Variable Types

Course Code: CSC1205 Course Title: Object Oriented Programming 1 (JAVA)

Dept. of Computer Science

Faculty of Science and Technology

Lecturer No: 3.1 Week No: 3 Semester: Summer 21-22

Lecturer: Mazid-Ul-Haque, [email protected]

Lecture Outline

1. Different Types of Variables.

2. Memory Representation of Different Types of variables.
Variable Types
Different Types of Variables

In Java, Variables can be divided into 3 types. They are:

Local Variables

Class Variables

Instance Variables
 Variable Types
Different Types of Variables

Local Variables
• Variables declared inside the scope of any method, constructor, loop, conditional statements
are known as local variables.
• Local variables do not have any existence outside the scope it is declared.
• The concept of default value is not applicable for local variables.
Example A list of local variables declared
in the example is:
public void changeValues(int a){  a and x is accessible/exists
int x; • int a
• int x throughout the whole
for(int i=0; i<5; i++){ method.
int y = i + a; • int i
 i and y is accessible/exists
if(y%2 ==0){ • int y
only within the for loop.
int z = a * y; • int z  z is only accessible/exists
} These variables do not have any inside the if block.
} existence outside the block they
} were declared.
Variable Types
Different Types of Variables

Instance Variables
• Variables declared inside the scope of a class but outside the scope of any method
or constructor are known as Instance Variables.
• It can be accessed from anywhere inside the class it is declared.
• It can also be accessed from outside of the class it is declared depending its access
modifiers.
• We have to use an object to access it.
• Each of the objects of a class, hold different memory for an instance variable.
Variable Types
Different Types of Variables

Class Variables
• Variables declared inside the scope of a class but outside the scope of any method
or constructor are known as Class Variables if and only if the keyword static is
used in the declaration of the variable.
• It can be accessed from anywhere inside the class it is declared.
• It can also be accessed from outside of the class it is declared depending its access
modifiers.
• We do not need any object to access it. It is accessed using the class name.
• All the objects of a class, share the same memory for a class variable.
 Variable Types
Example of Different Types of Variables

class Account{ Can you identify which ones are local

private int accountNo; variables, which ones are class variables
private double balance; and which ones are instance variables?
public static double perDayTransactionLimit;

public Account( ){ } Local Variable an, b, rate

public Account(int an, double b){ Class Variable perDayTransactionLimit
accountNo = an; balance = b;
} Instance Variable accountNo, balance
public void addInterest(double rate){
balance = balance + (balance * rate / 100);
}
public void show( ){
System.out.println(“AccountNo: ”+ accountNo);
System.out.println(“Balance: ”+ balance);
}
}
 Variable Types
Memory Representation of Different Types of Variables

class Account{ Lets assume that we are creating two

private int accountNo; objects of this account class:
private double balance; Account a1 = new Account(1111, 200.0);
public static double perDayTransactionLimit= 500;
Account a2 = new Account(1112, 250.0);
public Account( ){ }
What will be the memory representation
public Account(int an, double b){
for an object of account?
accountNo = an; balance = b;
}
public void addInterest(double rate){ accountNo 1111 accountNo 1112
balance = balance + (balance * rate / 100);
balance 200.0 balance 250.0
}
public void show( ){ a2
a1
System.out.println(“AccountNo: ”+ accountNo);
System.out.println(“Balance: ”+ balance); perDayTransactionLimit 500
}
}
 Variable Types
Memory Representation of Different Types of Variables

class Account{ What will be the memory representation

private int accountNo; for another object of account?
private double balance; Account a3 = new Account(1113, 300.0);
public static double perDayTransactionLimit= 500;

public Account( ){ } accountNo 1111 accountNo 1112

public Account(int an, double b){
balance 200.0 balance 250.0
accountNo = an; balance = b;
}
a1 a2
public void addInterest(double rate){
balance = balance + (balance * rate / 100); perDayTransactionLimit 500
}
public void show( ){
a3
System.out.println(“AccountNo: ”+ accountNo);
System.out.println(“Balance: ”+ balance); accountNo 1113
}
} balance 300.0
 Variable Types
Memory Representation of Different Types of Variables

class Account{ What will be the memory representation

private int accountNo; for a4 after the following statement?
private double balance; Account a4 = a2;
public static double perDayTransactionLimit= 500;

public Account( ){ } accountNo 1111 accountNo 1112

public Account(int an, double b){
balance 200.0 balance 250.0
accountNo = an; balance = b;
}
a1 a2
public void addInterest(double rate){
balance = balance + (balance * rate / 100); perDayTransactionLimit 500
}
public void show( ){
a3 a4
System.out.println(“AccountNo: ”+ accountNo);
System.out.println(“Balance: ”+ balance); accountNo 1113 No New Memory
} for a4
} balance 300.0
Books

• Java Complete Reference, 7th Edition, By Herbert Schildt.

• A Programmer’s Guide to Java™ SCJP Certification A Comprehensive Primer,
3rd edition, by Khalid A. Mughal and Rolf W. Rasmussen
• Java How to Program Java, 9th Edition, By Deitel and Deitel.
• The Java Language Specification, By J. Gosling, B. Joy, G. Steele, G.Bracha and
A. Buckley
• Introduction to Programming Using Java, 6th Edition, By David j. Eck
• Head First Java, By Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates
References

• Java Complete Reference, 7th Edition, By Herbert Schildt.

• A Programmer’s Guide to Java™ SCJP Certification A Comprehensive Primer,
3rd edition, by Khalid A. Mughal and Rolf W. Rasmussen
• The Java Language Specification, By J. Gosling, B. Joy, G. Steele, G.Bracha and
A. Buckley
• docs.oracle.com