Unit 1: Introduction to JAVA Programming

Unit 1
Introduction to JAVA Programming

Introduction

Java is a general-purpose programming language that is class-

based, object -oriented, and designed to have as few
implementation dependencies as possible. It is intended to
let application developers write once, run
anywhere (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run
on all platforms that support Java without the need for
recompilation. Java applications are typically compiled
to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM)
regardless of the underlying computer architecture.
The syntax of Java is similar to C and C++, but it has fewer low-
level facilities than either of them. As of 2019, Java was one of
the most popular programming languages in use according
to GitHub, particularly for client -server web applications, with a
reported 9 million developers.

Unit Learning Outcomes

At the end of the unit, you will be able to:

a. To learn how to read and write files in Java.

Topic 1: JAVA Programming

Time Allotment: 6 Hours

Presentation of Contents
JAVA BACKGROUND

A little Bit of History

Java was created in 1991 by James Gosling et al. of Sun

Microsystems. Initially called Oak, in honor of the tree outside
Gosling's window, its name was changed to Java because there
was already a language called Oak.

The original motivation for Java was the need for platform
independent language that could be embedded in various
consumer electronic products like toasters and refrigerators. One

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of the first projects developed using Java was a personal hand-
held remote control named Star 7.
At about the same time, the World Wide Web and the
Internet were gaining popularity. Gosling et. al. realized that
Java could be used for Internet programming.

About Java programs, it is very important to keep in mind the

following points.

Case Sensitivity - Java is case sensitive which means identifier

Hello and hello would have different meaning in Java.
Class Names - For all class names the first letter should be in Upper
Case.
If several words are used to form a name of the class each inner
words first letter should be in Upper Case.

Example class MyFirst JavaClass

Method Names - All method names should start with a Lower Case
letter.
If several words are used to form the name of the method, then
each inner word's first letter should be in Upper Case.

Example public void myMet hodName()

Program File Name - Name of the program file should exactly

match the class name.
When saving the file you should save it using the class name
(Remember java is case sensitive) and append '.java' to the end
of the name. (if the file name and the class name do not match
your program will not compile).

Example : Assume 'MyFirstJavaProgram' is the class name. Then

the file should be saved as 'MyFirst JavaProgram.java'

public static void main(String args[]) - java program processing

starts from the main() method which is a mandatory part of every
java program..

Dissecting my first Java program

Now, we’ll try to dissect your first Java program:

public class Hello

{
/**
*My first java program
*/
public static void main (String [] args) {

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// prints the string “Hello world!” on screen
System.out.println (“Hello world”);
}
}

The first line of the code,

public class Hello

indicates the name of the class which is Hello. In Java, all code
should be placed inside a class declaration. We do this by using
the class keyword. In addition, the class uses an access specifier
public, which indicates that our class in accessible to other classes
from other packages (packages are a collection of classes). We
will be covering packages and access specifiers later.

The next line which contains a curly brace { indicates the start of
a block. In this code, we placed the curly brace at the next line
after the class declaration; however, we can also place this next
to the first line of our code. So we could actually write our code
as:

public classes Hello

{

Or

public classes Hello {

The next three lines indicate a Java comment. A comment is

something used to document a part of a code. It is not a part of
the program itself, but used for documentation purposes. It is
good programming practice to add comments to your code.

A comment is indicated by the delimiters “/*” and “*/”. Anything

within these delimiters is ignored by the Java compiler, and are
treated as comments. The next line,

public static void main (String [] args) {

or can also be written as,

public static void main (String [] args)

{

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Indicates the name of one method in Hello which is the main

method. The main method is the starting point of a Java
program. All programs except Applets written in Java start with
the main method. Make sure to follow the exact signature.

The next line is also a Java comment,

// prints the string “Hello world” on screen

Now, we learn two ways of creating comments. The first one is by

placing the comment inside /* and */, and the other one is by
writing // at the start of the comment.

The next line,

System.out.println (“Hello world!”);

Prints the text “Hello world!” on the screen. The command

System.out.println(), prints the text enclosed by the quotation on
the screen.

The last two lines which contain the two curly braces are used to
close the main method and class respectively.

Coding Guidelines:
1. Your Java program should always end with the .java
extension.
2. Filenames should match the name of your public class. So,
for example, if the name of your public is Hello, you should
save it in a file called Hello.java.
3. You should write comments in your code explaining what
a certain class does, or what a certain method do.

JAVA STATEMENTS AND BLOCKS

A statement is one or more lines of code terminated by a

semicolon. An example of a single statement is,

System.out.println(“Hello world”);

A block is one or more statements bounded by an opening and

closing curly braces that groups the statements as one unit. Block
statements can be nested indefinitely. Any amount of white
space is allowed. An example of a block is,

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public static void main (String [] args ) {
System.out.println (“Hello”);
System.out.println (“world”);
}

Coding Guidelines:
1. In creating blocks, you can place the opening curly brace
in line with the statement, like for example,

public static void main (String [] args ) {

or you can place the curly brace on the next line, like,

public static void main (String [] args )

{

2. You should indent the next statement after the start of a

block, for example,

public static void main (String [] args ) {

System.out.println (“Hello”);
System.out.println (“world”);
}

JAVA IDENTIFIERS
All java components require names. Names used for classes,
variables and methods are called identifiers.
In java there are several points to remember about identifiers.
They are as follows:
● All identifiers should begin with a letter (A to Z or a to z ),
currency character ($) or an underscore ( _ ).
● After the first character identifiers can have any
combination of characters.
● A key word cannot be used as an identifier.
● Most importantly identifiers are case sensitive.
● Examples of legal identifiers: age, $salary, _value,
__1_value
● Examples of illegal identifiers : 123abc, -salary

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JAVA KEYWORDS
Keywords are predefined identifiers reserved by Java for a
specific purpose. You cannot use keywords as names for your
variables, classes, methods…etc. here is a list of the Java
keywords.

abstract Double Int super

boolean Else Interface switch
break extends Long synchronize
d
byte False native this
byvalue Final New threadsafe
case finally Null throw
catch Float package transient
char For Private true
class goto protected try
const If public void
continue implement return while
s
default import short
do instanceof static

Primitive data types

The Java programming language defines eight primitive

data types. The following are, boolean (for logical), char (for
textual), byte, short, int, long (integral), double and float (floating
point).

1. Logical - boolean
A boolean data type represents two states: true and false.
An example is,

boolean result = true;

The example shown above, declares a variable named

result as boolean type and assigns it a value of true.

2. Textual – char
A character data type (char), represents a single Unicode
character. It must have its literal enclosed in single quotes(’ ’). For
example,
‘a’ //The letter a
‘\t’ //A tab
To represent special characters like ' (single quotes) or " (double
quotes), use the escape character \. For example,

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'\'' //for single quotes
'\"' //for double quotes

Although, String is not a primitive data type (it is a Class). A

String represents a data type that contains multiple characters. It
has it’s literal enclosed in double quotes(“”).
For example,
String message=“Hello world!”

3. Integral – byte, short, int & long

Integer Name or Type Range

8 bits Byte -27 to 27-1
16 bits Short -215 to 215-1
32 bits Int -231 to 231-1
64 bits Long -263 to 263-1

4. Floating Point – float and double

Floating point types has double as default data type.
Floating-point data types have the following ranges:

Float Length Name or Type Range

32 bits Float -231 to 231-1
64 bits Double -263 to 263-1

VARIABLES

A variable is an item of data used to store state of objects.

A variable has a data type and a name. The data type
indicates the type of value that the variable can hold. The
variable name must follow rules for identifiers.

Declaring and Initializing Variables

To declare a variable is as follows,
<data type> <name> [=initial value];

Note: Values enclosed in <> are required values, while those

values enclosed in [] are optional.

Here is a sample program that declares and initializes some

variables,

public class VariableSamples

{
public static void main( String[] args ){

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//declare a data type with variable name
// result and boolean data type
boolean result;
//declare a data type with variable name
// option and char data type
char option;
option = 'C'; //assign 'C' to option
//declare a data type with variable name
//grade, double data type and initialized
//to 0.0
double grade = 0.0;
}
}

Outputting Variable Data

In order to output the value of a certain variable, we can
use the following commands,
System.out.println()
System.out.print()

Here's a sample program,

public class OutputVariable

{
public static void main( String[] args ){
int value = 10;
char x;
x = ‘A’;
System.out.println( value );
System.out.println( “The value of x=“ + x );
}
}

The program will output the following text on screen,

10
The value of x=A

System.out.println() vs. System.out.print()

What is the difference between the commands

System.out.println() and System.out.print()? The first one appends
a newline at the end of the data to output, while the latter doesn't.

OPERATORS

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In Java, there are different types of operators. These are
arithmetic operators, relational operators, logical operators and
conditional operators.

Arithmetic Operators

Here are the basic arithmetic operators that can be used in

creating your Java programs,

Operator Use Description

+ op1 + op2 Adds op1 and op2
- op1 – op2 Subtracts op2 from op1
* op1 * op2 Multiplies op1 by op2
/ op1 / op2 Divides op1 by op2
% op1 % op2 Computes the remainder of
dividing op1 by op2

Here's a sample program in the usage of these operators:

public class ArithmeticDemo

{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
//a few numbers
int i = 37;
int j = 42;
double x = 27.475;
double y = 7.22;
System.out.println("Variable values...");
System.out.println(" i = " + i);
System.out.println(" j = " + j);
System.out.println(" x = " + x);
System.out.println(" y = " + y); //adding numbers
System.out.println("Adding...");
System.out.println(" i + j = " + (i + j));
//subtracting numbers
System.out.println("Subtracting...");
System.out.println(" i - j = " + (i - j));
//multiplying numbers
System.out.println("Multiplying...");
System.out.println(" x * y = " + (x * y));
//dividing numbers
System.out.println("Dividing...");
System.out.println(" i / j = " + (i / j));
//computing the remainder resulting from
//dividing numbers
System.out.println("Computing the
//remainder...");
System.out.println(" i % j = " + (i % j));

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}
}

Here is the output of the program,

Variable values...
i = 37
j = 42
x = 27.475
y = 7.22
Adding...
i + j = 79
Subtracting...
i - j = -5
Multiplying...
x * y = 198.37
Dividing...
i/j=0
Computing the remainder...
i % j = 37

Increment and Decrement operators

Aside from the basic arithmetic operators, Java also includes a

unary increment operator (++) and unary decrement operator ( --
). Increment and decrement operators increase and decrease a
value stored in a number variable by 1.

For example, the expression

count = count + 1; //increment the value of count by 1

is equivalent to,
count++;

Operator Use Description

++ op++ Increments op by 1; evaluates to
the value of op before it was
incremented
++ ++op Increments op by 1; evaluates to
the value of op after it was
incremented
-- op-- Decrements op by 1; evaluates to
the value of op before it was
decremented
-- --op Decrements op by 1; evaluates to
the value of op after it was
decremented

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The increment and decrement operators can be placed before
or after an operand.

When used before an operand, it causes the variable to be

incremented or decremented by 1, and then the new value is
used in the expression in which it appears. For example,

int i = 10;
int j = 3;
int k = 0;

k = ++j + i; //will result to k = 4 + 10 = 14

When the increment and decrement operators are placed after

the operand, the old value of the variable will be used in the
expression where it appears. For example,

int i = 10;
int j = 3;
int k = 0;

k = j++ + i; //will result to k = 3 + 10 = 13

Example:
public class Variables
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
//a few numbers
int i = 37;
int j = 42;
double x = 27.475;
double y = 7.22;
System.out.println(" i++ = " + i++);
System.out.println(" --i = " + --i);
System.out.println(" --j = " + --j);
System.out.println(" x++ = " + x++);
}
}

Output:
i++ = 37
--i = 37
--j = 41
x++ = 27.475

Relational operators

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Relational operators compare two values and determine
the relationship between those values. The outputs of evaluation
are the boolean values true or false.

Operator Use Description

> op1 > op2 op1 is greater than op2
>= op1 >= op2 op1 is greater than or equal to op2
< op1 < op2 op1 is less than op2
<= op1 <= op2 op1 is less than or equal to op2
== op1 == op2 op1 and op2 are equal
!= op1 != op2 op1 and op2 are not equal

Here's a sample program that uses relational operators,

public class RelationalDemo

{
public static void main(String[] args) {
//a few numbers
int i = 37;
int j = 42;
int k = 42;
System.out.println("Variable values...");
System.out.println(" i = " + i);
System.out.println(" j = " + j);
System.out.println(" k = " + k);
//greater than
System.out.println(" k > j = " + (k > j)); //false
//greater than or equal to
System.out.println(" k >= j = " + (k >= j));
//true
//equal to
System.out.println(" k == j = " + (k == j));
//true
//not equal to
System.out.println(" k != j = " + (k != j));
//false
}
}

Here's the output from this program:

Variable values...
i = 37
j = 42
k = 42
k > j = false
k >= j = true
k == j = true
k != j = false

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Logical operators

Logical operators have one or two boolean operands that yield a

boolean result.

&& (logical AND)

Here is the truth table for &&,

x1 x2 Result
TRUE TRUE TRUE
TRUE FALSE FALSE
FALSE TRUE FALSE
FALSE FALSE FALSE

Here's a sample source code that uses logical and boolean AND,

public class TestAND

{
public static void main( String[] args ){
int i = 0;
int j = 10;
boolean test= false;
//demonstrate &&
test = (i > 10) && (j++ > 9);
System.out.println(i);
System.out.println(j);
System.out.println(test);
}
}

The output of the program is,

0
10
false

|| (logical OR)

Here is the truth table for ||,

x1 x2 Result
TRUE TRUE TRUE
TRUE FALSE TRUE
FALSE TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE FALSE

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Here's a sample source code that uses logical OR,

public class TestOR

{
public static void main( String[] args ){
int i = 0;
int j = 10;
boolean test= false;
//demonstrate ||
test = (i < 10) || (j++ > 9);
System.out.println(i);
System.out.println(j);
System.out.println(test);
}
}

The output of the program is,

0
10
True

! ( logical NOT)

The logical NOT takes in one argument, wherein that argument

can be an expression, variable or constant. Here is the truth table,

x1 Result
TRUE FALSE
FALSE TRUE

Conditional Operator (?:)

The conditional operator ?: is a ternary operator. This means that
it takes in three arguments that together form a conditional
expression. The structure of an expression using a conditional
operator is,
exp1?exp2:exp3
wherein exp1 is a boolean expression whose result must either be
true or false. If exp1 is true, exp2 is the value returned. If it is false,
then exp3 is returned.

For example, given the code,

public class ConditionalOperator
{
public static void main( String[] args ){
String status = "";
int grade = 80;
//get status of the student
status = (grade >= 60)?70:90";

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//print status
System.out.println( status );
}
}

The output of this program will be,

Passed

Operator Precedence

Operator precedence defines the compiler’s order of evaluation

of operators so as to come up with an unambiguous result.

The following is the list of Java operators from highest to lowest

precedence:

()
++ -- !
* / %
+ -
< > <= >=
== !=
& |
^
&&
||
=
The highest precedence is on top row and the lowest is on the
bottom row.

Given a complicated expression,

6%2*5+4/2+88-10
We can re-write the expression and place some parenthesis base
on operator precedence,

((6%2)*5)+(4/2)+88-10;

Java User Input (Scanner)

Java User Input

The Scanner class is used to get user input, and it is found in
the java.util package.
To use the Scanner class, create an object of the class and use
any of the available methods found in the Scanner class
documentation. In our example, we will use
the nextLine() method, which is used to read Strings:
Example

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import java.util.Scanner; // Import the Scanner class

class MyClass {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner myObj = new Scanner(System.in); // Create a
//Scanner object
System.out.println("Enter username");

String userName = myObj.nextLine(); // Read user input

System.out.println("Username is: " + userName); // Output user
// input
}
}

Input Types
In the example above, we used the nextLine() method, which is
used to read Strings. To read other types, look at the table below:

Method Description

nextBoolean() Reads a boolean value from the

user

nextByte() Reads a byte value from the user

nextDouble() Reads a double value from the

user

nextFloat() Reads a float value from the user

nextInt() Reads a int value from the user

nextLine() Reads a String value from the

user

nextLong() Reads a long value from the user

nextShort() Reads a short value from the user

In the example below, we use different methods to read data of

various types:

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Example
import java.util.Scanner;

class MyClass {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner myObj = new Scanner(System.in);

System.out.println("Enter name, age and salary:");

// String input
String name = myObj.nextLine();

// Numerical input
int age = myObj.nextInt();
double salary = myObj.nextDouble();

// Output input by user

System.out.println("Name: " + name);
System.out.println("Age: " + age);
System.out.println("Salary: " + salary);
}
}

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