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POWhich is better Java programming practice: stacking enums and enum constructors, or subclassing?
 

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    <p>Given a finite number of items which differ in kind, is it better to represent them with stacked enums and enum constructors, or to subclass them? Or is there a better approach altogether?</p> <p>To give you some context, in my small RPG program (which ironically is supposed to be simple), a character has different kinds of items in his or her inventory. Items differ based on their type and use and effect. </p> <p>For example, one item of inventory is a spell scroll called Gremlin that adjusts the Utility attribute. Another item might be a sword called Mort that is used in combat and inflicts damage. </p> <p>In my RPG code, I now have tried two ways of representing inventory items. One way was subclassing (for example, InventoryItem -> Spell -> AdjustingAttributes; InventoryItem -> Weapon -> Sword) and instantiating each subclass when needed, and assigning values such as names like Gremlin and Mort. </p> <p>The other way was by stacking enums and enum constructors. For example, I created enums for itemCategory and itemSpellTypes and itemWeaponTypes, and the InventoryItem enum was like this:</p> <pre><code>public enum InventoryItem { GREMLIN(itemType.SPELL, itemSpellTypes.ATTRIBUTE, Attribute.UTILITY), MORT(itemType.WEAPON, itemWeaponTypes.SWORD, 30); InventoryItem(itemType typeOfItem, itemSpellTypes spellType, Attribute attAdjusted) { // snip, enum logic here } InventoryItem(itemType typeOfItem, itemWeaponTypes weaponType, int dmg) { // snip, enum logic here } // and so on, for all the permutations of items. } </code></pre> <p>Is there a better Java programming practice than these two approaches? Or if these are the only ways, which of the two is better? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.</p>
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