java-design-patterns/multiton/README.md

title, category, language, tags

title	category	language	tags
Multiton	Creational	en	Instantiation

Also known as

Registry

Intent

Ensure a class only has a limited number of instances and provide a global point of access to them.

Explanation

Real-world example

The Nazgûl, also called ringwraiths or the Nine Riders, are Sauron's most terrible servants. By definition, there's always nine of them.

In plain words

Multiton pattern ensures there are a predefined amount of instances available globally.

Wikipedia says

In software engineering, the multiton pattern is a design pattern which generalizes the singleton pattern. Whereas the singleton allows only one instance of a class to be created, the multiton pattern allows for the controlled creation of multiple instances, which it manages through the use of a map.

Programmatic Example

Nazgul is the multiton class.

public enum NazgulName {

  KHAMUL, MURAZOR, DWAR, JI_INDUR, AKHORAHIL, HOARMURATH, ADUNAPHEL, REN, UVATHA
}

public final class Nazgul {

  private static final Map<NazgulName, Nazgul> nazguls;

  private final NazgulName name;

  static {
    nazguls = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.KHAMUL, new Nazgul(NazgulName.KHAMUL));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.MURAZOR, new Nazgul(NazgulName.MURAZOR));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.DWAR, new Nazgul(NazgulName.DWAR));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.JI_INDUR, new Nazgul(NazgulName.JI_INDUR));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.AKHORAHIL, new Nazgul(NazgulName.AKHORAHIL));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.HOARMURATH, new Nazgul(NazgulName.HOARMURATH));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.ADUNAPHEL, new Nazgul(NazgulName.ADUNAPHEL));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.REN, new Nazgul(NazgulName.REN));
    nazguls.put(NazgulName.UVATHA, new Nazgul(NazgulName.UVATHA));
  }

  private Nazgul(NazgulName name) {
    this.name = name;
  }

  public static Nazgul getInstance(NazgulName name) {
    return nazguls.get(name);
  }

  public NazgulName getName() {
    return name;
  }
}

And here's how we access the Nazgul instances.

// eagerly initialized multiton
LOGGER.info("Printing out eagerly initialized multiton contents");
LOGGER.info("KHAMUL={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.KHAMUL));
LOGGER.info("MURAZOR={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.MURAZOR));
LOGGER.info("DWAR={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.DWAR));
LOGGER.info("JI_INDUR={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.JI_INDUR));
LOGGER.info("AKHORAHIL={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.AKHORAHIL));
LOGGER.info("HOARMURATH={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.HOARMURATH));
LOGGER.info("ADUNAPHEL={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.ADUNAPHEL));
LOGGER.info("REN={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.REN));
LOGGER.info("UVATHA={}", Nazgul.getInstance(NazgulName.UVATHA));

// enum multiton
LOGGER.info("Printing out enum-based multiton contents");
LOGGER.info("KHAMUL={}", NazgulEnum.KHAMUL);
LOGGER.info("MURAZOR={}", NazgulEnum.MURAZOR);
LOGGER.info("DWAR={}", NazgulEnum.DWAR);
LOGGER.info("JI_INDUR={}", NazgulEnum.JI_INDUR);
LOGGER.info("AKHORAHIL={}", NazgulEnum.AKHORAHIL);
LOGGER.info("HOARMURATH={}", NazgulEnum.HOARMURATH);
LOGGER.info("ADUNAPHEL={}", NazgulEnum.ADUNAPHEL);
LOGGER.info("REN={}", NazgulEnum.REN);
LOGGER.info("UVATHA={}", NazgulEnum.UVATHA);

Program output:

20:35:07.413 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - Printing out eagerly initialized multiton contents
20:35:07.417 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - KHAMUL=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@48cf768c
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - MURAZOR=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@7960847b
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - DWAR=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@6a6824be
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - JI_INDUR=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@5c8da962
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - AKHORAHIL=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@512ddf17
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - HOARMURATH=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@2c13da15
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - ADUNAPHEL=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@77556fd
20:35:07.419 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - REN=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@368239c8
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - UVATHA=com.iluwatar.multiton.Nazgul@9e89d68
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - Printing out enum-based multiton contents
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - KHAMUL=KHAMUL
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - MURAZOR=MURAZOR
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - DWAR=DWAR
20:35:07.420 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - JI_INDUR=JI_INDUR
20:35:07.421 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - AKHORAHIL=AKHORAHIL
20:35:07.421 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - HOARMURATH=HOARMURATH
20:35:07.421 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - ADUNAPHEL=ADUNAPHEL
20:35:07.421 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - REN=REN
20:35:07.421 [main] INFO com.iluwatar.multiton.App - UVATHA=UVATHA

Class diagram

Applicability

Use the Multiton pattern when

• There must be a specific number of instances of a class, and they must be accessible to clients from a well-known access point.