Law of Demeter (Don't Talk to Strangers)

Overview

Only talk to your immediate friends, not strangers.

A method should only call methods on: itself, its parameters, objects it creates, or its direct components. Never reach through an object to access another object's internals.

When to Use

• Accessing nested properties: obj.a.b.c
• Chaining method calls: obj.getA().getB().getC()
• Reaching through objects for data
• Long dot chains in your code

The Iron Rule