Changing an object from an object inside of it

Question

If an object is inside of an object how do I manipulate the object it is inside of

Simple example of what I mean written below

How do I be able to make the mouse manipulate the cage variables (decrease cage strength).

public class Cage{ public Cage(){ cageStrength = 1; Mouse foo = new Mouse (); foo.eat(); } public void changeCageStrength(){ cageStrength--; } } }

public class Mouse{ if(condition){ eatPartOfCage(); } } public void eatPartOfCage(){ decrease cage strength; }

To clear up a misconception: an object is never "inside" another object. Rather, an object can hold a reference to another object, which analogous to a person knowing somebody else's phone number. — kaya3
– kaya3, Commented Nov 17, 2019 at 1:57

Elliott Frisch · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-17 01:36:06Z

You would need to establish a relationship beyond the fact that Mouse foo is a variable in a constructor of Cage. For example,

public class Cage { private Mouse foo; private int cageStrength; public Cage() { cageStrength = 1; foo = new Mouse(this); } public void changeCageStrength() { cageStrength--; } }

And then your Mouse foo can invoke Cage.changeCageStrength() in eat() like

public class Mouse { private Cage cage; public Mouse(Cage cage) { this.cage = cage; } public void eat() { cage.changeCageStrength(); } }

Noting that irl it’s not up to the mouse to determine if it can alter the cage strength, rather a combination of the mouse and the cage (could be a brick cage, could be a mutant mouse with toll steel teeth).

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