangeSupport and Listener interfaces? I want to print a debug statement whenever incrementCounter is called or the value of secretCounter changes.
