Object Oriented Programming
Lecture 10
1
Topics to be covered today
• Finalize() method
• Garbage Collection
• this keyword
• Object Argument
• Argument passing
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Finalize() method
• A constructor helps to initialize an object
just after it has been created.
• In contrast, the finalize method is invoked
just before the object is destroyed:
– implemented inside a class as:
protected void finalize() { … }
3
Contd.
• How is the finalize method invoked?
– Garbage Collection to perform clean-up activity.
Clean-up activity means closing the resources
associated with that object like Database
Connection, Network Connection, or we can say
resource de-allocation.
Garbage Collection
Garbage collection is a mechanism to remove objects
from memory when they are no longer needed.
Garbage collection is carried out by the garbage
collector:
◦ The garbage collector keeps track of how many references
an object has.
◦ It removes an object from memory when it has no longer
any references.
◦ Thereafter, the memory occupied by the object can be
allocated again.
◦ The garbage collector invokes the finalize method.
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Keyword this
• Keyword this allows a method to refer to the
object that invoked it.
• It can be used inside any method to refer to
the current object:
• The above use of this is redundant but correct.
• When is this really needed?
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Instance Variable Hiding
• Variables with the same names:
– it is illegal to declare two local variables with the same
name inside the same or enclosing scopes
– it is legal to declare local variables or parameters with
the same name as the instance variables of the class.
• As the same-named local variables/parameters will hide
the instance variables, using this is necessary to regain
access to them:
7
Object Argument
• So far, all method received arguments of
simple types.
• They may also receive an object as an
argument. Here is a method to check if a
parameter object is equal to the invoking
object:
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Object Argument
ob1 == ob2: true
ob1 == ob3: false
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Passing object to Constructor
• A special case of object-passing is passing
an object to the constructor.
• This is to initialize one object with another
object:
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Argument Passing
• Two types of variables:
– simple types
– class types
• Two corresponding ways of how the
arguments are passed to methods:
– by value a method receives a copy of the
original value;parameters of simple types
– by reference a method receives the memory
address of the original value, not the value itself;
parameters of class types
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Simple Type Argument Passing
• Passing arguments of simple types takes
place by value:
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Simple Type Argument Passing
• With by-value argument-passing what
occurs to the parameter that receives the
argument has no effect outside the
method:
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Contd.
Call by Reference
Byreference a method receives the memory
address of the original value, not the value itself;
parameters of class types
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Questions
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