Value Objects #

Introduction #

As Wikipedia puts it

In computer science, a value object is a small object that represents a simple entity whose equality is not based on identity: i.e. two value objects are equal when they have the same value, not necessarily being the same object.

There are two main characteristics for value objects:

• They have no identity
• They are immutable

Martin Fowler explains ValueObject in perhaps one of the easiest to understand language with examples. It's a must-read!!

The abstract class ValueObject helps us create these immutable objects in a much simplified manner

Class Signature #

abstract class ValueObject<T extends ValueObjectType = string> implements Serializable {
  //
}

abstract class ValueObject<T extends ValueObjectType = string> implements Serializable {
  //
}

Default validations #

These are the default validations in place but can be overridden