| Convert an object to a String. The intent of this is to provide a flexible means
to control the string representation of an Object. The toString() routine has many
issues, including:
- appropriateness for end-user viewing (within a CLI for example)
- an object may not have implemented a toString() method
- the output of toString() may simply be unacceptable (eg class@eebc1933)
- it may be desirable to have many variations on the output
- modifying toString() requires modifying the orignal class; a Stringifier
or many of them can exist independently, making it easy to apply many different
types of formatting to the same class.
The intended use is generally to have a separate class implement Stringifier, rather
than the class to be stringified. |
