Understanding Java Record Class in 2 minutes

Introduction Released in Java 14 as a preview, more specifically in JEP 395 , Record Class is an alternative to working with Classes in Java. Record Class was a very interesting approach designed to eliminate the verbosity when you need to create a class and its components, such as: Canonical constructors Public access methods Implement the equals and hashCode methods Implement the toString method Using Record Classes it is no longer necessary to declare the items above, helping the developer to be more focused on other tasks. Let's understand better in practice. Let's create a Java class called User and add some fields and methods. Note that for a simple class with 4 fields, we create a constructor, public access methods, implement the equals and hashCode methods and finally, the toString method. It works well, but we could avoid the complexity and create less verbose code. In that case, we can use Record Classes instead User class above. User Record Class The difference between Record and a traditional Java Class is remarkable. Note that it wasn't necessary to declare the fields, create the access methods or implement any other method. In a Record Class when created, implicitly the public access methods are created, the implementations of the equals , hashCode and toString methods are also created automatically and it is not necessary to implement them explicitly. And finally, the reference fields or components are created as private final with the same names. Output Disadvantages Record Class behaves like a common Java class, but the difference is that you can't work with inheritance. You can't extends another class, only implement one or more interfaces. Another point is that it's not possible to create non-static instance variables. Final conclusion Record Classes is a great approach for anyone looking for less verbose code or who needs agility in implementing models. Despite the limitation of not being able to extends other Record Classes, it's a limitation that doesn't affect its use in general. Hope you enjoyed!