Chapter 8

Objects and Classes

1
 Motivations
After learning the preceding chapters, you are capable of
solving many programming problems using selections,
loops, methods, and arrays.
However, these Java features are not sufficient for
developing graphical user interfaces and large scale
software systems.
Suppose you want to develop a graphical user interface as
shown below.
How do you program it?

2
 Objectives
 To describe objects and classes, and use classes to model objects (§8.2).
 To use UML graphical notation to describe classes and objects (§8.2).
 To demonstrate how to define classes and create objects (§8.3).
 To create objects using constructors (§8.4).
 To access objects via object reference variables (§8.5).
 To define a reference variable using a reference type (§8.5.1).
 To access an object’s data and methods using the object member access operator
(.) (§8.5.2).
 To define data fields of reference types and assign default values for an object’s
data fields (§8.5.3).
 To distinguish between object reference variables and primitive data type
variables (§8.5.4).
 To use the Java library classes Date, Random, and JFrame (§8.6).
 To distinguish between instance and static variables and methods (§8.7).
 To define private data fields with appropriate getter and setter methods (§8.8).
 To encapsulate data fields to make classes easy to maintain (§8.9).
 To develop methods with object arguments and differentiate between primitive-
type arguments and object-type arguments (§8.10).
 To store and process objects in arrays (§8.11).
3
 OO Programming Concepts
Object-oriented programming (OOP) involves
programming using objects.
An object represents an entity in the real world that
can be distinctly identified. For example, a student,
a desk, a circle, a button, and even a loan can all be
viewed as objects.
An object has a unique identity, state, and
behaviors. The state of an object consists of a set of
data fields (also known as properties) with their
current values. The behavior of an object is defined
by a set of methods. 4
 Objects
Class Name: Circle A class template

Data Fields:
radius is _______

Methods:
getArea

Circle Object 1 Circle Object 2 Circle Object 3 Three objects of

the Circle class
Data Fields: Data Fields: Data Fields:
radius is 10 radius is 25 radius is 125

An object has both a state and behavior. The state

defines the object, and the behavior defines what
the object does.

5
 Classes
Classes are constructs that define objects of the
same type.
A Java class uses variables to define data fields
and methods to define behaviors.
Additionally, a class provides a special type of
methods, known as constructors,
which are invoked to construct objects from the
class.
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 Classes
class Circle {
/** The radius of this circle */
double radius = 1.0; Data field

/** Construct a circle object */

Circle() {
}
Constructors
/** Construct a circle object */
Circle(double newRadius) {
radius = newRadius;
}

/** Return the area of this circle */

double getArea() { Method
return radius * radius * 3.14159;
}
}

7
 Example: Defining Classes and
Creating Objects

 Objective:Demonstrate creating objects,

accessing data, and using methods.

TestSimpleCircle Run

8
 Example: Defining Classes and
Creating Objects

 Objective:Demonstrate creating objects,

accessing data, and using methods.

TV

TestTV Run

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 Constructors
Constructors are a special
Circle() { kind of methods that are
} invoked to construct objects.

Circle(double newRadius) {
radius = newRadius;
}

10
 Constructors, cont.
A constructor with no parameters is referred to as a
no-arg constructor.
· Constructors must have the same name as the
class itself.
· Constructors do not have a return type—not
even void.
· Constructors are invoked using the new
operator when an object is created. Constructors
play the role of initializing objects.
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 Creating Objects Using
Constructors
new ClassName();

Example:
new Circle();

new Circle(5.0);

12
 Default Constructor
A class may be defined without constructors. In
this case, a no-arg constructor with an empty body
is implicitly declared in the class. This constructor,
called a default constructor, is provided
automatically only if no constructors are explicitly
defined in the class.

13
 Declaring Object Reference Variables
To reference an object, assign the object to a reference
variable.

To declare a reference variable, use the syntax:

ClassName objectRefVar;

Example:
Circle myCircle;

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 Declaring/Creating Objects
in a Single Step
ClassName objectRefVar = new ClassName();

Assign object reference Create an object

Example:
Circle myCircle = new Circle();

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 Accessing Object’s Members
 Referencing the object’s data:
objectRefVar.data
e.g., myCircle.radius

 Invoking the object’s method:

objectRefVar.methodName(arguments)
e.g., myCircle.getArea()

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animation
Trace Code
Declare myCircle

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0); no value

myCircle
SCircle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100;

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animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0); no value

myCircle
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

Create a circle

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animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);

myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; Assign object reference : Circle

to myCircle
radius: 5.0

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animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle no value

Declare yourCircle

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animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle no value

: Circle
Create a new radius: 1.0
Circle object

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animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle reference value

Assign object reference

to yourCircle : Circle

radius: 1.0

22
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle reference value

: Circle
Change radius in radius: 100.0
yourCircle

23
 Caution
Recall that you use
Math.methodName(arguments) (e.g., Math.pow(3, 2.5))

to invoke a method in the Math class. Can you invoke getArea() using
Circle1.getArea()? The answer is no. All the methods used before this
chapter are static methods, which are defined using the static keyword.
However, getArea() is non-static. It must be invoked from an object
using

objectRefVar.methodName(arguments) (e.g., myCircle.getArea()).

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 Reference Data Fields
The data fields can be of reference types. For example,
the following Student class contains a data field name of
the String type.

public class Student {

String name; // name has default value null
int age; // age has default value 0
boolean isScienceMajor; // isScienceMajor has default value false
char gender; // c has default value '\u0000'
}

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 The null Value
If a data field of a reference type does not
reference any object, the data field holds a
special literal value, null.

26
 Default Value for a Data Field
The default value of a data field is null for a
reference type, 0 for a numeric type, false for a
boolean type, and '\u0000' for a char type.
However, Java assigns no default value to a local
variable inside a method.
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Student student = new Student();
System.out.println("name? " + student.name);
System.out.println("age? " + student.age);
System.out.println("isScienceMajor? " + student.isScienceMajor);
System.out.println("gender? " + student.gender);
}
}

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 Example
Java assigns no default value to a local variable
inside a method.
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int x; // x has no default value
String y; // y has no default value
System.out.println("x is " + x);
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
}

Compilation error: variables not

initialized

28
 Differences between Variables of
Primitive Data Types and Object Types
Created using new Circle()
Primitive type int i = 1 i 1

Object type Circle c c reference c: Circle

radius = 1

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 Copying Variables of Primitive
Data Types and Object Types
Primitive type assignment i = j

Before: After:

i 1 i 2

j 2 j 2

Object type assignment c1 = c2

Before: After:

c1 c1

c2 c2

c1: Circle C2: Circle c1: Circle C2: Circle

radius = 5 radius = 9 radius = 5 radius = 9

30
 Garbage Collection
As shown in the previous figure, after the
assignment statement c1 = c2, c1 points to
the same object referenced by c2. The
object previously referenced by c1 is no
longer referenced. This object is known as
garbage. Garbage is automatically
collected by JVM.

31
 Garbage Collection, cont
TIP: If you know that an object is no
longer needed, you can explicitly assign
null to a reference variable for the
object. The JVM will automatically
collect the space if the object is not
referenced by any variable.

32
 The Date Class
Java provides a system-independent encapsulation of date
and time in the java.util.Date class. You can use the Date
class to create an instance for the current date and time and
use its toString method to return the date and time as a string.

java.util.Date
The + sign indicates
public modifer +Date() Constructs a Date object for the current time.
+Date(elapseTime: long) Constructs a Date object for a given time in
milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, GMT.
+toString(): String Returns a string representing the date and time.
+getTime(): long Returns the number of milliseconds since January 1,
1970, GMT.
+setTime(elapseTime: long): void Sets a new elapse time in the object.

33
 The Date Class Example
For example, the following code

java.util.Date date = new java.util.Date();

System.out.println(date.toString());

displays a string like Sun Mar 09 13:50:19

EST 2003.

34
 The Random Class
You have used Math.random() to obtain a random double
value between 0.0 and 1.0 (excluding 1.0). A more useful
random number generator is provided in the java.util.Random
class.
java.util.Random
+Random() Constructs a Random object with the current time as its seed.
+Random(seed: long) Constructs a Random object with a specified seed.
+nextInt(): int Returns a random int value.
+nextInt(n: int): int Returns a random int value between 0 and n (exclusive).
+nextLong(): long Returns a random long value.
+nextDouble(): double Returns a random double value between 0.0 and 1.0 (exclusive).
+nextFloat(): float Returns a random float value between 0.0F and 1.0F (exclusive).
+nextBoolean(): boolean Returns a random boolean value.

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 The Random Class Example
If two Random objects have the same seed, they will generate
identical sequences of numbers. For example, the following
code creates two Random objects with the same seed 3.
Random random1 = new Random(3);
System.out.print("From random1: ");
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
System.out.print(random1.nextInt(1000) + " ");
Random random2 = new Random(3);
System.out.print("\nFrom random2: ");
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
System.out.print(random2.nextInt(1000) + " ");

From random1: 734 660 210 581 128 202 549 564 459 961
From random2: 734 660 210 581 128 202 549 564 459 961

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 Displaying GUI Components
When you develop programs to create graphical user
interfaces, you will use Java classes such as JFrame,
JButton, JRadioButton, JComboBox, and JList to
create frames, buttons, radio buttons, combo boxes,
lists, and so on. Here is an example that creates two
windows using the JFrame class.

TestFrame Run

37
animation
Trace Code Declare, create,
and assign in one
statement
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title:
frame1.setVisible(true); width:
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height:
visible:
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150);
frame2.setVisible(true);

38
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
Set title property
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); JFrame width:
frame2 = new JFrame(); height:
visible:
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150);
frame2.setVisible(true);

39
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame Set size property
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height: 150
visible:
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150);
frame2.setVisible(true);

40
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200 Set visible
height: 150 property
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame();
visible: true
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150);
frame2.setVisible(true);

41
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height: 150
visible: true
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150); Declare, create,
frame2 reference and assign in one
frame2.setVisible(true); statement
: JFrame
title:
width:
height:
visible:

42
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height: 150
visible: true
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150); frame2 reference
frame2.setVisible(true);
Set title property
: JFrame
title: "Window 2"
width:
height:
visible:

43
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height: 150
visible: true
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150); frame2 reference
frame2.setVisible(true);
: JFrame
title: "Window 2" Set size property
width: 200
height: 150
visible:

44
animation
Trace Code
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame(); frame1 reference
frame1.setTitle("Window 1");
: JFrame
frame1.setSize(200, 150); title: "Window 1"
frame1.setVisible(true); width: 200
JFrame frame2 = new JFrame(); height: 150
visible: true
frame2.setTitle("Window 2");
frame2.setSize(200, 150); frame2 reference
frame2.setVisible(true);
: JFrame
title: "Window 2"
Set visible
width: 200
property
height: 150
visible: true

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Adding GUI Components to Window
You can add graphical user interface components,
such as buttons, labels, text fields, combo boxes,
lists, and menus, to the window. The components are
defined using classes. Here is an example to create
buttons, labels, text fields, check boxes, radio
buttons, and combo boxes.

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 Instance
Variables, and Methods

Instance variables belong to a specific instance.

Instance methods are invoked by an instance of

the class.

47
 Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods
Static variables are shared by all the instances of the
class.

Static methods are not tied to a specific object.

Static constants are final variables shared by all the
instances of the class.

48
 Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods, cont.

To declare static variables, constants, and methods,

use the static modifier.

49
 Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods, cont.
instantiate
circle1 Memory

radius = 1 1 radius After two Circle

Circle numberOfObjects = 2 objects were created,
numberOfObjects
radius: double is 2.
numberOfObjects: int
2 numberOfObjects
getNumberOfObjects(): int
+getArea(): double instantiate
circle2

radius = 5 5 radius
UML Notation: numberOfObjects = 2
+: public variables or methods
underline: static variables or methods

50
 Visibility Modifiers and
Accessor/Mutator Methods
By default, the class, variable, or method can be
accessed by any class in the same package.
 public
The class, data, or method is visible to any class in any
package.

 private
The data or methods can be accessed only by the declaring
class.
The get and set methods are used to read and modify private
properties.
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package p1; package p2;
public class C1 { public class C2 { public class C3 {
public int x; void aMethod() { void aMethod() {
int y; C1 o = new C1(); C1 o = new C1();
private int z; can access o.x; can access o.x;
can access o.y; cannot access o.y;
public void m1() { cannot access o.z; cannot access o.z;
}
void m2() { can invoke o.m1(); can invoke o.m1();
} can invoke o.m2(); cannot invoke o.m2();
private void m3() { cannot invoke o.m3(); cannot invoke o.m3();
} } }
} } }

package p1; package p2;

class C1 { public class C2 { public class C3 {
... can access C1 cannot access C1;
} } can access C2;
}

The private modifier restricts access to within a class, the default

modifier restricts access to within a package, and the public
modifier enables unrestricted access.
52
 NOTE
An object cannot access its private members, as shown in (b).
It is OK, however, if the object is declared in its own class, as
shown in (a).
public class F { public class Test {
private boolean x; public static void main(String[] args) {
Foo f = new F();
public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(f.x);
F f = new F (); System.out.println(f.convert(f.x));
System.out.println(f.x); }
System.out.println(f.convert()); }
}

private int convert(boolean b) {

return x ? 1 : -1;
}
}
(b) This is wrong because x and convert are private in F.
(a) This is OK because object f is used inside the F class

53
 Why Data Fields Should Be
private?
To protect data.

To make class easy to maintain.

54