Java Programming
Fifth Edition
Chapter 4
More Object Concepts
Objectives
• Learn about blocks and scope
• Overload a method
• Learn about ambiguity
• Send arguments to constructors
• Overload constructors
• Learn about the this reference
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 2
Objectives (continued)
• Use static variables
• Use constant fields
• Use automatically imported, prewritten constants
and methods
• Use the explicitly imported prewritten class
GregorianCalendar
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 3
Objectives (continued)
• Learn about composition
• Learn about nested and inner classes
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 4
Understanding Blocks and Scope
• Blocks
– Use opening and closing curly braces
– Can exist entirely within another block or entirely
outside and separate from another block
– Cannot overlap
– Types
• Outside or outer blocks
• Inside or inner blocks
• Nested
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
• Scope
– Portion of program within which you can refer to a
variable
– Comes into scope
• Variable comes into existence, when you declare it
– Goes out of scope
• Variable ceases to exist, at the end of the block in
which it is declared
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
• Redeclare variable
– Cannot declare same variable name more than once
within block
– Illegal action
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
• Override
– Variable’s name within method in which it is declared
• Takes precedence over any other variable with same
name in another method
– Locally declared variables
• Always mask or hide other variables with same name
elsewhere in class
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
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Understanding Blocks and Scope
(continued)
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Overloading a Method
• Overloading
– Using one term to indicate diverse meanings
– Writing multiple methods with same name but with
different arguments
– Compiler understands meaning based on arguments
used with method
– Convenience for programmers to use one
reasonable name
• For tasks that are functionally identical
• Except for argument types
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 13
Overloading a Method (continued)
public static void calculateInterest(double bal, int rate)
{
double interest, rateAsPercent;
rateAsPercent = rate / 100.0;
interest = bal * rateAsPercent;
System.out.println("Simple interest on $ "+bal+" at "+rate+"%
rate is "+interest);
}
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Java Programming, Fifth Edition 15
Learning About Ambiguity
• If application contains just one version of method
– Call method using parameter of correct data type
– Or one that can be promoted to correct data type
• Ambiguous situation
– When methods overloaded
• May create situation in which compiler cannot
determine which method to use
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Learning About Ambiguity (continued)
• Overload methods
– Correctly provide different argument lists for
methods with same name
• Illegal methods
– Methods with identical names that have identical
argument lists but different return types
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Learning About Ambiguity (continued)
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Sending Arguments to Constructors
• Java automatically provides constructor method
– When class-created default constructors do not
require parameters
• Write your own constructor method
– Ensures that fields within classes are initialized to
appropriate default values
– Constructors can receive parameters
• Used for initialization purposes
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Sending Arguments to Constructors
(continued)
• Write constructor for class
– No longer receive automatically written default
constructor
• If class’s only constructor requires parameter
– Must provide argument for every object of class
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Overloading Constructors
• Use constructor parameters
– To initialize field values
– Or any other purpose
• If constructor parameter lists differ
– No ambiguity about which constructor method to call
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Overloading Constructors (continued)
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Learning About the this Reference
• Instantiate object from class
– Memory reserved for each instance field in class
– Not necessary to store separate copy of each
variable and method for each instantiation of class
• In Java
– One copy of each method in class stored
– All instantiated objects can use one copy
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Learning About the this Reference
(continued)
• Reference
– Object’s memory address
– Implicit
• Automatically understood without actually being
written
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Learning About the this Reference
(continued)
• this reference
– Reference to object
– Passed to any object’s nonstatic class method
– Reserved word in Java
– Don’t need to use this reference in methods you
write
• In most situations
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Learning About the this Reference
(continued)
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 26
Learning About the this Reference
(continued)
• this reference (continued)
– Implicitly received by instance methods
– Use to make classes work correctly
– When used with field name in class method
• Reference to class field
• Instead of to local variable declared within method
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Using the this Reference to Make
Overloaded Constructors
More Efficient
• Avoid repetition within constructors
• Constructor calls other constructor
– this()
– More efficient and less error-prone
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Using static Variables
• Class methods
– Do not have this reference
– Have no object associated with them
• Class variables
– Shared by every instantiation of class
– Only one copy of static class variable per class
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Using Constant Fields
• Create named constants using keyword final
– Make its value unalterable after construction
• Can be set in class constructor
– After construction cannot change final field’s value
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Using Constant Fields (continued)
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Using Automatically Imported,
Prewritten Constants and Methods
• Many classes commonly used by wide variety of
programmers
• Java contains nearly 500 classes
• Package or library of classes
– Folder provides convenient grouping for classes
– Many contain classes available only if explicitly
named within program
– Some classes available automatically
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Using Automatically Imported,
Prewritten Constants and Methods
(continued)
• Fundamental or basic classes
– Implicitly imported into every Java program
– java.lang package
• Only automatically imported, named package
• Optional classes
– Must be explicitly named
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 34
Using Automatically Imported,
Prewritten Constants and Methods
(continued)
• java.lang.Math class
– Contains constants and methods used to perform
common mathematical functions
– No need to create instance
– Imported automatically
– Cannot instantiate objects of type Math
• Constructor for Math class private
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Java Programming, Fifth Edition 36
Using an Explicitly Imported
Prewritten Class and Its Methods
• Use prewritten classes
– Use entire path with class name
– Import class
– Import package that contains class
• To use import statements
– Place before any executing statement in Java file
• Prior to import statement
– Use blank line or comment line but nothing else
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 37
Using an Explicitly Imported
Prewritten Class and Its Methods
(continued)
• Wildcard symbol
– Alternative to importing class
• Import entire package of classes
– Use asterisk
• Can be replaced by any set of characters
• Represents all classes in package
• No disadvantage to importing extra classes
– Importing each class by name can be form of
documentation
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 38
Using an Explicitly Imported
Prewritten Class and Its Methods
(continued)
• GregorianCalendar class
– Seven constructors
– Default constructor creates calendar object
containing current date and time in default locale
(time zone)
– Can also specify date, time, and time zone
– get() method
• Access data fields
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Java Programming, Fifth Edition 41
Understanding Composition
• Composition
– Describes relationship between classes when object
of one class data field is within another class
– Called has-a relationship
• Because one class “has an” instance of another
• Remember to supply values for contained object if
it has no default constructor
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Understanding Composition
(continued)
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 43
A Brief Look at Nested and Inner
Classes
• Nested classes
– Class within another class
– Stored together in one file
• Nested class types
– static member
– Nonstatic member
– Local classes
– Anonymous classes
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You Do It
• Demonstrating scope
• Overloading methods
• Creating a constructor that requires an argument
• Using an explicitly imported prewritten class
• Creating an interactive application with a timer
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Don’t Do It
• Don’t try to use a variable that is out of scope
• Don’t assume that a constant is still a constant
when passed to a method’s parameter
• Don’t overload methods by giving them different
return types
• Don’t think that default constructor means only the
automatically supplied version
• Don’t forget to write a default constructor for a
class that has other constructors
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Summary
• Variable’s scope
– Portion of program in which you can reference
variable
• Block
– Code between a pair of curly braces
• Overloading
– Writing multiple methods with same name but
different argument lists
• Store separate copies of data fields for each object
– But just one copy of each method
Java Programming, Fifth Edition 47
Summary (continued)
• static class variables
– Shared by every instantiation of a class
• Literal constants never change
• Prewritten classes
– Stored in packages
• import statement
– Notifies Java program that class names refer to
those within imported class
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