Can Java store methods in arrays?

You can't store methods in arrays in Java, because methods aren't first-class objects in Java. It's a reason some people prefer to use other languages like Python, Scheme, etc.

The work-around is to create an interface which contains one method, then create four classes implementing that interface - the MoveRight, MoveLeft, etc... classes. Then you can store instances of those classes in your array and call them all the same way.


Yes, you can store methods in arrays using Reflection, however it is likely that what you actually want to do in this situation is use polymorphism.

As an example of polymorphism in relation to your problem - say you created an interface as follows:

public interface MoveCommand {
    void move();
}

You can then create implementations as follows:

public class MoveLeftCommand implements MoveCommand {
    public void move() {
        System.out.println("LEFT");
    }
}

etc. for the other move options. You could then store these in an MoveCommand[] or collection like a List<MoveCommand>, and then iterate over the array/collection calling move() on each element, for example:

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<MoveCommand> commands = new ArrayList<MoveCommand>();
        commands.add(new MoveLeftCommand());
        commands.add(new MoveRightCommand());
        commands.add(new MoveLeftCommand());

        for (MoveCommand command:commands) {
            command.move();
        }
    }

}

Polymorphism is very powerful, and the above is a very simple example of something called the Command Pattern. Enjoy the rest of your Wumpus World implementation :)


You cannot store methods directly in arrays. However you can store objects, which implement the same method differently. For example:

Mover[] moveArray = {new RightMover(), new DownMover() new LeftMover(), new UpMover() };
for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
    while (myWumpus.moveArray[i]) {
        moveArray[i].move();
        generator.updateDisplay();
    }
}