Strategy in Java

Strategy is a behavioral design pattern that turns a set of behaviors into objects and makes them interchangeable inside original context object.

The original object, called context, holds a reference to a strategy object. The context delegates executing the behavior to the linked strategy object. In order to change the way the context performs its work, other objects may replace the currently linked strategy object with another one.

Learn more about Strategy

Complexity:

Popularity:

Usage examples: The Strategy pattern is very common in Java code. It’s often used in various frameworks to provide users a way to change the behavior of a class without extending it.

Java 8 brought the support of lambda functions, which can serve as simpler alternatives to the Strategy pattern.

Here some examples of Strategy in core Java libraries:

java.util.Comparator#compare() called from Collections#sort().
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet: service() method, plus all of the doXXX() methods that accept HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse objects as arguments.
javax.servlet.Filter#doFilter()

Identification: Strategy pattern can be recognized by a method that lets a nested object do the actual work, as well as a setter that allows replacing that object with a different one.

Payment method in an e-commerce app

In this example, the Strategy pattern is used to implement the various payment methods in an e-commerce application. After selecting a product to purchase, a customer picks a payment method: either Paypal or credit card.

Concrete strategies not only perform the actual payment but also alter the behavior of the checkout form, providing appropriate fields to record payment details.

strategies

strategies/PayStrategy.java: Common interface of payment methods

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies;

/**
 * Common interface for all strategies.
 */
public interface PayStrategy {
    boolean pay(int paymentAmount);
    void collectPaymentDetails();
}

strategies/PayByPayPal.java: Payment via PayPal

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * Concrete strategy. Implements PayPal payment method.
 */
public class PayByPayPal implements PayStrategy {
    private static final Map<String, String> DATA_BASE = new HashMap<>();
    private final BufferedReader READER = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
    private String email;
    private String password;
    private boolean signedIn;

    static {
        DATA_BASE.put("amanda1985", "amanda@ya.com");
        DATA_BASE.put("qwerty", "john@amazon.eu");
    }

    /**
     * Collect customer's data.
     */
    @Override
    public void collectPaymentDetails() {
        try {
            while (!signedIn) {
                System.out.print("Enter the user's email: ");
                email = READER.readLine();
                System.out.print("Enter the password: ");
                password = READER.readLine();
                if (verify()) {
                    System.out.println("Data verification has been successful.");
                } else {
                    System.out.println("Wrong email or password!");
                }
            }
        } catch (IOException ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    private boolean verify() {
        setSignedIn(email.equals(DATA_BASE.get(password)));
        return signedIn;
    }

    /**
     * Save customer data for future shopping attempts.
     */
    @Override
    public boolean pay(int paymentAmount) {
        if (signedIn) {
            System.out.println("Paying " + paymentAmount + " using PayPal.");
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    private void setSignedIn(boolean signedIn) {
        this.signedIn = signedIn;
    }
}

strategies/PayByCreditCard.java: Payment via credit card

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;

/**
 * Concrete strategy. Implements credit card payment method.
 */
public class PayByCreditCard implements PayStrategy {
    private final BufferedReader READER = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
    private CreditCard card;

    /**
     * Collect credit card data.
     */
    @Override
    public void collectPaymentDetails() {
        try {
            System.out.print("Enter the card number: ");
            String number = READER.readLine();
            System.out.print("Enter the card expiration date 'mm/yy': ");
            String date = READER.readLine();
            System.out.print("Enter the CVV code: ");
            String cvv = READER.readLine();
            card = new CreditCard(number, date, cvv);

            // Validate credit card number...

        } catch (IOException ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    /**
     * After card validation we can charge customer's credit card.
     */
    @Override
    public boolean pay(int paymentAmount) {
        if (cardIsPresent()) {
            System.out.println("Paying " + paymentAmount + " using Credit Card.");
            card.setAmount(card.getAmount() - paymentAmount);
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    private boolean cardIsPresent() {
        return card != null;
    }
}

strategies/CreditCard.java: A credit card class

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies;

/**
 * Dummy credit card class.
 */
public class CreditCard {
    private int amount;
    private String number;
    private String date;
    private String cvv;

    CreditCard(String number, String date, String cvv) {
        this.amount = 100_000;
        this.number = number;
        this.date = date;
        this.cvv = cvv;
    }

    public void setAmount(int amount) {
        this.amount = amount;
    }

    public int getAmount() {
        return amount;
    }
}

order

order/Order.java: Order class

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example.order;

import refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies.PayStrategy;

/**
 * Order class. Doesn't know the concrete payment method (strategy) user has
 * picked. It uses common strategy interface to delegate collecting payment data
 * to strategy object. It can be used to save order to database.
 */
public class Order {
    private int totalCost = 0;
    private boolean isClosed = false;

    public void processOrder(PayStrategy strategy) {
        strategy.collectPaymentDetails();
        // Here we could collect and store payment data from the strategy.
    }

    public void setTotalCost(int cost) {
        this.totalCost += cost;
    }

    public int getTotalCost() {
        return totalCost;
    }

    public boolean isClosed() {
        return isClosed;
    }

    public void setClosed() {
        isClosed = true;
    }
}

Demo.java: Client code

package refactoring_guru.strategy.example;

import refactoring_guru.strategy.example.order.Order;
import refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies.PayByCreditCard;
import refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies.PayByPayPal;
import refactoring_guru.strategy.example.strategies.PayStrategy;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * World first console e-commerce application.
 */
public class Demo {
    private static Map<Integer, Integer> priceOnProducts = new HashMap<>();
    private static BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
    private static Order order = new Order();
    private static PayStrategy strategy;

    static {
        priceOnProducts.put(1, 2200);
        priceOnProducts.put(2, 1850);
        priceOnProducts.put(3, 1100);
        priceOnProducts.put(4, 890);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        while (!order.isClosed()) {
            int cost;

            String continueChoice;
            do {
                System.out.print("Please, select a product:" + "\n" +
                        "1 - Mother board" + "\n" +
                        "2 - CPU" + "\n" +
                        "3 - HDD" + "\n" +
                        "4 - Memory" + "\n");
                int choice = Integer.parseInt(reader.readLine());
                cost = priceOnProducts.get(choice);
                System.out.print("Count: ");
                int count = Integer.parseInt(reader.readLine());
                order.setTotalCost(cost * count);
                System.out.print("Do you wish to continue selecting products? Y/N: ");
                continueChoice = reader.readLine();
            } while (continueChoice.equalsIgnoreCase("Y"));

            if (strategy == null) {
                System.out.println("Please, select a payment method:" + "\n" +
                        "1 - PalPay" + "\n" +
                        "2 - Credit Card");
                String paymentMethod = reader.readLine();

                // Client creates different strategies based on input from user,
                // application configuration, etc.
                if (paymentMethod.equals("1")) {
                    strategy = new PayByPayPal();
                } else {
                    strategy = new PayByCreditCard();
                }
            }

            // Order object delegates gathering payment data to strategy object,
            // since only strategies know what data they need to process a
            // payment.
            order.processOrder(strategy);

            System.out.print("Pay " + order.getTotalCost() + " units or Continue shopping? P/C: ");
            String proceed = reader.readLine();
            if (proceed.equalsIgnoreCase("P")) {
                // Finally, strategy handles the payment.
                if (strategy.pay(order.getTotalCost())) {
                    System.out.println("Payment has been successful.");
                } else {
                    System.out.println("FAIL! Please, check your data.");
                }
                order.setClosed();
            }
        }
    }
}

OutputDemo.txt: Execution result

Please, select a product:
1 - Mother board
2 - CPU
3 - HDD
4 - Memory
1
Count: 2
Do you wish to continue selecting products? Y/N: y
Please, select a product:
1 - Mother board
2 - CPU
3 - HDD
4 - Memory
2
Count: 1
Do you wish to continue selecting products? Y/N: n
Please, select a payment method:
1 - PalPay
2 - Credit Card
1
Enter the user's email: user@example.com
Enter the password: qwerty
Wrong email or password!
Enter user email: amanda@ya.com
Enter password: amanda1985
Data verification has been successful.
Pay 6250 units or Continue shopping?  P/C: p
Paying 6250 using PayPal.
Payment has been successful.