Record patterns (destructuring)

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Code Comparison

if (obj instanceof Point) {
    Point p = (Point) obj;
    int x = p.getX();
    int y = p.getY();
    System.out.println(x + y);
}

if (obj instanceof Point(int x, int y)) {
    IO.println(x + y);
}

Why the modern way wins

🎯

Direct extraction

Access record components without calling accessors manually.

🪆

Nestable

Patterns can nest — match inner records in a single expression.

📏

Compact code

Five lines become two — less ceremony, same clarity.

Old Approach

Manual Access

Modern Approach

Destructuring

JDK Support

Record patterns (destructuring)

Available

Widely available since JDK 21 LTS (Sept 2023)

How it works

Record patterns let you decompose a record's components directly in instanceof and switch. Nested patterns are supported too, enabling deep matching without intermediate variables.