JAVA
Variables Declaring Variables Over writing Variables Data types Displaying contents of a Variable Naming a Variable Strings
What is a Variable?
When a Java program is running, it would need memory storage to store values RAM is used to store these temporary values
These small memory locations are called variables.
How do Variables work?
As programmers we can create variables that have a particular data type to store values All the different variables have to have unique names If we imagine the RAM as a set of pigeon holes, to put a pigeon in its pigeon hole we would need to give the hole a name and then the pigeon/data which it can home must be set/declared.
Example
Lets say we need to store three pigeons we need to create two pigeon holes (variables) called P1which is set to hole Billy, P2 set to hold Henry and P3 to hold Milly .
Billy
Henry
Milly
NOTE: A variable can only hold one value, you cannot have two pigeons in one pigeon hole
P1
P2
P3
Declaring a Variable
Before using a we have to declare/set it
When declaring a variable we must include two aspects; 1. Variable name 2. Variable data type
type variable_name;
Example
Lets say we want to declare to variables to hole numbers
N1 N2
NOTE:Type int can only hold integers. We will learn different data types soon.
INT
INT
int N1; int N2;
class VariablesExample { public static void main (String args[]){ //variables are declared The memory locations for three int N1; variables are created. These can only int N2; store whole numbers. int tot; //assign values to variables N1 = 50; Numbers are stored in the variables N2 = 13; //the total of variables N1 and N2 //is stored in tot tot = N1 + N2; Instead of storing a particular value in tot, the sum of N1 and N2 is } stored. }
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What we have
N1 N2 tot
50
13
63
Overtyping
If we take the example pf before where we have the following variables 1. N1 = 50 2. N2 = 13
If we change N1 to hold the number 33 (N1 = 33) then the integer 50 will be overwritten but 33 and the 50 will be lost
Direct initialisation
We can decide to set a value to the variables as soon as we create them This is call Direct initialisation
The program would work the same it would just be shorter
class VariablesExample { public static void main (String args[]){ //variables are declared are assigned N1 and N2 are declared as int int N1 = 50; and assigned a value immediately. int N2 = 13; int tot; //the total of variables N1 and N2 //is stored in tot tot = N1 + N2; } }
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Data Types Integers
The following are examples of integer data types you need to know
Data Types Real (numbers)
The following are examples of real data types you need to know
Data Types
The following are examples of some other data types you need to know
Important information
When assigning a value to a character variable, the character to be assigned must be enclosed in single quotes.
class CharEx { public static void main (String args[]){ char label; label = B; } }
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Important information
When assigning a value to a boolean variable, we can only store true or false; these are not to be placed in single quotes.
class BooleanEx { public static void main (String args[]){ boolean canDrive; canDrive=false; } }
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Displaying Contents of a Variable
We print the contents of a variable using System.out.ptintln()
System.out.println(variable_name)
In order to print the contents of a variable it is important that the variable name is not placed inside quotes If we put the variable name in quotes the name of the variable will appear
Example
char letter; letter = C; System.out.println(letter);
Output = letter
char letter; letter = C; System.out.println(letter);
Output = C
Activity
Go back to the programs we have writing and output the contents of the variables
Giving Variables a Name
These are some of the things to remember: It must start with a lowercase letter, It cannot be a keyword used in Java, It must be unique, It cannot contain blank spaces (use CamelCase) It must reflect the contents that it will store
Strings
In some programs we would want to store text The char data type cannot be used since it can only store one character
We use what is called a String which stores characters, numbers, a mixture of both and also symbols
Example
Lets say we want to store out name
String fullName = Ruby Borg;
To output a string we use System.out.print()
System.out.println(fullName);
To combine a String with more text, the + operator is used
System.out.println (The next person is +fullName);
Activity
Create a program to hold and output your name and class. Out put should be as follows
My name is Ruth Borg I am in form 4 One
