Programming 1

Lecture 5 – Switch,
String Operations & Static Methods

Faculty of Information Technology

Hanoi University
 Contents
• The switch statement
• String operations
• Static methods
 The switch statement

• The switch statement is often used to replace

an if…else chain. Here is an example:
int n = sc.nextInt(); // read from keyboard
if (n == 1) {
System.out.println("1st");
} else if (n == 2) {
System.out.println("2nd");
} else if (n == 3) {
System.out.println("3rd");
} else {
System.out.println(n + "th");
}
 The switch statement
• This if…else chain is used to specify the
program's behavior for many cases of n.
• The first block whose condition returns a true
value gets executed.
int n = sc.nextInt(); // read from keyboard
if (n == 1) {
System.out.println("1st");
} else if (n == 2) {
System.out.println("2nd");
} else if (n == 3) {
System.out.println("3rd");
} else {
System.out.println(n + "th");
}
 The switch statement
• If no boolean expression evaluates to true, the
else block will get executed.

int n = sc.nextInt(); // read from keyboard

if (n == 1) {
System.out.println("1st");
} else if (n == 2) {
System.out.println("2nd");
} else if (n == 3) {
System.out.println("3rd");
} else {
System.out.println(n + "th");
}
 The switch statement
• The equivalent switch statement of that
if…else chain.
int n = sc.nextInt(); // read from keyboard
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
break;
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
break;
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
break;
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}
 The switch statement
• However, the switch statement does not work
the same way as an if…else chain.
• To see the difference, let's remove all break
statements.
int n = 2;
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}
 The switch statement
int n = 2;
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}

Output:

2nd
But why?
3rd
2th n is 2 so shouldn't it print out only "2nd"?
 The switch statement
int n = 2;
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}

Output:

2nd
3rd It turns out that it is called a switch for this reason.
2th
 The switch statement
int n = 2;
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}

Output:

2nd
The first case that is equal to n turns the switch on.
3rd
From that point, every statement is executed regardless of case.
2th
 The switch statement
int n = 2; // a hard-coded value
switch (n) {
case 1:
System.out.println("1st");
break;
case 2:
System.out.println("2nd");
break;
case 3:
System.out.println("3rd");
break;
default:
System.out.println(n + "th");
}

A break statement can prevent other cases to be executed.

The break statement breaks out of switch, just like what is does to a loop.
Part 3

More about String

 Escaping special characters
• The backslash \ is the escape character.
– Some special characters must be escaped in strings.
Sequence Meaning
\t Tab character
\b Backspace character, will remove a previous
character
\" The double quote
\n Newline character
\\ The backslash character itself

"She said \"Hello!\" to me." She said "Hello" to me.

"I'm gonna take\b\b\b\bgive your\b money." ?

"C:\\Temp\\Secret.txt" C:\Temp\Secret.txt
 String comparison
• Use String.equals() method to compare 2 Strings
(case-sensitive)
String s = "Hello";
boolean b1 = s.equals("Hello"); // true
boolean b2 = s.equals("hello"); // false

• Use String.equalsIgnoreCase() method to

compare 2 Strings (case-insensitive)
String s = "Hello";
boolean b1 = s.equalsIgnoreCase("Hello"); // true
boolean b2 = s.equalsIgnoreCase("hello"); // true
 Find a String within another String
• s1.indexOf(s2) returns the position of String s2
in String s1.
String s1 = "Welcome to FIT";
int pos = s1.indexOf("come");
System.out.println(pos);
System.out.println(s1.indexOf("greeting"));
System.out.println(s1.indexOf("fit"));
System.out.println(s1.indexOf("Wel"));

Output:
3
-1
-1
0
 More String operations
Method name Description
Tests if a string starts with the specified
startsWith(prefix)
prefix.
Tests if a string ends with the specified
endsWith(suffix)
suffix.

boolean b = "Hello".startsWith("He"); true

boolean b = "Hello".endsWith("abc"); false

 More String operations
Method name Description

compareTo(str) Compares two strings alphabetically.

String s1 = "Apple";
String s2 = "Banana";
String s3 = "Cars";
int order = s1.compareTo(s2); // -1, s1 < s2 by 1
int order2 = s1.compareTo(s3); // -2, s1 < s3 by 2
int order3 = s3.compareTo(s1); // 2, s3 > s1 by 2

Here, the comparison is based on the first character that is different.

0 if two Strings are exactly the same.
1 or -1 of one String is the subset of the other String.
 More String operations
Method name Description

trim() Returns a copy of the string, with leading

and trailing whitespaces omitted.

String s = " Hi, dad! ";

System.out.println(s + " I'm back!");
System.out.println(s.trim() + " I'm back!");

Output:

Hi, dad! I'm back!

Hi, dad! I'm back!
 Java methods
• Definition: A method is a block of code which only
runs when it is called.
 Methods in a Java program
public class MyApp {
public static int getPositiveInt() {
Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
int x = 0;
do {
try {
x = sc.nextInt();
} catch (Exception e) {
sc.nextLine();
}
} while (x <= 0);
return x;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int a = getPositiveInt();
System.out.println(a);
}
}
 About Java methods
• You can write your own methods!
• Writing a method is like inventing a new Java
statement yourself!
• Methods in Java are similar to functions in other
languages (similar, not the same).
• Divide a complex program into smaller modules
– Much easier to debug each part than an entire big program.
– Better organize your program, making development easier.
– If a piece of code is used multiple times, putting it in a method
results in shorter source code.
 Method execution
• A method only runs when it is called.
– Methods are called by their names.
– A method can be called multiple times.

• The main method is an exception. It runs

when the program starts.
– Inside the main method, we can write statements
to call other methods.
 Using non-static methods

sc is an instance of class Scanner

Correct use:

Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);

int x = sc.nextInt();

Incorrect use:
int x = Scanner.nextInt();
 Notes on the methods we use
• Some familiar static methods:
– Math.sqrt(), Math.pow(), Integer.parseInt()
• A static method is called from the name of the
class that contains it.
• Some familiar non-static methods:
– Scanner.nextInt(), String.substring(), String.charAt()…
• A non-static method is called from an instance of the
class that contains it.
 Notes on the methods we use
• Within a class, methods can be called using only the
method name (without class name or instance).
– In a static method (or static context), we can only
directly call other static methods.
– In a non-static method, we can call both static and non-
static methods by name.
• The main method is static, so it can only call other
static methods within the same class.
– That's why, for the time being, for simplicity, all methods
that we create will be static.
 Return
• To run/trigger a method, write its name like so:

getPositiveInt(); // as a statement
int a = getPositiveInt(); // as an expression
System.out.println(getPositiveInt()); // expression
int b = 5 + getPositiveInt(); // expression

• Each time a method name appears is a method call.

• A method call makes two things happen:
– All the statements inside the method are executed.
– The method call itself is an expression. An expression is
essentially a value. This value is specified inside the
method with the return statement.
 Return
• Consider an example:
public class MyApp {
public static int getPositiveInt() {
return 51;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(getPositiveInt());
}
}

Output:

51

So, getPositiveInt() is an int with value 51

 Producing method output
• A method usually produces a value.
– With the exception of void methods which should not
return a value.
• The output is produced with a return statement.
public class MyApp {
public static int getPositiveInt() {
return 51;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(getPositiveInt());
}
}
 Method return type
• The data type of the getPositiveInt() method is int
public class MyApp {
public static int getPositiveInt() {
return 51;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(getPositiveInt());
}
}

• The value in the return statement must have the

same data type as the method's. If you don't want a
method to return a value, use the void type for your
method.
 Method return type
• A void method cannot contain a return statement with
value, but can contain an empty return statement:
public static void printMenu() {
System.out.println("1. Option A");
System.out.println("2. Option B");
System.out.println("3. Option C");
return;
}

• A return statement stops (terminates) the method.

• Any statement after the return statement will never
be executed. The compiler will notify you if it
discovers unreachable statements after a return
statement.
Dataflow into and out of a method
• From where? By whom? To where?
• If there is a sender, there must be a receiver.
Method call (sender)

int result = gcd(5, 15);

System.out.println(result);

Method (receiver)

public static int gcd(int a, int b) {

int c;
while (b != 0) {
c = a;
a = b;
b = c % b;
}
return a;
}
 Passing parameters to a method
• Parameters are specified after the method
name, inside the parentheses.
– Mutiple parameters are separated by commas.
• Parameters act as variables inside the method.
static void printMax(int x, int y) {
if (x > y) {
System.out.println(x);
} else {
System.out.println(y);
}
}
 Method I/O
• A Java method receives inputs and produces an
output.
• Inputs are received through parameters.
– The list of parameters is given within a pair of
parentheses ( … ) in the method header.
– The list of parameters can be empty.
• The output is produced with the return
statement.
– With the exception of void methods, which do not
produce output.
 Example: average()
• Input: double[]
• Output: double

Usage:
 Example: isVowel()
• A vowel is one of a, e, i, o, u and y:
Example: isVowel()
Example: sqrt()
 Example: code re-use

• 65 and 90 are ASCII code of letter A and Z

• 97 and 122 are ASCII code of letter a and z
 Example: code re-use

• The distance between a lower case and upper

case character is 32, such as between A (65)
and a (97)