A monk of the Laughing Monkey Clan was well acquainted with
the software produced by the Charitable Temple of the
Bristling Yak, and he wished to use one of their modules for
his latest project. But the clan’s own code repository was
under heavy guard, and the monk had to obtain the permission
of the monastery’s hierarchy to consume any third-party
software.
The head priest of his clan was willing to allow the module,
but under one condition only: a wrapper class must first be
produced by the priesthood. All access to the module would
be done through the wrapper.
Said the priest, “This will ensure that you do not make use
of features which are too complex for your abilities. And
there is an added benefit: if we ever deem the Bristling
Yak’s implementation to be inadequate, our priesthood will
be able to substitute another module for the wrapper’s back
end, and no one using the wrapper will be inconvenienced by
the change.”
The monk bowed and reported this exchange to the Java
master.
The Java master called upon the priest, and suggested that
they ride together up into the mountains, there to meditate
on the best way to construct this wrapper.
“You drive,” said the master.
They seated themselves in the priest’s car, whereupon the
priest frowned.
“The tuning dial for my radio appears to have been stolen,”
said the priest.
“That is good,” said the Java master. “Music would be a
perilous distraction on the narrow roads.”
“Also, the knobs for the air conditioning,” said the priest.
“Excellent!” said the Java master. “Chill air exacerbates
rheumatism, and causes disease of the bowels.”
The priest turned the ignition key, and was answered by
silence. He left his seat to investigate.
“Additionally,” said the priest, “it appears that the hood
has been welded shut.”
“Will your good fortunes never cease!” cried the Java
master. “Now it is certain that no one may damage the
engine. And should the color of the tires ever prove
unsatisfying, I expect that they may be replaced with no
discernable effect upon the smoothness of the ride.”
