Chapter 4:

Classes and Objects - Part I

AUHHC oop lecture slides 1

 What is an Object?
An Object has two primary components:
◦ state – properties of the object
◦ behavior – operations the object can perform

Examples

object state behavior

dog breed, isHungry eat, bark
grade book grades mean, median
light on/off switch

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 Objects in Java
A class defines a new type of Object
To create an Object type to represent a light
switch . . .
class LightSwitch {

// state and behavior here

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 Fields
An Object's state is stored in variables called
fields
Fields are declared (and optionally
initialized) inside the braces of the class
Light switch example with a field . . .

class LightSwitch {

boolean on = true;

} AUHHC oop lecture slides 4

 Methods

An Object's behavior is defined by its

methods

Methods, like fields, are written inside the

braces of the class

Methods can access the fields (the state) of

their object and can change them
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 Light Switch Example
class LightSwitch {

boolean on = true; // field

boolean isOn() { // returns

return on; // the state
}

void switch() { // changes

on = !on; // the state
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 6
 Constructing Objects
We use the new keyword to construct a new
instance of an Object

We can assign this instance to a variable with

the same type of the Object

LightSwitch ls = new LightSwitch();

Note: classes define new datatypes !

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 Using Fields and Methods
LightSwitch ls = new LightSwitch();
To access the field of an instance of an Object
use instance.field
ls.on;

Toaccess the method of an instance use

instance.method(arguments)
ls.isOn();
ls.switch();
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 Example Using Light Switch

What does this main method print out?

LightSwitch ls = new LightSwitch();

System.out.println(ls.on);
ls.switch();
System.out.println(ls.isOn());

true
false
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 Person Example
class Person {
String name = “Jamal”;
int age = 26;
String getName() {
return name;
}
void setName(String n) {
name = n;
}
int getAge() {
return age;
}
void setAge(int a) {
age = a;
}
boolean smellsBad(){
return true;
}
}
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 Constructing Person Objects
To create an instance of the Person class with a
name of "George" and an age of 22
Person george = new Person();
george.setName("George");
george.setAge(22);

Can we create a Person that has the name

George and the age 22 from the moment it is
created?
Answer: Yes!
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 Constructors
Constructors are special methods used to construct
an instance of a class

They have no return type

They have the same name as the class of the Object

they are constructing

They initialize the state of the Object

Callthe constructor by preceding it with the new

keyword AUHHC oop lecture slides 12
 Person Constructor
class Person {
String name;
int age;

Person(String n, int a) {
name = n;
age = a;
}

// . . .
}
Now we can construct George as follows:
Person george = new Person("George", 22);
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 Default Constructor
When you do not write a constructor in a class, it
implicitly has a constructor with no arguments
and an empty body
class LightSwitch {

// Leaving out the constructor

// is the same as . . .
LightSwitch() {}
}
Result: every class has a constructor
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 Multiple Constructors
A class can have multiple constructors
class LightSwitch {

boolean on;

LightSwitch() {
on = true;
}

LightSwitch(boolean o) {
on = o;
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 15
 This Keyword
 Instance can refer to itself with the keyword this

class LightSwitch {
boolean on;
LightSwitch() {
this.on = true; //(same as
on=true;)
}

LightSwitch(boolean on) {
this.on = on;
}
}
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 Cascading Constructors
A constructor
can call another constructor with
this(arguments)
class LightSwitch {

boolean on;

LightSwitch() {
this(true);
}

LightSwitch(boolean on) {
this.on = on;
}
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}
 Classes Recap
Classes have fields to store the state of the objects
in the class and methods to provide the operations
the objects can perform.
We construct instances of a class with the keyword
new followed by a call a constructor method of the
class.
We can assign an instance to a variable with a
datatype named the same as the class.
If you do not provide a constructor, the class will
have one with no arguments and no statements by
default. AUHHC oop lecture slides 18
Apple Example
class Apple {
String color;
double price;
Apple(String color, double price) {
this.color = color;
this.price = price;
}
Apple(double price) {
this("green", price);
}
String getColor() {
return color;
}
double getPrice() {
return price;
}
void setPrice(double p) {
price = p;
}
}
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 Apple Quiz
What will these lines print out?
Apple a = new Apple("red", 100.0);
System.out.println(a.getColor());
System.out.println(a.getPrice()); red
a.setPrice(50.5); 100.0
System.out.println(a.getPrice());
Apple b = new Apple(74.6); 50.5
System.out.println(b.getColor());
System.out.println(b.getPrice());
b.setPrice(a.getPrice()); green
System.out.println(b.getPrice()); 74.6

50.5
AUHHC oop lecture slides 20
 Recall the LightSwitch Class
class LightSwitch {

boolean on = true;

boolean isOn() {
return on;
}

void switch() {
on = !on;
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 21
 A Different LightSwitch Class
class LightSwitch {

int on = 1;

boolean isOn() {
return on == 1;
}

void switch() {
on = 1 - on;
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 22
 Abstraction
Both LightSwitch classes behave the same.
We treat LightSwitch as an abstraction: we do
not care about the internal code of LightSwitch,
only the external behavior

Internalcode = implementation
External behavior = interface

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 Why is Abstraction Important?

We can continue to refine and improve the

implementation of a class so long as the
interface remains the same.

All we need is the interface to an Object in

order to use it, we do not need to know
anything about how it performs its prescribed
behavior.

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 Breaking the Abstraction Barrier
A user of LightSwitch that relied on the
boolean field would break if we changed to
an integer field
class AbstractionBreaker {
public static void main(String[] args) {
LightSwitch ls = new LightSwitch();

if (ls.on) // now broken!

System.out.println("light is on");
else
System.out.println("light is off");
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 25
Public versus Private

Label fields and methods private to ensure

other classes can't access them

Label fields and methods public to ensure

other classes can access them.

Ifthey are not labeled public or private, for

now consider them public.
AUHHC oop lecture slides 26
 A Better LightSwitch
class LightSwitch {

private boolean on = true;

public boolean isOn() {

return on;
}

public void switch() {

on = !on;
}
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 27
 Enforcing the Abstraction Barrier
By labeling the on field private . . .
class LightSwitch {
private boolean on = true;

// . . .
}
Now AbstractionBreaker's attempt to access
the on field would not have compiled to begin
with.

if (ls.on) // would never have compiled

AUHHC oop lecture slides 28
 Equality Quiz 1
Is (a == b) ?
int a = 7;
int b = 7;
Answer: Yes

Is (g == h) ?
Person g = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Person h = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Answer: No
AUHHC oop lecture slides 29
 Primitives vs Objects
Two datatypes in Java: primitives and objects

Primitives: byte, short, int, long, double, float,

boolean, char
== tests if two primitives have the same value

Objects: defined in Java classes

== tests if two objects are the same object
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 References
The new keyword always constructs a new
unique instance of a class
When an instance is assigned to a variable,
that variable is said to hold a reference
or point to that object
Person g = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Person h = new Person("Jamal", 26);
g and h hold references to two different
objects that happen to have identical state
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 Reference Inequality
g != h because g and h hold references to
different objects
Person g = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Person h = new Person("Jamal", 26);

g h

"Jamal" "Jamal"
26 26

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 Reference Equality
greg1 == greg2 because greg1 and greg2
hold references to the same object
Person greg1 = new Person("Greg", 23);
Person greg2 = greg1;

greg1

"Greg"
23

greg2

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 Equality Quiz 2
 true or false?
Person g = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Person h = new Person("Jamal", 26);
Person greg1 = new Person("Greg", 23);
Person greg2 = greg1;

a) g == h false
b) g.getAge() == h.getAge() true
c) greg1 == greg2 true
d) greg1.getAge() == greg2.getAge(); true
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 Java API
You can get information on all in-built Java
classes/methods by browsing the Java
Application Programming Interface (API)

This documentation is essential to building any

substantial Java application

Available on your CD's

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Methods

Methods

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The Concept of a Method
Methods also known as functions or procedures.
Methods are a way of capturing a sequence of
computational steps into a reusable unit.
Methods can accept inputs in the form of arguments,
perform some operations with the arguments, and then
can return a value the is the output, or result of their
computations.
inputs outputs
method
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 Square Root Method
 Square root is a good example of a method.

 The square root method accepts a single number as an argument

and returns the square root of that number.

 The computation of square roots involves many intermediate

steps between input and output.

 When we use square root, we don’t care about these steps. All
we need is to get the correct output.

 Hiding the internal workings of a method from a user but

providing the correct answer is known as abstraction
AUHHC oop lecture slides 38
 Declaring Methods
A method has 4 parts: the return type, the name,
the arguments, and the body:
type name arguments

double sqrt(double num) {

// a set of operations that compute
body
// the square root of a number
}

The type, name and arguments together is referred

to as the signature of the method
AUHHC oop lecture slides 39
 The Return Type of a Method

The return type of a method may be any

data type.

The type of a method designates the data

type of the output it produces.

Methods can also return nothing in

which case they are declared void.
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 Return Statements
 The return statement is used in a method to output the result
of the methods computation.

 It has the form: return expression_value;

 The type of the expression_value must be the same as

the type of the method:
double sqrt(double num){
double answer;
// Compute the square root of num and store
// the value into the variable answer
return answer;
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 41
 Return Statements

A method exits immediately after it

executes the return statement

Therefore, the return statement is usually

the last statement in a method

A method may have multiple return

statements. Can you think of an example
of such a case?
AUHHC oop lecture slides 42
 Brain Teaser Answer

Example:

int absoluteValue (int num){

if (num < 0)
return –num;
else
return num;
}
AUHHC oop lecture slides 43
 void Methods

A method of type void has a return statement

without any specified value. i.e. return;

This may seem useless, but in practice void is used

often.

A good example is when a methods only purpose is to

print to the screen.

Ifno return statement is used in a method of type

void, it automatically returns at the end
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Method Arguments

Methods can take input in the form of

arguments.

Arguments are used as variables inside the

method body.

Like variables, arguments, must have their type

specified.

Arguments are specified inside the paren-theses

that follow the name of the method.
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 Example Method

Here is an example of a method that divides

two doubles:

double divide(double a, double b) {

double answer;
answer = a / b;
return answer;
}
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 Method Arguments

Multiple
method arguments are separated
by commas:
double pow(double x, double y)

Arguments may be of different types

int indexOf(String str, int fromIndex)

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 The Method Body

The body of a method is a block specified

by curly brackets.
 The body defines the actions of the
method.
The method arguments can be used
anywhere inside of the body.
All methods must have curly brackets to
specify the body even if the body contains
only one or no statement.
AUHHC oop lecture slides 48
 Invoking Methods

To call a method, specify the name of the

method followed by a list of comma
separated arguments in parentheses:
pow(2, 10); //Computes 210

Ifthe method has no arguments, you still

need to follow the method name with
empty parentheses:
size();
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 Static Methods

Some methods have the keyword static

before the return type:
static double divide(double a, double b)
{
return a / b;
}
The keyword static allows main( ) method
for instance to be called without having to
instantiate a particular instance of the class.

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 main - A Special Method
The only method that we have used in lab up
until this point is the main method.
The main method is where a Java program
always starts when you run a class file with the
java command
The main method is static has a strict signature
which must be followed:
public static void main(String[] args) {
. . .
} AUHHC oop lecture slides 51
 main continued
class SayHi {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hi, " + args[0]);
}
}
 When java Program arg1 arg2 … argN is typed on the
command line, anything after the name of the class file is
automatically entered into the args array:
java SayHi Sonia

 In this example args[0] will contain the String "Sonia", and

the output of the program will be "Hi, Sonia".
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 Example main method
class Greetings {
public static void main(String args[]) {
String greeting = "";
for (int i=0; i < args.length; i++) {
greeting += "Jambo " + args[i] + "! ";
}
System.out.println(greeting);
}
}

 Aftercompiling, if you type

java Greetings Alice Bob Charlie
prints out "Jambo Alice! Jambo Bob! Jambo Charlie!"

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Recursive Example
class Factorial {
public static void main (String[] args) {
int num = Integer.parseInt(args[0]));
System.out.println(fact(num));
}

static int fact(int n) {

if (n <= 1) return 1;
else return n * fact(n – 1);
}
}

 After compiling, if you type java Factorial 4

the program will print out 24
AUHHC oop lecture slides 54
 Another Example
class Max {
public static void main(String args[]) {
if (args.length == 0) return;

int max = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);

for (int i=1; i < args.length; i++) {
if (Integer.parseInt(args[i]) > max) {
max = Integer.parseInt(args[i]);
}
}
System.out.println(max);
}
}

 After compiling, if you type java Max 3 2 9 2 4

the program will print out 9
AUHHC oop lecture slides 55
 Summary

 Methods capture a piece of computation we wish to

perform repeatedly into a single abstraction
 Methodsin Java have 4 parts: return type, name,
arguments, body.
 The return type and arguments may be either primitive
data types or complex data types (Objects)
 main is a special Java method which the java interpreter
looks for when you try to run a class file
 main has a strict signature that must be followed:
public static void main(String args[])
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