Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

abstraction
A simplified representation of something that is potentially quite complex. It is often
not necessary to know the exact details of how something works, is represented or is
implemented, because we can still make use of it in its simplified form. Object-
oriented design often involves finding the right level of abstraction at which to work
when modeling real-life objects. If the level is too high, then not enough detail will be
captured. If the level is too low, then a program could be more complex and difficult
to create and understand than it needs to be.
accessor method
A method specifically designed to provide access to a private attribute of a class. By
convention, we name accessors with a get prefix followed by the name of the
attribute being accessed. For instance, the accessor for an attribute named speed
would be getSpeed. By making an attribute private, we prevent objects of other
classes from altering its value other than through a mutator method. Accessors are
used both to grant safe access to the value of a private attribute and to protect
attributes from inspection by objects of other classes. The latter goal is achieved by
choosing an appropriate visibility for the accessor.
actual argument or actual parameter
The value of an argument passed to a method from outside the method. When a
method is called, the actual argument values are copied into the corresponding formal
arguments. The types of the actual arguments must be compatible with those of the
formal arguments.
argument
Information passed to a method. Arguments are also sometimes called parameters. A
method expecting to receive arguments must contain a formal argument declaration
for each as part of its method header. When a method is called, the actual argument
values are copied into the corresponding formal arguments.
arithmetic expression
An expression involving numerical values of integer or floating point types. For
instance, operators such as +, -, *, / and % take arithmetic expressions as their
operands and produce arithmetic values as their results.
arithmetic operator
Operators, such as +, -, *, / and %, that produce a numerical result, as part of an
arithmetic expression.
array
A fixed-size object that can hold zero or more items of the array's declared type.
array initializer
An initializer for an array. The initializer takes the place of separate creation and
initialization steps. For instance, the initializer
int[] pair = { 4, 2, };
is equivalent to the following four statements.
int[] pair;
pair = new int[2];
pair[0] = 4;
pair[1] = 2;
assignment operator
The operator (=) used to store the value of an expression into a variable, for instance

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

variable = expression;
The right-hand-side is completely evaluated before the assignment is made. An
assignment may, itself, be used as part of an expression. The following assignment
statement stores zero into both variables.
x = y = 0;
assignment statement
A statement using the assignment operator.
attribute
A particular usage of an instance variable. The set of attribute values held in a
particular instance of a class define the current state of that instance. A class
definition may impose particular constraints on the valid states of its instances by
requiring that a particular attribute, or set of attributes, do not take on particular
values. For instance, attributes holding coursework marks for a class should not hold
negative values. Attributes should be manipulated by accessor and mutator methods.

binary
Number representation in base 2. In base 2, only the digits 0 and 1 are used. Digit
positions represent successive powers of 2. See bit.
binary operator
An operator taking two operands. Java has many binary operators, such as the
arithmetic operators +, -, *, / and %, and the boolean operators &&, || and ^, amongst
others.
bit
A binary digit, which can take on two possible values: 0 and 1. Bits are the
fundamental building block of both programs and data. Computers regularly move
data around in multiples of eight-bit units (bytes for the sake of efficiency).
block
Statements and declarations enclosed between a matching pair of curly brackets ({
and }). For instance, a class body is a block, as is a method body. A block encloses a
nested scope level.
boolean
One of Java's primitive types. The boolean type has only two values: true and
false.
boolean expression
An expression whose result is of type boolean, i.e. gives a value of either true or
false. Operators such as && and || take boolean operands and produce a boolean
result. The relational operators take operands different types and produce boolean
results.
bounds
The limits of an array or collection. In Java, the lower limit is always zero. In the case
of an array, the upper bound is one less than then length of the array, and is fixed.
Indexing outside the bounds of an array or collection will result in an
IndexOutOfBoundsException exception being thrown.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

break statement
A statement used to break out of a loop, switch statement or labeled block. In all
cases, control continues with the statement immediately following the containing
block.
byte
In general computing, this refers to eight bits of data. In Java it is also the name of one
of the primitive data types, who size is eight bits.

case label
The value used to select a particular case in a switch statement.
cast
Where Java does not permit the use of a source value of one type, it is necessary to
use a cast to force the compiler to accept the use for the target type. Care should be
taken with casting values of primitive types, because this often involves loss of
information. Casts on object references are checked at runtime for legality. A
ClassCastException exception will be thrown for illegal ones.
class
A programming language concept that allows data and methods to be grouped
together. The class concept is fundamental to the notion of an object-oriented
programming language. The methods of a class define the set of permitted operations
on the class's data (its attributes). This close tie between data and operations means
that an instance of a class - an object - is responsible for responding to messages
received via its defining class's methods.
class body
The body of a class definition. The body groups the definitions of a class's members -
fields, methods and nested classes.
class constant
A variable defined as both final and static.
class header
The header of a class definition. The header gives a name to the class and defines its
access. It also describes whether the class extends a super class or implements any
interfaces.
class inheritance
When a super class is extended by a sub class, a class inheritance relationship exists
between them. The sub class inherits the methods and attributes of its super class. In
Java, class inheritance is single inheritance.
class method
A synonym for static method.
class scope
Private variables defined outside the methods within a class have class scope. They
are accessible from all methods within the class, regardless of the order in which they
are defined. Private methods also have class scope. Variables and methods may have
a wider scope if they do not use the private access modifier.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

class variable
A synonym for static variable.
cohesion
The extent to which a component performs a single well-defined task. A strongly
cohesive method, for instance, will perform a single task, such as adding an item to a
data structure, or sorting some data, whereas a weakly cohesive method will be
responsible for several disparate tasks. Weakly cohesive components should, in
general, be split into separate more cohesive components. The java.util package is a
weakly cohesive package because it contains many unrelated classes and interfaces,
whereas the java.io package is highly cohesive.
comment
A piece of text intended for the human reader of a program. Compilers ignore their
contents.
compilation
The process of translating a programming language. This often involves translating a
high level programming language into a low level programming language, or the
binary form of a particular instruction set. The translation is performed by a program
called a compiler. A Java compiler translates programs into bytecodes.
compiler
A program which performs a process of compilation on a program written in a high
level programming language.
condition
A boolean expression controlling a conditional statement or loop.
conditional operator
An operator taking three operands - a ternary operator. The conditional operator (?:)
is used in the form
bexpr ? expr1 : expr2
where bexpr is a boolean expression. The boolean expression has the value true then
the result of the operation is the value of expr1, otherwise it is the value of expr2.
constant
A variable whose value may not be changed. In Java, these are implemented by final
variables.
constructor
A constructor is automatically called when an instance of its class is created. A
constructor always has the same name as its class, and has no return type. For instance
public class Ship {
public Ship(String name){
...
}
...
}
A class with no explicit constructor has an implicit no-arg constructor, which takes
no arguments and has an empty body.
continue statement
A statement that may only be used inside the body of a loop. In the case of a while
loop or do loop, control passes immediately to the loop's terminating test. In the case
of a for loop, control passes to the post-body update expression.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

control structure
A statement that affects the flow of control within a method. Typical control structures
are loops and if statements.

decrement operator
An operator (--) that adds one to its operand. It has two forms: pre-decrement (--x)
and post-decrement (x--). In its pre-decrement form, the result of the expression is
the value of its argument after the decrement. In its post-decrement form, the result is
the value of its argument before the decrement is performed. After the following,
int a = 5, b = 5;
int y,z;
y = --a;
z = b--
y has the value 4 and z has the value 5. Both a and b have the value 4.
default constructor
A constructor that takes no arguments. By default, all classes without an explicit
constructor have a default constructor with public access. Its role is purely to invoke
the default constructor of the immediate super class.
data type
There are eight primitive data types in Java; five of these represent numerical types of
varying range and precision - double, float, int, long and short. The remaining
three are used to representing single-bit values (boolean), single byte values (byte)
and two-byte characters from the ISO Unicode character set (char).
decimal
Number representation in base 10. In base 10, the digits 0 to 9 are used. Digit
positions represent successive powers of 10.
default initial value
The default value of any variable not explicitly initialized when it is declared. Fields
of numeric primitive types have the value zero by default, boolean variables have the
value false, char variables have the value \u0000 and object references have the
value null. The initial values of local variables are undefined, unless explicitly
initialized.
default label
The destination for all values used in a switch statement expression that do not have
explicit case labels. A default label is optional.
do loop
One of Java's three control structures used for looping. The other two are the while
loop and for loop. A do loop consists of a loop body and a boolean expression. The
condition is tested after the loop body has been completed for the first time and re-
tested each time the end of the body is completed. The loop terminates when the
condition gives the value false. The statements in the loop body will always be
executed at least once.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

encapsulation
Safeguarding the state of an objects by defining its attributes as private and
channeling access to them through accessor and mutator methods.
enum
An enum type is a special data type that enables for a variable to be a set of
predefined constants. The variable must be equal to one of the values that have been
predefined for it. Common examples include compass directions (values of NORTH,
SOUTH, EAST, and WEST) and the days of the week.
Because they are constants, the names of an enum type's fields are in uppercase
letters. In the Java programming language, you define an enum type by using the
enum keyword. For example, you would specify a days-of-the-week enum type as:
public enum Day {
SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY,
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY
}
exclusive-or operator
The exclusive-or boolean operator (^) gives the value true if only one of its operands
is true, otherwise it gives the value false. Similarly, the bit manipulation version
produces a 1 bit wherever the corresponding bits in its operands are different.
expression
A combination of operands and operators that produces a resulting value.
Expressions have a resulting type, that affects the context in which they may be used.
See boolean expression and arithmetic expression, for instance.

field
Variables defined inside a class or interface, outside of the methods. Fields are
members of a class.
final variable
A variable with the final reserved word in its declaration. A final may not assigned
to once it has been initialized. Initialization often takes place as part of its declaration.
However, the initialization of an uninitialized final field (known as a blank final
variable) may be deferred to the class's constructor, or an initializer.
first in, first out
The (FIFO) semantics of a queue data structure. Items are removed in the order in
which they arrived in the queue, so older items are always removed before newer
ones. See last in, first out.
floating point number
See real number.
for loop
One of Java's three control structures used for looping. The other two are the while
loop and do loop. A for loop consists of a loop header and a loop body. The header
consists of three expressions separated by two semicolons and one or more of these
may be omitted. The first expression is only evaluated once, at the point the loop is

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

entered. The middle expression is a boolean expression representing the loop's

termination test. An empty expression represents the value true. The third expression
is evaluated after each completion of the loop's body. The loop terminates when the
termination test gives the value false. The statements in the loop body might be
executed zero or more times.
formal argument or formal parameter
The definition of a method's argument which are part of a method header. Each
formal argument has an associated type. When a method is called, the actual
argument values are copied into the corresponding formal arguments. The types of the
actual arguments must be compatible with those of the formal arguments.

hash code
A value returned by a hash function. A hash code can be used as an index into a
random-access data structure, providing an efficient mapping between an object and
its location. Used by classes such as HashMap.
hash function
A function used to produce a hash code from the arbitrary contents of an object.
Classes can override the hashValue method, inherited from the Object class, to
define their own hash function.
heterogeneous collection
A collection of objects with different dynamic types. See homogeneous collection.
hexadecimal
Number representation in base 16. In base 16, the digits 0 to 9 and the letters A to F
are used. A represents 10 (base 10), B represents 11 (base 10), and so on. Digit
positions represent successive powers of 16.
homogeneous collection
A collection of objects with the same dynamic type. Arrays are the most common
homogeneous collection objects. See heterogeneous collection.

identifier
A programmer-defined name for a variable, method, class or interface.
if-else statement
A control structure used to choose between performing one of two alternative actions.
if(boolean-expression){
// Statements performed if expression is true.
...
}
else{
// Statements performed if expression is false.
...
}
It is controlled by a boolean expression. See if statement.
if statement
A control structure used to choose between performing or not performing further
actions.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

if(boolean-expression){
// Statements performed if expression is true.
...
}
It is controlled by a boolean expression. See if-else statement.
implicit type conversion
Type conversion that does not require a cast. Implicit type conversions typically do
not involve any loss of information. For instance, combining an integer operand with
a floating point operand in an arithmetic expression will result in an implicit type
conversion of the integer to an equivalent floating point value.
import statement
A statement that makes the names of one or more classes or interfaces available in a
different package from the one in which they are defined. Import statements follow
any package declaration {package!declaration}, and precede any class or interface
definitions.
increment operator
An operator (++) that adds one to its operand. It has two forms: pre-increment (++x)
and post-increment (x++). In its pre-increment form, the result of the expression is the
value of its argument after the increment. In its post-increment form, the result is the
value of its argument before the increment is performed. After the following,
int a = 5, b = 5;
int y,z;
y = ++a;
z = b++
y has the value 6 and z has the value 5. Both a and b have the value 6.
infinite loop
A loop whose termination test never evaluates to false. Sometimes this is a
deliberate act on the part of the programmer, using a construct such as
while(true) ...
or
for( ; ; ) ...
but it can sometimes be the result of a logical error in the programming of a normal
loop condition or the statements in the body of the loop.
information hiding
The practice of ensuring that only as much information is revealed about the
implementation of a class as is strictly required. Hiding unnecessary knowledge of
implementation makes it less likely that other classes will rely on that knowledge for
their own implementation. This tends to reduce the strength of coupling between
classes. It also reduces that chance that a change of the underlying implementation
will break another class. Ensuring that all fields of a class are defined as private, is
one of the ways that we seek to promote information hiding.
inheritance
A feature of object-oriented programming languages in which a sub type inherits
methods and variables from its super type. Inheritance is most commonly used as a
synonym for class inheritance {class!inheritance}, but interface inheritance is also a
feature of some languages, including Java.
inheritance hierarchy
The relationship between super classes and sub classes is known as an inheritance
hierarchy. Single inheritance of classes means that each class has only a single
`parent' class and that the Object class is the ultimate ancestor of all classes - at the

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

top of the hierarchy. Two classes that have the same immediate super class can be
thought of as sibling sub classes. Multiple inheritance of interfaces gives the
hierarchy a more complex structure than that resulting from simple class inheritance.
initializer
A block defined at the outermost level of a class - similar to a method without a
header. Initializer blocks are executed, in order, when an instance is created. They are
executed before the constructor of the defining class, but after any super class
constructor. They are one of the places in which blank final variables may be
initialized.
instance
A synonym for object. Objects of a class are instantiated when a class constructor is
invoked via the new operator.
instance variable
A non-static field of a class. Each individual object of a class has its own copy of such
a field. This is in contrast to a class variable which is shared by all instances of the
class. Instance variables are used to model the attributes of a class.
instantiation
The creation of an instance of a class - that is, an object.
integer
A positive or negative whole number. The primitive types byte, short, int and long
are used to hold integer values within narrower or wider ranges.
interpreter
A program which executes a translated version of a source program by implementing
a virtual machine. Interpreters typically simulate the actions of an idealized Central
Processing Unit. An interpreter for Java must implement the Java Virtual Machine
(JVM) and executes the bytecodes produced by a Java compiler. The advantage of
using an interpreter for Java is that it make the language more portable than if it were
a fully compiled language. The bytecode version of a program produced by a Java
compiler may be run on any interpreter implementing the JVM.
is-a relationship
See inheritance.
iteration
Repetition of a set of statements, usually using a looping control structure, such as a
while loop, for loop or do loop.

key value
The object used to generate an associated hash code for lookup in an associative data
structure.

last in, first out

The (LIFO) semantics of a stack data structure. Items are removed in the opposite
order to which they arrived in the stack, so newer items are always removed before
older ones. See first in, first out.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

local variable
A variable defined inside a method body.
logical error
An error in the logical of a method or class. Such an error might not lead to an
immediate runtime error, but could have a significant impact on overall program
correctness.
logical operators
Operators, such as &&, ||, &, | and ^ that take two boolean operands and produce a
boolean result. Used as part of a boolean expression, often in the condition of a
control structure.
loop variable
A variable used to control the operation of a loop, such as a for loop. Typically, a
loop variable will be given an initial value and it is then incremented after each
iteration until it reaches or passes a terminating value.

main method
The starting point for program execution
public static void main(String[] args)
member
For now, the members of a class are fields and methods.
method
The part of a class definition that implements some of the behavior of objects of the
class. The body of the method contains declarations of local variables and statements
to implement the behavior. A method receives input via its arguments, if any, and
may return a result if it has not been declared as void.
method body
The body of a method: everything inside the outermost block of a method.
method header
The header of a method, consisting of the method name, its result type, formal
arguments and any exceptions thrown.
method overloading
Two or more methods with the same name defined within a class are said to be
overloaded. This applies to both constructors and other methods. Overloading applies
through a class hierarchy, so a sub class might overload a method defined in one of its
super classes. It is important to distinguish between an overloaded method and an
overridden method. Overloaded methods must be distinguishable in some way from
each other; either by having different numbers of arguments, or by the types of those
arguments being different. Overridden methods have identical formal arguments.
method overriding
A method defined in a super class may be overridden by a method of the same name
defined in a sub class. The two methods must have the same name and number and
types of formal arguments. Any checked exception thrown by the sub class version
must match the type of one thrown by the super class version, or be a sub class of
such an exception. However, the sub class version does not have to throw any
exceptions that are thrown by the super class version. It is important to distinguish
between method overriding and method overloading. Overloaded methods have the

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

same names, but differ in their formal arguments. See overriding for breadth,
overriding for chaining and overriding for restriction.
method result
The value returned from a method via a return statement. The type of the expression
in the return statement must match the return type declared in the method header.
method signature
The signature of a method consists of its name and the types of its parameters
(enclosed in parentheses and separated by commas).
method variable
See local variable.
mutator method
A method specifically designed to allow controlled modification of a private
attribute of a class. By convention, we name mutators with a set prefix followed by
the name of the attribute being modified. For instance, the mutator for an attribute
named speed would be setSpeed. By making an attribute private, we prevent objects
of other classes from altering its value other than through its mutator. The mutator is
able to check the value being used to modify the attribute and reject the modification
if necessary. In addition, modification of one attribute might require others to be
modified in order to keep the object in a consistent state. A mutator method can
undertake this role. Mutators are used both to grant safe access to the value of a
private attribute and to protect attributes from modification by objects of other
classes. The latter goal is achieved by choosing an appropriate visibility for the
mutator.

newline
The \n character.
new operator
The operator used to create instances {instance} of a class.
null character
The \u0000 character. Care should be taken not to confuse this with the null
reference.
null reference
A value used to mean, `no object'. Used when an object reference variable is not
referring to an object.

object
An instance of a particular class. In general, any number of objects may be
constructed from a class definition (see singleton, however). The class to which an
object belongs defines the general characteristics of all instances of that class. Within
those characteristics, an object will behave according to the current state of its
attributes and environment.
object construction
The creation of an object, usually via the new operator. When an object is created, an
appropriate constructor from its class is invoked.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

object-oriented language
Programming languages such as C++ and Java that allow the solution to a problem to
be expressed in terms of objects which belong to classes.
object reference
A reference to an object. Languages other than Java use term's such as address or
pointer. It is important to keep the distinction clear between an object and its
reference. A variable such as argo
Ship argo;
is capable of holding an object reference, but is not, itself, an object. It can refer to
only a single object at a time, but it is able to hold different object references from
time to time.
octal
Number representation in base 8. In base 8, only the digits 0 to 7 are used. Digit
positions represent successive powers of 8.
operand
An operand is an argument of an operator. Expressions involve combinations of
operators and operands. The value of an expression is determined by applying the
operation defined by each operator to the value of its operands.
operator
A symbol, such as -, == or ?: taking one, two or three operands and yielding a result.
Operators are used in both arithmetic expressions and boolean expressions.
operator precedence
See precedence rules
out of scope
A variable is in scope as long as the program's flow of control is within the variable's
defining block. Otherwise, it is out of scope.

parameter
See argument.
polymorphism
The ability of an object reference to be used as if it referred to an object with different
forms. Polymorphism in Java results from both class inheritance and interface
inheritance. The apparently different forms often result from the static type of the
variable in which the reference is stored. Given the following class header
class Rectangle extends Polygon implements Comparable
an object whose dynamic type is Rectangle can behave as all of the following types:
Rectangle, Polygon, Comparable, Object.
popup menu
A menu of actions that is normally not visible on the screen until a mouse button is
clicked. Popup menus help to keep a user interface from becoming cluttered.
post-decrement operator
See decrement operator.
post-increment operator
See increment operator.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

precedence rules
The rules that determine the order of evaluation of an expression involving more than
one operator. Operators of higher precedence are evaluated before those of lower
precedence. For instance, in the expression x+y*z, the multiplication is performed
before the addition because * has a higher precedence than -.
pre-decrement operator
See decrement operator.
pre-increment operator
See increment operator.
primitive type
Java's eight standard non-class types are primitive types: boolean, byte,
protected access
Protected access is available to a class member prefixed with the protected access
modifier. Such a member is accessible to all classes defined within the enclosing
package, and any sub classes extending the enclosing class.
public interface
The members of a class prefixed with the public access modifier. All such members
are visible to every class within a program.

queue
See first in, first out (FIFO) queue.
quotient
When integer division is performed, the result consists of a quotient and a remainder.
The quotient represents the integer number of times that the divisor divides into the
dividend. For instance, in 5/3, 5 is the dividend and 3 is the divisor. This gives a
quotient of 1 and a remainder of 2.

real number
A number with an integer and a fractional part. The primitive types double and float
are used to represent real numbers.
relational operators
Operators, such as <, >, <=, >=, == and !=, that produce a boolean result, as part of a
boolean expression.
A relative filename could refer to different files at different times, depending upon the
context in which it is being used. See absolute filename.
reserved word
A word reserved for a particular purpose in Java, such as class, int, public, etc.
Such words may not be used as ordinary identifiers.
return statement
A statement used to terminate the execution of a method. A method with void return
type may only have return statements of the following form
return;
A method with any other return type must have at least one return statement of the
form

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

return expression;
where the type of expression must match the return type of the method.
return type
The declared type of a method, appearing immediately before the method name, such
as void in
public static void main(String[] args)
or Point[] in
public Point[] getPoints()
return value
The value of the expression used in a return statement.
runtime error
An error that causes a program to terminate when it is being run.

scope
A language's scope rules determine how widely variables, methods and classes are
visible within a class or program. Local variables have a scope limited to the block in
which they are defined, for instance. Private methods and variables have class scope,
limiting their accessibility to their defining class. Java provides private, package,
protected and public visibility.
semantic error
An error in the meaning of program. A statement may have no syntax errors, but
might still break the rules of the Java language. For instance, if ivar is an int
variable, the following statement is syntactically correct
ivar = true;
However, it is semantically incorrect, because it is illegal to assign a boolean value to
an integer variable.
short-circuit operator
An operator in which only as many operands are evaluated as are needed to
determine the final result of the operation. The logical-and (&&) and logical-or (||)
operators are the most common example, although the conditional operator (?:) also
only ever evaluates two of its three operands. See fully evaluating operator.
sibling sub classes
Classes that have the same immediate super class. See inheritance hierarchy.
single inheritance
In Java, a class may not extend more than one class. This means that Java has a single
inheritance model for class inheritance. See multiple inheritance for the alternative.
single line comment
A comment in the form
// This line will be ignored by the compiler.
stack
See last in, first out (LIFO) stack.
state
Objects are said to possess state. The current state of an object is represented by the
combined values of its attributes. Protecting the state of an object from inappropriate
inspection or modification is an important aspect of class design and we recommend
the use of accessor methods and mutator methods to facilitate attribute protection and
integrity. The design of a class is often an attempt to model the states of objects in the

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

real-world. Unless there is a good match between the data types available in the
language and the states to be modeled, class design may be complex. An important
principle in class design is to ensure that an object is never put into an inconsistent
state by responding to a message.
statement
The basic building block of a Java method. There are many different types of
statement in Java, for instance, the assignment statement, if statement, return
statement and while loop.
statement terminator
The semicolon (;) is used to indicate the end of a statement.
static method
A static method (also known as a class method) is one with the static reserved word
in its header. Static methods differ from all other methods in that they are not
associated with any particular instance of the class to which they belong. They are
usually accessed directly via the name of the class in which they are defined.
static variable
A static variable defined inside a class body. Such a variable belongs to the class as
a whole, and is, therefore, shared by all objects of the class. A class variable might be
used to define the default value of an instance variable, for example, and would
probably also be defined as final, too. They are also used to contain dynamic
information that is shared between all instances of a class. For instance the next
account number to be allocated in a bank account class. Care must be taken to ensure
that access to shared information, such as this, is synchronized where multiple
threads could be involved. Class variables are also used to give names to application-
wide values or objects since they may be accessed directly via their containing class
name rather than an instance of the class.
string
An instance of the String class. Strings consist of zero or more Unicode characters,
and they are immutable, once created. A literal string is written between a pair of
string delimiters ("), as in
"hello, world"
sub class
A class that extends its super class. A sub class inherits all of the members of its
super class. All Java classes are sub classes of the Object class, which is at the root of
the inheritance hierarchy. See sub type
super class
A class that is extended by one or more sub classes. All Java classes have the Object
class as a super class. See super type.
switch statement
A selection statement in which the value of an arithmetic expression
{expression!arithmetic} is compared for a match against different case labels. If no
match is found, the optional default label is selected For instance
switch(choice){
case 'q':
quit();
break;
case 'h':
help();
break;
...

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

default:
System.out.println("Unknown command: "+choice);
break;
}
syntax error
An error detected by the compiler during its parsing of a program. Syntax errors
usually result from mis-ordering symbols within expressions and statements. Missing
curly brackets and semicolons are common examples of syntax errors.

ternary operator
See conditional operator
this
A Java reserved word with several different uses:

Within a constructor, it may be used as the first statement to call another constructor
in the same class. For example
// Initialise with default values.
public Heater()
{
// Use the other constructor.
this(15, 20);
}

// Initialise with the given values.

public Heater(int min,int max)
{
...
}

Within a constructor or method, it may be used to distinguish between a field and a

parameter or method variable of the same name. For instance:

public Heater(int min,int max)

{
this.min = min;
this.max = max;
...
}

It can be used as a reference to the current object, typically in order to pass a reference
to another object:

talker.talkToMe(this);

unary operator
An operator taking a single operand. Java's unary operators are -, +, !, !, ++ and --.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.
 Java Terms/Concepts You Should Know from IOOP

uninitialized variable
A local variable that been declared, but has had no value assigned to it. The compiler
will warn of variables which are used before being initialized.

variable declaration
The association of a variable with a particular type. It is important to make a
distinction between the declaration of variables of primitive types and those of class
types. A variable of primitive type acts as a container for a single value of its declared
type. Declaration of a variable of a class type does not automatically cause an object
of that type to be constructed and, by default, the variable will contain the value null.
A variable of a class type acts as a holder for a reference to an object that is
compatible with the variable's class type. Java's rules of polymorphism allow a
variable of a class type to hold a reference to any object of its declared type or any of
its sub types. A variable with a declared type of Object, therefore, may hold a
reference to an object of any class, therefore.

while loop
One of Java's three control structures used for looping. The other two are the do loop
and for loop. A while loop consists of a boolean expression and a loop body. The
condition is tested before the loop body is entered for the first time and re-tested each
time the end of the body is completed. The loop terminates when the condition gives
the value false. The statements in the loop body might be executed zero or more
times.
wrapper classes
Java's primitive types are not object types. The wrapper classes are defined in the
java.lang package. They consist of a class for each primitive type: Boolean, Byte,
Character, Double, Float, Integer, Long and Short. These classes provide
methods to parse strings containing primitive values, and turn primitive values into
strings. The Double and Float classes also provide methods to detect special bit
patterns for floating point numbers, representing values such as NaN, +infinity and -
infinity.

Glossary terms retrieved/excised and modified

from Object Oriented-Programming with Java: An Introduction
by David J. Barnes, published by Prentice Hall.