Overview and

Language
Fundamentals

• Java Overview
• Writing Your first Java Program
• Language Fundamentals
(Summary)

Claudia Niederée, Joachim W. Schmidt

Software Systems Institute
OOAD 1999/2000

[email protected]
http:// www.sts.tu-harburg.de

Java: History
• Rapid development
• 1990: developed for use in electronic devices
• about 1995: gained popularity because of possible
use in the Internet
• by now: accepted as scalable programming language
for different purposes

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 Java is Designed For:

• A fresh start (no backwards compatibility)

• Pure OOP: C++ syntax, Smalltalk style
• Improvements over C++, near guarantee that you
can’t run a bad program
• Internet programming : probably can’t create viruses,
programmability at the browser end, easier
client/server programming
• Larger, more complex programs; smaller teams, less
time
• There is the speed issue

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How does Java generally work?

• Compilation creates bytecode
• Platform-independent
• Interpreted
• Bytecode is either:
– interpreted statement by statement => "slow"
– once compiled to a program in machine language
=> "fast"

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 From Source Code to Execution
class InfIng01 {
public static int min(int a, int b) {
return a < b ? a : b;
} Java-
} Interpreter
UNIX-
System

Java-
Java- Byte- Interpreter
Source
Compiler code
PC

Java-
Interpreter
Internet-Browser
Macintosh

Java- JIT*- Machine-

Interpreter Compiler code PC
for PC

* JIT = Just In Time

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Writing Your First Java Class

class Cell {
private int value = 0; Data member

void setValue(int newValue){

this.value = newValue; Class
} definition
int getValue( ) {
Methods
return this.value;
}
...
}

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 Naming Conventions
• Words run together, no underscores
• Intermediate words capitalized (getValue)
• Classes: first word capitalized (Cell)
• Methods and variables: first word lower case (value,
getValue)
• Constants: all caps with underscores to separate
words (like C).

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Writing a Java Program

import java.util.*;
class Cell {
int value = ...
void printValue(){
System.out.println(“Date: “ + new Date());
System.out.println(“Value: “+ this.value);
}
public static void main(String [] args){
Cell cell1 = new Cell();
cell1.setValue(4);
cell1.printValue();
}
}

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 The Keyword static
• Normally each object gets ist own data
• What if you want only one piece of data shared between all
objects of a class? (“class data“)
class StaticTest {
static int i = 47; See also
} System.out.println(...)

• What if you want a method that can be called for the class,
without an object? (“class method“)
class StaticFun {
static void incr() { StaticTest.i++; }
}
StaticFun.incr();
See also: main

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Using Other Components

• Bring in a library of components using import
keyword
• Can specify specific element in library:
import utility.MyTools;
• Can specify entire library:
import java.util.*;

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 Java Applications - Important Steps
• Create some source code within your text editor like the class
Cell
• Save it as .java - file, use the name of the (primary) class plus
the extension .java (e.g. Cell.java)
• Compile the source file:
javac Cell.java
• You get bytecode within a .class - files, for all the classes
included (Cell.class)
• Run your application by interpreting the primary class' bytecode
java Cell
• The Java interpreter looks for the main-method and executes it.

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Data

• In Java, almost everything is an object.

• Objects are described by reference types like the
type String, classes or arrays
• Some simple data types, however, are frequently
used as programming basis.
• These so-called primitive types are built-in types,
implying a behaviour different from reference types

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 Primitives

• Built-in types: not object handles, but variables on the

stack like C.
boolean, char (Unicode), byte, short, int, long,
float, double
• Consequences for bindings and comparisons.
• Size of each data type is machine independent.

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Binding and Comparing Primitives

• Binding a variable to a primitive value means copying this value
into the variable's storage cell.
int a = 100;
int b = 75; a 100 b 75
• Assigning a new value to an existing variable means replacing
the original value by a copy of the new value.
a = b;
• A comparison is done by comparing the bits of the copied
values. a 75 b 75
a == b;

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 Booleans
• The primitive type used to express that something
can have exactly two different states is called
boolean.
• The two literals are true and false.
• Operations on booleans :
– Comparison: ==, !=
– Negation: !
– binary logic: &, |, ^
– short-circuit-evaluation logic: &&, ||

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Ternary if-else
int a,b;
...
b = a >= 0 ? a : -a;

• Does the same as

int a,b;
...
if (a >= 0) b = a; else b = -a;

• A ternary if-else always results in a value

• Can also be used for side-effects
• Shouldn't be used too often for the sake of readable code

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 Controlling Program Flow
• Variable declaration and assignment
• Using operations on primitive data types
• Iteration
• Conditionals

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Statements
• There are two general kinds of statement
– simple statements
– compound statements
• Simple statements end with a semicolon.
• Compound statements encompass several
statements and are enclosed in brackets.
• Compound statements are also called blocks.
• Blocks are important for scoping.

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 Variables
• Variables have to be declared before they are used.
int a;
• They can be assigned changing values according to their
declared type.
a = 3; a= a + 2; a = "Oh no!";
• Declaration and assignment can be done within a single
statement.
int b = 8;
• Some operations involve implicit assignments
b = ++a; a 6 b 6

• Variables that are used but not initialized cause compile-time

errors.

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Scoping
{ /* <-- Beginning of scope 1 */
int x = 12;
/* Only x available */
{ /* <-- Beginning of scope 2 */
int q = 96;
/* Cannot redefine x here! */
/* Both x & q available */
} /* <-- End of scope 2 */
/* Only x available */
/* q out of scope */
} /* <-- End of scope 1 */

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 if-else
int a;
...
if (a >= 0)
System.out.println("Already positive");
else {
a = -a;
System.out.println("Turned positive");
}

• The statements can either be simple (terminated by

semicolon) or compound in braces.
• else is optional

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switch
char c;
...
switch(c) {
case 'a':
case 'o':
case 'u':
System.out.println("dark vowel");
break;
case 'e':
case 'i':
System.out.println("bright vowel");
break;
default:
System.out.println("no vowel");
}

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 What does switch do?
• Tests all case-conditions and executes the statement
behind the colon, if the condition is true.
• If a condition is true and the attached statement is
followed by a break, switch is finished.
• If no match occurs, the default-statement is
executed.
• switch only works on integral values like int or char.

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for
int [] a = ...;
int sum = 0;

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i ++) {

sum = sum + a[i];
}

• performs intialization before first iteration, conditional testing at

the beginning of each iteration and some form of stepping at the
end of each iteration
• all three parts are optional

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 while
int i = 0;
while (i < 10) {
System.out.println(i);
++i;
}

• Tests a condition and executes the loop-statements as long as

the condition is true.

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Nobody is perfect ...

• The following program code contains the typical
syntax errors a programmer has to cope with.
• Some appear time and again : - (
• Training to find them is useful ...

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import java.util.*;

public class goodMorning {

public void main(String[] args) {
int counter;
System.out.println(new Date())
System.out.println("Could do some sports...");
for[int i = 1; i <= 20; i++] {
if (i % 3 = 0) {System.out.println("Too tired!");continue;};
counter = (i % 2 != 0 ? counter + i : counter);
if (i % 2 == 0) System.out.print("Bowing my knees, ");
else System.out.print("Sitting up, ");
switch(i)
case 1: System.out.println("once!"); break;
case 2: System.out.println("twice!"); break;
default: System.out.println(i + " times!");
};
System.out.println("Wow, I am great!");
System.out.println("I did " + counter + " sit-ups!");
};
}
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