Chapter 3

Introduction to Classes,
Objects, Methods, and Strings
Java™ How to Program, 10/e

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All

Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.1 Introduction
 Topics covered in this chapter
◦ Classes
◦ Objects
◦ Methods
◦ Parameters
◦ double primitive data type for representing floating points
numbers

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3
3.2 Instance Variables, set Methods
and get Methods
 Each class you create becomes a new data type that can
be used to declare variables and create objects.
 You can code new classes as needed; this is one reason

Java is known as an extensible language.

 Create a new class (Account).
 Use it to create an object.
 ch03\fig03_01_02\Account.java
 ch03\fig03_01_02\AccountTest.java

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an
Instance Variable, a set Method
and a get Method - I

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - II
Class Declaration
 Each class declaration that begins with the access

modifier public must be stored in a file that has the

same name as the class and ends with the .java
filename extension.
 Every class declaration contains keyword class

followed immediately by the class’s name.

 Keyword public is an access modifier.

◦ Indicates that the class is “available to the public” – visible to

any Java code.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - III
Identifiers and Camel Case Naming
 Class, method and variable names are identifiers.
 By Java naming conventions all use camel case names.
 Class names begin with an uppercase letter, and

method and variable names begin with a lowercase

letter.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - IV
Instance Variable name
 An object has attributes that are implemented as instance
variables and carried with it throughout its lifetime.
 Attributes are also called fields, data fields, data
members of the class
 Instance variables exist before methods are called on an
object, while the methods are executing and after the
methods complete execution.
 A class normally contains one or more methods that
manipulate the instance variables that belong to particular
objects of the class.
 Instance variables are declared inside a class declaration but
outside the bodies of the class’s method declarations.
 Each object (instance) of the class has its own copy of each
of the class’s instance variables.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - V
Access Modifiers public and private
 Most instance variable declarations are preceded with

the keyword private, which is an access modifier.

 Variables or methods declared with access modifier

private are accessible only to methods of the class

in which they’re declared.
 private modifier prevents instance variables from

being modified accidentally by a class in another part

of the program.
 setXXX (mutator) and getXXX (accessor) methods

may be coded to access instance variables.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.1.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - VI
setName Method of Class Account
 Parentheses after the method name are required – any

identifier without parentheses is either a variable, a

constant, or a class name.
 Parameters are declared in a comma separated parameter

list, which is located inside the parentheses that follow

the method name in the method declaration.
 Multiple parameters are separated by commas.
 Each parameter must specify a type followed by a

variable name.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.1.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - VII
 Empty parentheses after the method name indicate that
the method does not require additional information to
perform its task.
 Together, everything in the first line of the method is
typically called the method header, signature, or
prototype.
 Every method’s body is delimited by left and right
braces.
 The method body contains one or more statements that
perform the method’s task.
 OOP rule: one method – one task!!!

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.1.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - VIII
Parameters Are Local Variables
 Variables declared in the body of a particular method

are local variables and can be used only in that

method.
 Memory space for local variables is allocated only

during the execution of the method.

 When a method terminates, the values of its local

variables are lost as memory is released (de-allocated).

 Method’s parameters alsp are local variables of the

method.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.1.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - IX
setName Method Body
 Every method’s body is delimited by left and right

braces ({ and }).

 Each method’s body contains one or more statements

that perform the method’s task(s).

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - X
getName Method of Class Account
 Method name follows the return type in the method
declaration.
 The method’s return type specifies the type of data
returned to a method’s caller.
 Keyword void indicates that a method will perform a
task but will not return (i.e., give back) any
information to its calling method when it completes its
task.
 When a method that specifies a return type other than
void is called and completes its task, the method must
return a result to its calling method.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - XI
 The return statement passes a value from a called
method back to its caller.
 Classes often provide public methods to allow the
class’s clients to set or get private instance
variables.
 The names of these methods need not begin with set or
get, but this naming convention is recommended.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - XII
 Class methods can (and should) use class attributes even
though these attributes are not declared in any of the
methods.
◦ Can use an instance variable of the class in each of the class
methods.
◦ Exception to this are static methods.
 The order in which methods are declared in a class does not
determine when they are called at execution time.
 One method of a class can call another method of the same
class by using just the method name.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.1 Account Class with an Instance
Variable, a set Method and a get
Method - XIII
 setXXX and getXXX methods
◦ A class’s private fields can be manipulated only by the class’s
methods.
◦ The code that uses an object must call the class’s public methods to
manipulate the private fields of an object of the class.
◦ Classes may provide public methods to allow clients to set (i.e.,
assign values to) or get (i.e., obtain the values of) private instance
variables.
◦ Convention - the names of these methods should begin with set or
get followed by the variable name with the first letter capitalized,.
◦ setXXX methods are usually called modifier methods.
◦ getXXX methods are usually called accessor methods.
◦ Provide only if required for the code usage.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That Creates
and Uses an Object of Class Account
-I
Driver Class AccountTest
 A class that creates an object of another class, then

calls the object’s methods, is a driver class.

 Class declarations in Java include:

◦ Access modifier.
◦ Keyword class.
◦ Class name.
◦ A matching pair of left and right braces.
◦ Code inside the class body.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That
Creates and Uses an Object of
Class Account - II
Scanner Object for Receiving Input from
the User
 Scanner method nextLine reads characters until a

newline character is encountered, then returns the

characters as a String.
 Scanner method next reads characters until any

white space character is encountered, then returns the

characters as a String.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That Creates
and Uses an Object of Class Account -
III
Instantiating an Object: Keyword new
and Constructors
 A class instance creation expression begins with

keyword new and creates a new object.

 A constructor is codrd similar to a method but is called

by the new operator to initialize an object’s instance

variables at the time the object is created.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That Creates
and Uses an Object of Class Account -
IV
Calling Class Account’s getName Method
 To call a method of an object, follow the object name

by a dot separator, the method name and a set of

parentheses containing the method’s arguments.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That Creates
and Uses an Object of Class Account - V
null is the Default Initial Value for String
Variables
 Method’s local variables are not automatically initialized.

 Every instance variable has a default initial value

provided by Java compiler when you do not specify the

instance variable’s initial value.
 The default value for an instance variable of type

String (and all reference types) is null.

 Class fields are not required to be explicitly initialized

before they are used in a program, unless they must be

initialized to values other than their default values.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That
Creates and Uses an Object of
Class Account - VI
Calling Class Account’s setName Method
 A method call supplies values known as arguments for
each of the method’s parameters.
 Each argument’s value is assigned to the corresponding
parameter in the method header.
 The number of arguments in a method call must match
the number of parameters in the method declaration’s
parameter list.
 Arguments and parameters are paired left to right.
 The argument types in the method call must be consistent
(assignment compatible) with the types of the
corresponding parameters in the method’s declaration.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.2 AccountTest Class That
Creates and Uses an Object of
Class Account - VII
 An argument is a value we pass to a method.
 A parameter is a placeholder in the called method to

hold the value of the passed argument.

 A parameter is also called a formal parameter and an

argument - an actual parameter.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Method Declaration

<modifier> <return type> <method name> ( <parameters> ){

<statements>
}

Modifier
Modifier Return
ReturnType
Type Method
MethodName
Name Parameters
Parameters

public void displayMessage ( String courseName ) {

System.out.printf( "Welcome to the grade book for\n%s!\n", courseName ); Statements

Statements
}

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 30
3.2.3 Compiling and Executing an
Application with Multiple Classes
 The javac command can compile multiple classes at
once.
 Simply list the source code filenames after the
command with each filename separated by a space
from the next.
 If the directory containing the app includes only one
application’s files, you can compile all of its classes
with the command javac *.java.
 The asterisk (*) in *.java indicates that all files in
the current directory ending with the filename
extension “.java” should be compiled.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.4 Account Class UML Diagram with
an Instance Variable and set and get
Methods - I
Top Compartment
 In the UML, each class is modeled in a class diagram

as a rectangle with three compartments. The top one

contains the class’s name centered horizontally in
boldface.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.4 Account Class UML Diagram with
an Instance Variable and set and get
Methods - II
Middle Compartment
 The middle compartment contains the class’s

attributes, which correspond to instance variables in

Java.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.4 Account Class UML Diagram with
an Instance Variable and set and get
Methods - III
Bottom Compartment
 The bottom compartment contains the class’s operations,
which correspond to methods and constructors in Java.
 The UML represents instance variables as an attribute
name, followed by a colon and the type.
 Private attributes are preceded by a minus sign (–) in the
UML.
 The UML models operations by listing the operation name
followed by a set of parentheses.
 A plus sign (+) in front of the operation name indicates that
the operation is a public one in the UML (i.e., a public
method in Java).

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.4 Account Class UML Diagram with
an Instance Variable and set and get
Methods - IV
Return Types
 The UML indicates an operation’s return type by

placing a colon and the return type after the

parentheses following the operation name.
 UML class diagrams do not specify return types for

operations that do not return values.

 Declaring instance variables private is known as

data hiding or information hiding.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.4 Account Class UML Diagram with
an Instance Variable and set and get
Methods - V
Parameters
 The UML models a parameter of an operation by

listing the parameter name, followed by a colon and

the parameter type between the parentheses after the
operation name

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.5 Additional Notes on
Class AccountTest - I
static Method main
 The main method is called automatically by the Java

Virtual Machine (JVM) when you execute an

application.
 You must call methods other than main explicitly to tell

them to perform their tasks.

 A key part of enabling the JVM to locate and call method

main to begin the app’s execution is the static

keyword, which indicates that main is a static method
that can be called without first creating an object of the
class in which the method is declared.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.5 Additional Notes on
Class AccountTest - II
 A static method (such as main) is special
◦ It can be called without first creating an object of the class in
which the method is declared.
 Typically, you cannot call a method that belongs to
another class until you create an object of that class.
 Declare a variable of the class type

◦ Each new class you create becomes a new Java data type that
can be used to declare variables and create objects.
◦ You declare new class types as needed; this is one reason why
Java is known as an extensible language.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.5 Additional Notes on
Class AccountTest - III
 Any Java class can contain a main method.
◦ The JVM invokes the main method only in the class used to
execute the application.
◦ If multiple classes contain main, then one that is invoked is
the one in the class named in the java command call to the
JVM.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.5 Additional Notes on Class
AccountTest - IV
Notes on import Declarations
 Most classes you’ll use in Java programs must be

imported explicitly.
 There’s a special relationship between classes that are

compiled in the same directory.

 By default, such classes are considered to be in the

same package.
 Classes in the same package are implicitly imported

into the source code files of other classes in that

package.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.5 Additional Notes on Class
AccountTest - V
 An import declaration is not required when one
class in a package uses another in the same package.
 An import declaration is not required if you always
refer to a class with its fully qualified class name,
which includes its package name and class name.
 Classes System and String are in package java.lang
◦ Implicitly imported into every Java program.
◦ Can use the java.lang classes without explicitly importing
them.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.6 Software Engineering with private
Instance Variables and public set and
get Methods - I
 Declaring instance variables private is known as
encapsulation, data hiding or information hiding.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.2.7 Software Engineering with private
Instance Variables and public set and get
Methods - II

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.3 Primitive Types vs. Reference
Types - I
 Java data types are divided into two categories: primitive
types and reference types.
 The 8 Java primitive types are boolean, byte, char,
short, int, long, float and double.
 All other types are reference types, so classes, which
specify the types of objects, are reference types.
 A primitive type variable can store exactly one value of its
declared type at a time.
 Primitive type instance variables are initialized by default.
 Variables of types byte, char, short, int, long,
float and double are initialized to 0.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.3 Primitive Types vs. Reference
Types - II
 Variables of type boolean are initialized to false.
 Reference type variables (called references) store the
location of an object in the computer’s memory.
 Such variables refer to objects in the program.
 The object that’s referenced may contain many instance
variables and methods.
 Reference type instance variables are initialized by default
to the value null.
 A reference to an object is required to invoke an object’s
methods.
 A primitive type variable does not refer to an object and
therefore cannot be used to invoke a method.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4 Account Class: Initializing
Objects with Constructors
 You can and should specify your own initial values for
all primitive or reference instance variables by
assigning the variable a value in its declaration (or in
the class’s constructor).
 Each class you declare can optionally provide a
constructor with parameters that can be used to
initialize an object of a class when the object is
created.
 Java requires a single constructor call for every object
that’s created.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.1 Declaring an Account
Constructor for Custom Object
Initialization - I
 When an object of a class is created, its instance variables
are initialized by default.
 Each class can and should include one or more constructors
that properly initialize an object of a class when the object is
created.
 Operator new requests memory from the system to store an
object, then calls the corresponding class’s constructor to
initialize the object.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.1 Declaring an Account
Constructor for Custom Object
Initialization - II
 Constructor is called once and only once for every object
created.
 A constructor must have the same name as the class.
 ch03\fig03_05_06\Account.java
 ch03\fig03_01_06\AccountTest.java

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.1 Declaring an Account Constructor
for Custom Object Initialization - II

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.2 Class AccountTest: Initializing
Account Objects When They’re Created - I

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.2 Class AccountTest: Initializing
Account Objects When They’re Created
- II
 The compiler inserts a default (no-argument)
constructor with no parameters for any class that does
not explicitly include a constructor.
◦ Instance variables are initialized to their default
values.
 Always provide your own constructors to specify

meaningful instance field initializations for objects of

your class.
 A constructor’s parameter list specifies the data it

requires to perform its task – instance fields’

initialization.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.2 Class AccountTest: Initializing
Account Objects When They’re Created
- III
Normally, constructors are declared public.
Constructors Cannot Return Values
 Constructor declaration can specify parameters but not return
types.
Default Constructor
 If a class does not define constructors, the compiler provides
a default constructor with no parameters, and the class’s
instance variables are initialized to their default values.
There’s No Default Constructor in a Class
That Declares a Constructor
 If you declare a constructor for a class, the compiler will not
create a default constructor for that class.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.4.2 Class AccountTest: Initializing
Account Objects When They’re Created
- IV
Adding the Constructor to Class
Account’s UML Class Diagram
 The UML models constructors in the third

compartment of a class diagram.

 To distinguish a constructor from a class’s operations,

the UML places the word “constructor” between

guillemets (« and ») before the constructor’s name.
 List constructors before other operations in the third

compartment.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Constructor Basics - I
Always executed by JVM when a new instance of the class is created.

public <class name> ( <parameters> )

{
<statements>
}
Modifier
Modifier Class
ClassName
Name Parameters
Parameters

public GradeBook ( String

name )
{
courseName = name; // initializes courseName
} // end constructor
Statements
Statements

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 60
Constructor Basics - II
 The name of a constructor must be the same as the name of the
class.
 If no constructor is defined for a class, then the Java compiler

will include a default (no-argument) constructor.

 The default constructor will have the following form:

public <class name> ( ){

}
public GradeBook( ) {
}
 It is recommended to provide an explicit default constructor to

prevent potential inheritance related problems.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 61
Constructor Basics - III

 A constructor does not have a return type.

 It is possible to create multiple (overloaded) constructors

for a class, as long as the constructors have different

signatures which means either:
◦ A different number of parameters, or
◦ Different data types for the parameters if the number of parameters is the same.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 62
Template for Class Definition
Import
ImportStatements
Statements

Class
ClassComments
Comments

class { Class
ClassName
Name

Data
DataMembers
Members

Methods
Methods
(incl.
(incl.Constructors)
Constructors)

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 63
3.5 Account Class with a Balance;
Floating Point Numbers and Type double -
I
 A floating point number is a number with a decimal point.
 Java provides two primitive types for storing floating point
numbers in memory: float and double.
 Variables of type float represent single precision floating
point numbers and have up to seven significant digits.
 Variables of type double represent double precision
floating point numbers.
 double variables require twice as much memory as float
variables and provide 15 significant digits - more than
double the precision of float variables.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5 Account Class with a Balance;
Floating Point Numbers and Type double -
II
 Floating point literals (such as 7.33 and 0.0975) are of type
double by default.
 ch03\fig03_08_09\Account.java
 ch03\fig03_08_09\AccountTest.java

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.1 Account Class with a balance
Instance Variable of Type double

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account - I

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account - II
 Scanner method nextDouble returns a double
value entered by the user.
 System.out.printf

◦ Format specifier %.2f

◦ %f is used to output values of type float or double.
◦ .2 represents the number of decimal places (2) to output to the
right of the decimal point (also known as the number’s display
precision).
◦ Any floating point value output with %.2f will be rounded to
the hundredths position.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account- III

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account - IV
 The default value for an instance variable of type
double is 0.0, and the default value for an instance
variable of type int is 0.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account - V

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.5.2 AccountTest Class to Use
Class Account - VI

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Java Numeric Data Type Precisions
The six Java numeric data types differ in the
precision of values they can store in memory.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 78
Floating Point Numbers in Programs

 Never use float in your code – double should be

used to provide necessary precision.
 Don’t use floating point numbers as loop control
variables.
 Never compare floating point numbers for exact
equality
1.0/3 + 1.0/3 + 1.0/3 != 1.0

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 79
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - I

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - II
 Many applications use windows or dialog boxes (also
called dialogs) to display output.
 Typically, dialog boxes are windows in which

programs display important messages to users.

 Class JOptionPane provides prebuilt dialog boxes

that enable programs to display windows containing

messages - such windows are called message dialogs.
 ch03\fig03_12\Dialog1.java

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - III
 Package javax.swing contains many classes that help
you create graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
 GUI components facilitate data entry by a program’s user
and presentation of outputs to the user.
 JOptionPane method showMessageDialog displays
a dialog box containing a message.
◦ Requires two arguments.
◦ The first helps the Java application determine where to position the
dialog box.
 If the first argument is null, the dialog box is displayed at the center of
your screen.
◦ The second argument is the String to display in the dialog box.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - IV
 JOptionPane method showMessageDialog is a
static method.
 Such methods often define frequently used tasks.
 Typically called by using method’s class name

followed by a dot (.) and the method name, as in

ClassName.methodName(arguments);
 Notice that you do not need to create an object of class
JOptionPane to use its static method
showMessageDialog.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - V
 An input dialog allows the user to enter data into a
program.
 JOptionPane method showInputDialog displays an
input dialog
◦ Contains a prompt and a field (known as a text field) in
which the user can enter text.
 Method showInputDialog returns a String
containing the characters typed by the user.
 If you press the dialog’s Cancel button or press the Esc key,
the method returns null reference.
 ch03\Fig03_13\NameDialog.java

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3.6 GUI and Graphics Case Study:
Using Dialog Boxes - VI
 static String method format returns a formatted
String.
 Method format works like method
System.out.printf, except that format returns the
formatted String rather than displaying it in a command
window.

© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson

Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 1992-2015 by Pearson
Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.