Java Programming : Call-by-Value

Parameter Passing
Dr. Ei Ei Moe
Lecturer

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 Objectives

• To understand how the arguments are passed to the parameters using the pass-by-
value scheme

• To know how to declare reserved word static in class method and variable

• To know how to organize classes into a package

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 Call-by-Value Parameter Passing

• When you pass an item of a simple data type to a method, Java passes a copy of the
data in the item, which is called passing by value.

• Because the method gets only a copy of the data item, the code in the method cannot
affect the original data item at all.

• This way of passing the value of arguments is called a pass-by-value or call-by-

value scheme.
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 Pass-by-Reference

• When you pass an object to a method, Java actually passes a reference to the object,
which is called passing by reference.

• Passing by reference means that the code in the method can reach the original
object.

• In fact, any changes made to the passed object affect the original object.

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 Example : Pass-by-Value

class Employee {
int salary; public class EmployeeMain {
String name; public static void main(String[] args) {

Employee(int sal, String empname) { Employee empobj = new Employee(500, “Aye Aye”);
salary = sal; System.out.println(empobj.salary+ “ ”+
name = empname; }
empobj.name);
empobj.passByValue(empobj.salary);
public void passByValue(int sal) {
System.out.println(“Salary : ”+ sal); System.out.println(empobj.salary);
int increaseSalary = sal + 100; Output
}}
System.out.println(“Increase Salary :”+increaseSalary); 500 Aye Aye
} Salary : 500
Increase Salary :600
} 500
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 Example: Pass-by-Reference

class Employee {
public class EmployeeMain {
int salary;
String name; public static void main(String[] args) {
Employee(int sal, String empname) {
Employee empobj = new Employee(500, “Aye Aye”);
salary = sal;
name = empname; System.out.println(empobj.salary + “” +
}
empobj.name);
public void passByReference(Employee emp) {
empobj.passByReference(empobj);
System.out.println(“Original Name ” + emp.name);
Employee e = emp; System.out.println(empobj.name);
}}
Output
e.name = “Su Su”;
500 Aye Aye
System.out.println(“Update Name:” + e.name); Original Name Aye Aye
}} Update Name:Su Su
Su Su
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 Define Class Methods and Variables

• Static keyword can be used with class, variable, method, and block.

• Static members belong to the class instead of a specific instance.

• If you make a member static, you can access it without object.

static String name = “Ma Ma”;

static void display() {
System.out.println(“My Name is = " + name);
}

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 Method Invocation

invoke min (i, j)

Pass the value of i to num1
Pass the value of j to num2

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int min(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 2;
int j = 5; int result;

int k = min(i, j); if (num1 <num2)

result = num1;
System.out.println( "The minimum between " + i else
+ " and " + j + " is " + k); result = num2;
return result;
} }

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 Method Invocation

Execute the print statement

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int min(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 2; (num1 < num2) is true
int j = 5; int result; since num1 is 2 and num2
is 5
int k = min(i, j); if (num1 < num2)
result = num1; result is now 2
System.out.println( "The minimum between " + else
i + " and " + j + " is " + k); result = num2;

} return result;
}

return result, which is 2

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 Organizing Classes into a Package

• The correct way to reuse programmer-defined classes from many different programs
is to place reusable classes in a package.

• A package is a Java class library.

import myutil.*;
class MyClass {
Student s1;
...
}

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 Summary

• How the arguments are passed to the parameters

• How to organize classes

NEXT Topic
• Exception Handling

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