Introduction to Java Programming

Chapter 6
Week 4
Objects and Classes
• An object exists in memory, and performs a specific task.
• Objects have two general capabilities:
• Objects can store data. The pieces of data stored in an object are known as
fields.
• Objects can perform operations. The operations that an object can perform
are known as methods.

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Objects and Classes
• You have already used the following objects:
• Scanner objects, for reading input
• Random objects, for generating random numbers
• PrintWriter objects, for writing data to files
• When a program needs the services of a particular type of object, it
creates that object in memory, and then calls that object's methods as
necessary.
Objects and Classes
• Classes: Where Objects Come From
• A class is code that describes a particular type of object. It specifies the data
that an object can hold (the object's fields), and the actions that an object can
perform (the object's methods).

• You can think of a class as a code "blueprint" that can be used to create a
particular type of object.
Objects and Classes
• When a program is running, it can use the class to create, in memory,
as many objects of a specific type as needed.

• Each object that is created from a class is called an instance of the

class.
Objects and Classes
This expression creates a
Example: Scanner object in memory.

Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);

The object's memory address

is assigned to the
keyboard variable.

keyboard Scanner
variable object
Objects and Classes
This expression creates a
Example: Random object in memory.

Random rand = new Random();

The object's memory address is

assigned to the rand variable.

rand Random
variable object
Objects and Classes
This expression creates a
Example: PrintWriter object in memory.

PrintWriter outputFile = new PrintWriter("numbers.txt");

The object's memory address is assigned to

the outputFile variable.

outputFile PrintWriter
variable object
Objects and Classes
• The Java API provides many classes
• So far, the classes that you have created objects from are provided by the Java
API.
• Examples:
• Scanner
• Random
• PrintWriter
• See ObjectDemo.java
Writing a Class, Step by Step
• A Rectangle object will have the following fields:
• length. The length field will hold the rectangle’s length.
• width. The width field will hold the rectangle’s width.

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Writing a Class, Step by Step
• The Rectangle class will also have the following
methods:
• setLength. The setLength method will store a
value in an object’s length field.
• setWidth. The setWidth method will store a value
in an object’s width field.
• getLength. The getLength method will return the
value in an object’s length field.
• getWidth. The getWidth method will return the
value in an object’s width field.
• getArea. The getArea method will return the area
of the rectangle, which is the result of the object’s
length multiplied by its width.

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UML Diagram
• Unified Modeling Language (UML) provides a set of standard
diagrams for graphically depicting object-oriented systems.

Class name goes here

Fields are listed here

Methods are listed here

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UML Diagram for
Rectangle class

Rectangle
length
width

setLength()
setWidth()
getLength()
getWidth()
getArea()

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Writing the Code for the Class Fields

public class Rectangle

{
private double length;
private double width;
}

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Access Specifiers
• An access specifier is a Java keyword that indicates how a field or
method can be accessed.
• public
• When the public access specifier is applied to a class member, the member
can be accessed by code inside the class or outside.
• private
• When the private access specifier is applied to a class member, the
member cannot be accessed by code outside the class. The member can be
accessed only by methods that are members of the same class.

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Header for the setLength Method

Return Notice the word

Type static does not
Access Method appear in the method
specifier Name header designed to work
on an instance of a class
(instance method).
public void setLength (double len)

Parameter variable declaration

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Writing and Demonstrating the setLength
Method
/**
The setLength method stores a value in the
length field.
@param len The value to store in length.
*/
public void setLength(double len)
{
length = len;
}
Examples: Rectangle.java, LengthDemo.java

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Creating a Rectangle object

Rectangle box = new Rectangle ();

The box A Rectangle object

variable holds length: 0.0
the address of address
the Rectangle width: 0.0
object.

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Calling the setLength Method

box.setLength(10.0);
The box A Rectangle object
variable holds
the address of length: 10.0
address
the width: 0.0
Rectangle
object.

This is the state of the box object after

the setLength method executes.
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Writing the getLength Method
/**
The getLength method returns a Rectangle
object's length.
@return The value in the length field.
*/
public double getLength()
{
return length;
}
Similarly, the setWidth and getWidth methods can
be created.
Examples: Rectangle.java, LengthWidthDemo.java
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Writing and Demonstrating the getArea
Method
/**
The getArea method returns a Rectangle
object's area.
@return The product of length times width.
*/
public double getArea()
{
return length * width;
}
Examples: Rectangle.java, RectangleDemo.java
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Accessor and Mutator Methods
• Because of the concept of data hiding, fields in a class are private.
• The methods that retrieve the data of fields are called accessors.
• The methods that modify the data of fields are called mutators.
• Each field that the programmer wishes to be viewed by other classes
needs an accessor.
• Each field that the programmer wishes to be modified by other
classes needs a mutator.

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Accessors and Mutators
• For the Rectangle example, the accessors and mutators are:
• setLength : Sets the value of the length field.
public void setLength(double len) …
• setWidth : Sets the value of the width field.
public void setLength(double w) …
• getLength : Returns the value of the length field.
public double getLength() …
• getWidth : Returns the value of the width field.
public double getWidth() …

• Other names for these methods are getters and setters.

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Data Hiding
• An object hides its internal, private fields from code that is outside
the class that the object is an instance of.
• Only the class's methods may directly access and make changes to the
object’s internal data.
• Code outside the class must use the class's public methods to operate
on an object's private fields.
Data Hiding
• Data hiding is important because classes are typically used as
components in large software systems, involving a team of
programmers.

• Data hiding helps enforce the integrity of an object's internal data.

Stale Data
• Some data is the result of a calculation.
• Consider the area of a rectangle.
• length × width
• It would be impractical to use an area variable here.
• Data that requires the calculation of various factors has the potential
to become stale.
• To avoid stale data, it is best to calculate the value of that data within
a method rather than store it in a variable.

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Stale Data
• Rather than use an area variable in a Rectangle class:
public double getArea()
{
return length * width;
}
• This dynamically calculates the value of the rectangle’s area when the
method is called.
• Now, any change to the length or width variables will not leave
the area of the rectangle stale.

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UML Data Type and Parameter Notation
• UML diagrams are language independent.
• UML diagrams use an independent notation to show
return types, access modifiers, etc.

Access modifiers Rectangle

are denoted as:
+ public
- private - width : double

+ setWidth(w : double) : void

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UML Data Type and Parameter Notation
• UML diagrams are language independent.
• UML diagrams use an independent notation to show
return types, access modifiers, etc.

Variable types are

Rectangle placed after the variable
name, separated by a
colon.
- width : double

+ setWidth(w : double) : void

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UML Data Type and Parameter Notation
• UML diagrams are language independent.
• UML diagrams use an independent notation to show
return types, access modifiers, etc.

Method return types are

Rectangle placed after the method
declaration name,
separated by a colon.
- width : double

+ setWidth(w : double) : void

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UML Data Type and Parameter Notation
• UML diagrams are language independent.
• UML diagrams use an independent notation to show
return types, access modifiers, etc.

Method parameters
are shown inside the Rectangle
parentheses using the
same notation as
variables. - width : double

+ setWidth(w : double) : void

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Converting the UML Diagram to Code

• Putting all of this information together, a Java class file

can be built easily using the UML diagram.
• The UML diagram parts match the Java class file
structure.

class header
ClassName
{
Fields Fields
Methods Methods
}

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Converting the UML Diagram to Code
public class Rectangle
The structure of the class can be {
compiled and tested without having private double width;
bodies for the methods. Just be sure to private double length;
put in dummy return values for methods
that have a return type other than void. public void setWidth(double w)
{
}
Rectangle public void setLength(double len)
{
- width : double }
- length : double public double getWidth()
{ return 0.0;
+ setWidth(w : double) : void }
public double getLength()
+ setLength(len : double): void { return 0.0;
+ getWidth() : double }
+ getLength() : double public double getArea()
+ getArea() : double { return 0.0;
}
}
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Converting the UML Diagram to Code
public class Rectangle
Once the class structure has been tested, {
private double width;
the method bodies can be written and
private double length;
tested.
public void setWidth(double w)
{ width = w;
}
Rectangle public void setLength(double len)
{ length = len;
- width : double }
- length : double public double getWidth()
{ return width;
}
+ setWidth(w : double) : void public double getLength()
+ setLength(len : double): void { return length;
+ getWidth() : double }
+ getLength() : double public double getArea()
{ return length * width;
+ getArea() : double }
}
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Instance Fields and Methods
• Fields and methods that are declared as previously shown are called
instance fields and instance methods.
• Objects created from a class each have their own copy of instance
fields.
• Instance methods are methods that are not declared with a special
keyword, static.

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Instance Fields and Methods
• Instance fields and instance methods require an object to be created
in order to be used.
• See example: RoomAreas.java
• Note that each room represented in this example can have different
dimensions.
Rectangle kitchen = new Rectangle();
Rectangle bedroom = new Rectangle();
Rectangle den = new Rectangle();

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States of Three Different Rectangle Objects
The kitchen variable length: 10.0
holds the address of a address
Rectangle Object. width: 14.0

The bedroom variable length: 15.0

holds the address of a address
Rectangle Object. width: 12.0

The den variable length: 20.0

holds the address of a address
Rectangle Object. width: 30.0

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Constructors
• Classes can have special methods called constructors.
• A constructor is a method that is automatically called when an object
is created.
• Constructors are used to perform operations at the time an object is
created.
• Constructors typically initialize instance fields and perform other
object initialization tasks.

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Constructors
• Constructors have a few special properties that set them apart from
normal methods.
• Constructors have the same name as the class.
• Constructors have no return type (not even void).
• Constructors may not return any values.
• Constructors are typically public.

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Constructor for Rectangle Class
/**
Constructor
@param len The length of the rectangle.
@param w The width of the rectangle.
*/
public Rectangle(double len, double w)
{
length = len;
width = w;
}
Examples: Rectangle.java, ConstructorDemo.java
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Constructors in UML
• In UML, the most common way constructors are defined is:

Rectangle
Notice there is no
return type listed
- width : double for constructors.
- length : double
+Rectangle(len:double, w:double)
+ setWidth(w : double) : void
+ setLength(len : double): void
+ getWidth() : double
+ getLength() : double
+ getArea() : double

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Uninitialized Local Reference Variables
• Reference variables can be declared without being initialized.
Rectangle box;
• This statement does not create a Rectangle object, so it is an uninitialized
local reference variable.
• A local reference variable must reference an object before it can be used,
otherwise a compiler error will occur.
box = new Rectangle(7.0, 14.0);
• box will now reference a Rectangle object of length 7.0 and width 14.0.

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The Default Constructor
• When an object is created, its constructor is always called.
• If you do not write a constructor, Java provides one when the class is
compiled. The constructor that Java provides is known as the default
constructor.
• It sets all of the object’s numeric fields to 0.
• It sets all of the object’s boolean fields to false.
• It sets all of the object’s reference variables to the special value null.

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The Default Constructor
• The default constructor is a constructor with no parameters, used to
initialize an object in a default configuration.
• The only time that Java provides a default constructor is when you do
not write any constructor for a class.
• See example: First version of Rectangle.java
• A default constructor is not provided by Java if a constructor is already
written.
• See example: Rectangle.java with Constructor

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 Writing Your Own No-Arg Constructor

• A constructor that does not accept arguments is known as a no-arg

constructor.
• The default constructor (provided by Java) is a no-arg constructor.
• We can write our own no-arg constructor

public Rectangle()
{
length = 1.0;
width = 1.0;
}
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Passing Objects as Arguments
• When you pass an object as an argument, the thing that is passed into
the parameter variable is the object's memory address.
• As a result, parameter variable references the object, and the
receiving method has access to the object.
• See DieArgument.java
 Overloading Methods and Constructors

• Two or more methods in a class may have the same name as long as
their parameter lists are different.
• When this occurs, it is called method overloading. This also applies to
constructors.
• Method overloading is important because sometimes you need
several different ways to perform the same operation.

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Overloaded Method add
public int add(int num1, int num2)
{
int sum = num1 + num2;
return sum;
}

public String add (String str1, String str2)

{
String combined = str1 + str2;
return combined;
}

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Method Signature and Binding
• A method signature consists of the method’s name and the data types of the
method’s parameters, in the order that they appear. The return type is not part
of the signature.
Signatures of the
add(int, int) add methods of
add(String, String)
previous slide
• The process of matching a method call with the correct method is known as
binding. The compiler uses the method signature to determine which version of
the overloaded method to bind the call to.

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Rectangle Class Constructor Overload
If we were to add the no-arg constructor we wrote previously to
our Rectangle class in addition to the original constructor we
wrote, what would happen when we execute the following calls?

Rectangle box1 = new Rectangle();

Rectangle box2 = new Rectangle(5.0, 10.0);

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Rectangle Class Constructor Overload
If we were to add the no-arg constructor we wrote previously to our
Rectangle class in addition to the original constructor we wrote,
what would happen when we execute the following calls?

Rectangle box1 = new Rectangle();

Rectangle box2 = new Rectangle(5.0, 10.0);

The first call would use the no-arg constructor and box1 would have a length of
1.0 and width of 1.0.
The second call would use the original constructor and box2 would have a length
of 5.0 and a width of 10.0.

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The BankAccount Example
BankAccount.java BankAccount
AccountTest.java -balance:double

+BankAccount()

Overloaded Constructors +BankAccount(startBalance:double)

+BankAccount(strString):
+deposit(amount:double):void
Overloaded deposit methods +deposit(str:String):void
+withdraw(amount:double):void
Overloaded withdraw methods +withdraw(str:String):void
+setBalance(b:double):void
Overloaded setBalance methods +setBalance(str:String):void
+getBalance():double

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Scope of Instance Fields
• Variables declared as instance fields in a class can be accessed by any
instance method in the same class as the field.
• If an instance field is declared with the public access specifier, it
can also be accessed by code outside the class, as long as an instance
of the class exists.

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Shadowing
• A parameter variable is, in effect, a local variable.
• Within a method, variable names must be unique.
• A method may have a local variable with the same name as
an instance field.
• This is called shadowing.
• The local variable will hide the value of the instance field.
• Shadowing is discouraged and local variable names should
not be the same as instance field names.

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Packages and import Statements
• Classes in the Java API are organized into packages.
• Explicit and Wildcard import statements
• Explicit imports name a specific class
• import java.util.Scanner;
• Wildcard imports name a package, followed by an *
• import java.util.*;

• The java.lang package is automatically made

available to any Java class.

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Some Java Standard Packages

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Object Oriented Design
Finding Classes and Their Responsibilities
• Finding the classes
• Get written description of the problem domain
• Identify all nouns, each is a potential class
• Refine list to include only classes relevant to the
problem

• Identify the responsibilities

• Things a class is responsible for knowing
• Things a class is responsible for doing
• Refine list to include only classes relevant to the
problem

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