Software Industry and Multimedia

Computer Programming
Lecture 3: char, String object, Math
class, Scanner
 Java's primitive types
• primitive types: there are 8 simple types for numbers, text, etc.
Type Description Size

int The integer type, with range -2,147,483,648 . . . 2,147,483,647 4 bytes

byte The type describing a single byte, with range -128 . . . 127 1 byte

short The short integer type, with range -32768 . . . 32767 2 bytes

long The long integer type, with range -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 . . . -

9,223,372,036,854,775,807
8 bytes

The double-precision floating-point type, with a range of about ±10308

double 8 bytes
and about 15 significant decimal digits
The single-precision floating-point type, with a range of about ±1038 and
float 4 bytes
about 7 significant decimal digits
The character type, representing code units in the Unicode encoding
char 2 bytes
scheme
boolean The type with the two truth values false and true 1 byte

• Java also has object types (e.g. Strings), which we'll talk about later
Type char
 char data type
• char : A primitive data type representing single characters
of text (e.g., 'a', 'b', '@', ' ', etc.).

public static void main(String[] args) {

char a = 's';
System.out.println ("student" + a);
}

Output:

students
 char vs. int
• Each char is mapped to an integer value internally
– Called an ASCII value

'A' is 65 'B' is 66 ' ' is 32

'a' is 97 'b' is 98 '*' is 42

– Mixing char and int causes automatic conversion to int.

'a' + 10 is 107, 'A' + 'A' is 130

– To convert an int into the equivalent char, type-cast it.

(char) ('a' + 2) is 'c'
 Example
public static void main(String[] args) Be Careful:
{ char x = 67; //correct since it takes
int x = 1; the value as the ASCII code 67
char letter1 = 'a';
char letter2 = (char) (letter1 + 4); int y = 67;
char x = y; // incorrect since here it
System.out.println(letter2); takes it as integer y

x = 'a' + 3;
System.out.println(x);
}

Output:
e
100
 Objects
• object: An entity that contains data and behavior.
– data: variables inside the object
– behavior: methods inside the object
• You interact with the methods;
the data is hidden in the object.

• Constructing (creating) an object:

Type objectName = new Type(parameters);
• Calling an object's method:
objectName.methodName(parameters);
 Methods
• What is a Method (a function)?
A subprogram (set of java statements) used to do a certain task.
A method has zero or more inputs ( called parameters), and zero
or one output (called return value)
• We will study Methods in more detail later.

Inputs Method Output

(parameters) (return value)

• Example:
public static void main(String[] args) {
…
}
 Strings
• string: An object storing a sequence of text characters.
– Unlike most other objects, a String is not created with new.

String name = "text";

String name = expression;

– Examples:
String name = "Marla Singer";
int x = 3;
int y = 5;
String point = "(" + x + ", " + y + ")";
 String objects
 A variable of type String is different from the other (primitive) data
types we’ve seen so far
 It is actually a reference to a String object .

 Examples:
String str = "hello there!";
int len = str.length();
String first = str.substring(0, 1);
 Indexes
• Characters of a string are numbered with 0-based
indexes:
String name = "R. Kelly";

index 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
character R . K e l l y

– First character's index : 0

– Last character's index : 1 less than the string's length

– The individual characters are values of type char

 String methods
Method name Description
indexOf(str) index where the start of the given string appears in
this string (-1 if not found)
length() number of characters in this string
substring(index1, index2) the characters in this string from index1 (inclusive)
or to index2 (exclusive);
substring(index1) if index2 is omitted, grabs till end of string
toLowerCase() a new string with all lowercase letters
toUpperCase() a new string with all uppercase letters

• These methods are called using the dot notation:

String s = "Dr. Dre";
System.out.println(s.length()); // 7
 String method examples
// index 012345678901
String s1 = "Stuart Reges";
String s2 = "Marty Stepp";
System.out.println(s1.length());
// 12
System.out.println(s1.indexOf("e"));
// 8
System.out.println(s1.substring(7, 10));
// "Reg"
String s3 = s2.substring(0, 7);
System.out.println(s3.toLowerCase());
// ”marty s"

• Given the following string:

// index 0123456789012345678901
String book = "Building Java Programs";

– How would you extract the word "Java" ?

 Modifying strings
• Methods like substring and toLowerCase build and
return a new string, rather than modifying the current string.
String s = "lil bow wow"; Strings are immutable objects
s.toUpperCase(); which means that their values
System.out.println(s); cannot be changed.
// lil bow wow

• To modify a variable's value, you must reassign it:

String s = "lil bow wow";
s = s.toUpperCase();
System.out.println(s);
// LIL BOW WOW
 String and char
• A String is stored internally as an array of char
String s = "Ali G.";
index 0 1 2 3 4 5
value 'A' 'l' 'i' ' ' 'G' '.'

char letter = 'P';

System.out.println(letter);
// P
System.out.println(letter + " Diddy");
// P Diddy
 The charAt method
• The chars in a String can be accessed using the charAt
method.
– accepts an int index parameter and returns the char at that index

String food = "cookie";

char firstLetter = food.charAt(0); // 'c'
System.out.println(firstLetter + " is for " +
food);

Output:
c is for cookie
 char vs. String
• "h" is a String, but 'h' is a char (they are different)
• A String is an object; it contains methods.
String s = "h";
s = s.toUpperCase(); // "H"
int len = s.length(); // 1
char first = s.charAt(0); // 'H'

• A char is primitive; you can't call methods on it.

char c = 'h';
c = c.toUpperCase(); // ERROR
s = s.charAt(0).toUpperCase(); // ERROR
– What is s + 1 ? What is c + 1 ?
– What is s + s ? What is c + c ?
Interactive Programs with Scanner
 Input and System.in
• interactive program: Reads input from the console.
– While the program runs, it asks the user to type input.
– The input typed by the user is stored in variables in the code.
– Can be tricky; users are unpredictable and misbehave.
– But interactive programs have more interesting behavior.

• Scanner: An object that can read input from many sources.

– Communicates with System.in (the opposite of
System.out)
– Can also read from files, web sites, databases, ...
 Scanner syntax
• The Scanner class is found in the java.util
package.
import java.util.*; // so you can use
Scanner

• Constructing a Scanner object to read console input:

Scanner name = new Scanner(System.in);

– Example:
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
 Scanner methods
Method Description
nextInt() reads an int from the user and returns it
nextDouble() reads a double from the user
next() reads a one-word String from the user
next().charAt(0) reads one char from the user
nextLine() reads a one-line String from the user

– Each method waits until the user presses Enter.

– The value typed by the user is returned.
System.out.print("How old are you? "); // prompt
int age = console.nextInt();
System.out.println("You typed " + age);

• prompt: A message telling the user what input to type.

 Scanner example
import java.util.*; // so that I can use Scanner
public class UserInputExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);

System.out.print("How old are you? "); age 29

int age = console.nextInt();
years 36
int years = 65 - age;
System.out.println(years + " years to retirement!");
}
}

• Console (user input underlined):

How old are you? 29
36 years until retirement!
 Scanner example 2
import java.util.*; // so that I can use Scanner
public class ScannerMultiply {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("Please type two numbers: ");
int num1 = console.nextInt();
int num2 = console.nextInt();
int product = num1 * num2;
System.out.println("The product is " +
product);
}
}
• Output (user input underlined):
Please type two numbers: 8 6
The product is 48

– The Scanner can read multiple values from one line.

 Scanner example 3
// Java program to find the Hypotenuse of a right angled triangle
import java.util.*; // so that I can use Scanner
public class Hypotenuse {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
double side1, side2, hypotenuse;
//get the length of the first side
System.out.print("Please enter the value of Side1: ");
side1 = input.nextDouble();
//get the length of the second side
System.out.print("Please enter the value of Side2: ");
side2 = input.nextDouble();
// calculate the hypotenuse
hypotenuse = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(side1, 2) + Math.pow(side2,
2));
System.out.println("The length of the hypotenuse is: " +
hypotenuse);
}
}
• Output (user input underlined):
Please enter the value of Side1: 3
Please enter the value of Side2: 4
The length of the hypotenuse is 5
 Input tokens
• token: A unit of user input, as read by the Scanner.
– Tokens are separated by whitespace (spaces, tabs, new lines).
– How many tokens appear on the following line of input?
23 John Smith 42.0 "Hello world" $2.50 " 19"

• When a token is not the type you ask for, it crashes.

System.out.print("What is your age? ");
int age = console.nextInt();
Output:
What is your age? Timmy
java.util.InputMismatchException
at java.util.Scanner.next(Unknown Source)
at java.util.Scanner.nextInt(Unknown Source)
...
 Strings as user input
• Scanner's next method reads a word of input as a
String.
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("What is your name? ");
String name = console.next();
name = name.toUpperCase();
System.out.println(name + " has " + name.length() +
" letters and starts with " + name.substring(0, 1));
Output:
What is your name? Chamillionaire
CHAMILLIONAIRE has 14 letters and starts with C

• The nextLine method reads a line of input as a

String.
System.out.print("What is your address? ");
String address = console.nextLine();
Math Library
 Java's Math class
Method name Description
Math.abs(value) absolute value
Math.ceil(value) rounds up
Math.floor(value) rounds down
Math.log10(value) logarithm, base 10
Math.max(value1, value2) larger of two values
Math.min(value1, value2) smaller of two values
Math.pow(base, exp) base to the exp power
Math.random() random double between 0 and 1
Math.round(value) nearest whole number
Math.sqrt(value) square root
Math.sin(value) sine/cosine/tangent of
Math.cos(value) an angle in radians Constant Description
Math.tan(value) Math.E 2.7182818...
Math.toDegrees(value) convert degrees to Math.PI 3.1415926...
Math.toRadians(value) radians and back
 Calling Math methods
Math.methodName(parameters)

• Examples:
double squareRoot = Math.sqrt(121.0);
System.out.println(squareRoot); // 11.0
int absoluteValue = Math.abs(-50);
System.out.println(absoluteValue); // 50
System.out.println(Math.min(3, 7) + 2); // 5
double exp = Math.pow(2, 4);
System.out.println(exp); // 16.0

• The Math methods do not print to the console.

– Each method produces ("returns") a numeric result.
– The results are used as expressions (printed, stored, etc.).
 Calling Math methods
– Parameters send information in from the caller to the
method.
– Return values send information out from a method to its
caller.
• A call to the method can be used as part of an expression.

-42 Math.abs(-42)

42
main
2.71
3
Math.round(2.71)
 Remember: Type casting
• type cast: A conversion from one type to another.
– To promote an int into a double to get exact division from /
– To truncate a double from a real number to an integer

• Syntax:
(type) expression

Examples:
double result = (double) 19 / 5; // 3.8
int result2 = (int) result; // 3
int x = (int) Math.pow(10, 3); // 1000
 Math questions
• Evaluate the following expressions:
– Math.abs(-1.23)
– Math.pow(3, 2)
– Math.pow(10, -2)
– Math.sqrt(121.0) – Math.sqrt(256.0)
– Math.round(Math.PI) +
Math.round(Math.E)
– Math.ceil(6.022) + Math.floor(15.9994)
– Math.abs(Math.min(-3, -5))
 Generate a Random Variable
• Generate a random number between low and high (inclusive)

public static void main(String[] args)

{
int low, high, val;
low = 10;
high = 20;
val = low + (int) (Math.random() * ((high - low) + 1));
System.out.println(val); // 10, …, 20
}