Java Programming – Basics
Course Objectives
To revise Object Oriented Programming concepts
To introduce Java architecture and the basic syntax of Java
To introduce the implementation of object oriented concepts using Java
To introduce the Java library
To introduce exception handling in Java
To introduce annotations in Java
Agenda
Object Oriented Concepts
The Java Architecture
The basic constructs in Java
Arrays
What is Java and where is Java being used?
Java is a very powerful OO programming language developed by Sun
Microsystems
Java is widely used for developing web applications
Java is the programming language used for developing Enterprise
Applications using the JEE Platform
Expectations
At the end of this course, the participants are expected to be proficient in
the following
Object Oriented Programming using Java
Object Oriented Programming – A Quick Revision
Software Complexity
There are two categories of software
Software developed for individuals for their own use
Industrial strength software normally used by many people
Industrial strength software is very complex in nature because of several
reasons
Numerous Business rules (Functional Requirements)
Non-Functional Requirements like Usability, Performance, Reliability
etc
Complexity due to development process
Notes
Industrial strength software is very complex in nature because of several
reasons. The software has to satisfy a number of functional and non functional
requirements. For example, a banking software may have to satisfy the following
functional and non functional requirements.
Functional Requirements
All accounts should maintain a minimum balance of Rs. 500/-
1. The minimum amount that can be withdrawn from an account should be
Rs. 10/-
2. The minimum deposit that can be made to an account should be Rs. 10/-
3. etc…
Non-Functional Requirements
Usability - The software should have a good graphical user interface so that bank
clerks and customers with minimum knowledge of computers should be able to
use the software easily
1. Performance - The software should give a response within 2 seconds to
any request even when 500 users are simultaneously logged in
2. Reliability - The software should be running 24 x 7 without any downtime
3. etc…
Ways to handle Software Complexity
Unstructured Programming
Use of goto statements
Lengthy code with no modularity
As size increases, code becomes more complex to maintain
Procedural Programming or Structured Programming was introduced to
handle software complexity
Brought in Modularity in coding, enhancing maintainability
Complexity made manageable by hiding complexity inside functions
(Concept of APIs)
Introduced the concept of structures (also known as data
structures)
Earlier, programmers used to write programs in an unstructured way. The
programs were not split into small modules and often were very lengthy. They
frequently used the “goto” statement to jump from one part of a program to
another. This made the physical sequence of the program entirely different from
the logical sequence. As the size increases, such programs were very difficult to
understand and maintain.
Structured Programming tried to address these problems by suggesting the
following.
1. Minimize and if possible eliminate the use of the goto statement
2. Write modular programs
3. Write readable programs
Structured Programming reduced the complexity of programs to an extend.
Limitations of Structured Programming
In structured programming, focus is on the algorithm and importance is
given to the procedure (logic) and not to the data on which these
procedures operate
The entire problem was divided into a number of smaller units
Functions/Procedures
All these units need to work on a data item to produce the result
The data need to be global
Global data made the code complex
As the code size grows, maintaining code becomes difficult
Notes
Even though structured programming is a good style of programming compared
to the unstructured style, there are several problems in this style also. In
structured programming, the focus is on process rather than on data. Design
approach is “Top-Down” where the entire solution is divided into smaller units
(Functions and Procedures). All these smaller units need to work on a data item
to return the result. For this reason the data items used are global which could
be accessed by all modules. This increased the complexity of the program. If the
data is getting corrupted, it was difficult to pin point the faulty module that
corrupted the data.
Object Oriented Programming
The entire program is visualized as a number of objects interacting
with each other
An object is a self-contained entity that contains attributes (data) and
behaviors (functions)
– Car, Telephone, Pen
For using an object one needs to just invoke a method (function) on the
object
No need to know the internal details (data) of the object
Notes
Object Oriented Programming solves the problems one faces with structured
programming. In OOP, the entire program is viewed as a number of objects
interacting with each other. Each object will have some data and functions. One
can use an object just by knowing the functions. There is no need to know about
the data for using an object. This reduces the complexity of an object.
For example, a Stack object will have a list as data and push and pop as
functions. The list could be made up of an array or a linked list. One need not
know this to use the Stack as long as one knows how to use the push and pop
functions. This makes the usage of Stack very simple.
Consider a banking application. In structured programming, the application will
contain a set of functions, arrays, structures and files. It would be difficult for
anyone to look at this and relate it with the activities of a bank. In OOP, the
application will contain objects like Customer, Account and Manager that interact
with each other. Since real life situations could be modeled well, this application
is very easy to understand and maintain.
Example: Car object
State
– Current Speed
– Current Gear
– Engine State (Running, Not Running)
Behavior (Acts on the object and changes state)
– Slow down
– Accelerate
– Stop
– Switch Off Engine
– Start Engine
Example: Dog Object
State
– Color
– Breed
– Activity (Barking/Not barking)
– Tail Activity (Wagging/Not Wagging)
Behavior
– Bark
– Wag Tail
– Eat
A Class
Is a blue print used to create objects.
Is a software template that defines the methods and variables to be
included in a particular kind of Object.
Examples
Animal, Human Being, Automobiles, Bank Account, Customer
Notes
A class is a blue print used to create objects. Class is an idea whereas object is a
real thing. For example, Fruit is a class whereas apple and mango are objects of
that class. Class gives the general characteristics of all the objects that are
created from it. Once the objects required for an application are identified,
classes are designed from which these objects could be created.
For example, in a banking application, we have many objects called Customer.
Each Customer will have some data like Customer Number, Name, Address,
Account No and functions for setting and getting these data. First a class called
Customer is created. Any number of objects can now be created from this class,
each representing a real Customer of the bank.
A class contains state and behavior
State (Member Variables)
Variables defined inside the class
Not exposed to external world
Behavior (Member Methods)
Functions defined inside the class
Behavior exhibited by the class to external world
Exposed to external world
An object is an instance of a class
Abstraction (1/2)
The process of exposing the relevant details and hiding the irrelevant
details is called Abstraction
Helps simplify the understanding and using of any complex system
One does not have to understand how the engine works to drive a
car
Similarly one does not have to understand the internal
implementation of a software object to use it
Notes
The process of exposing the relevant details and hiding the irrelevant details is
called Abstraction. Abstraction is not an entirely new concept introduced by OOP.
Structured Programming also supported abstraction with the help of data
structures and functions. For example, one need not know the internal details of
the printf function of C to use it. One need not know about how characters are
converted to ASCII code and stored in the memory for using a character array.
OOP provides better abstraction. While structured programming provides
abstraction at the level of data structures and function, OOP provides abstraction
at a higher level; that is at the level of objects. Higher the abstraction level
easier it is to understand.
