GeDA - Generic DTO Assembler

GeDA - Generic DTO Assembler is a neat little library that helps developers put together DTOs from Domain objects and update those Domain objects from DTOs in n-tier applications. Sounds fancy, right? But it’s super useful!

Why GeDA Exists

So, what’s the deal with this tool? Well, creating DTO Assemblers can be a bit of a hassle when you're working on n-tier applications. You need to pass information from domain objects to the UI using those Data Transfer Objects (DTOs). That’s where GeDA comes in!

Simplifying Your Workflow

The main idea behind using GeDA is to pull out just the necessary info from your domain objects as DTOs. In practice, this usually means dealing with loads of tedious get/set method calls that end up looking pretty similar across different objects.

How GeDA Works

Here’s where it gets cool! GeDA uses Java5's annotations to map those DTOs onto the paths of your Domain object properties. This is done through reflection. So, when you annotate your DTOs, they can be checked by a Generic DTO Assembler. This will create a specific instance of the assembler tailored for each DTO related to its Domain object.

The Role of the Assembler

You can think of the assembler as a placeholder for these "data pipes" that help in transferring data to and from your domain object's fields. It makes everything flow much smoother.

If you're curious to explore more about GeDA, check it out! It could really save you some time and effort!