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STATIC MEMBERS, OBJECT PASSING, AND ESSENTIAL METHODS

WHAT IS STATIC KEYWORD?

• a member belongs to the class itself rather than to instances of the class.
• It can be used in a field, method or nested classes.
• It is also used in several contexts to create class-level methods and variables that
are shared among all instances of the class.

STATIC MEMBERS(STATIC FIELDS)

• A static variable belongs to the class, not to any specific object of the class.
• All instances of the class share the same static variable.
• Static variables can be accessed directly using the class name, without creating an
object.

STATIC METHODS

• can be called without creating an instance of the class.

• It belongs to the class rather than a specific object.
• A static method cannot directly access non-static (instance) fields or methods
because it doesn’t operate on a specific object.

STATIC BLOCKS

• used to initialize static variables when the class is loaded.

• executed only once, when the class is loaded into memory.

STATIC CLASSES

• A static nested class is a class that is defined within another class and is declared
static.
• A static nested class can be instantiated without an instance of the outer class.

PASSING AND RETURNING OBJECTS

• What is pass-by-value?
• What is pass-by-reference?
• What is the difference between object and a reference?

PASSING AND RETURNING OBJECTS

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• Java is strictly Passed-by-value. It means that when a variable is passed to a

method, Java passes a copy of the variable’s value to the method, not the variable
itself.
• Pass-by-reference, a method receives a direct reference to the original variable, not
a copy. This allows the method to modify the variable itself, not just its contents.
Java does not support true pass-by-reference.
• This applies to both primitive types and reference types in Java, but with some
differences in how each behaves due to how they store data:

PRIMITIVE TYPES VS REFERENCE TYPES

• Primitive types: When you pass a primitive to a method, Java sends a copy of its
value. Changes to this value inside the method don’t affect the original variable.
• Reference types (objects): When you pass an object to a method, Java sends a
copy of the reference (or pointer) to that object.
• This means you can change the object’s contents, and those changes will show
outside the method. However, if you make the reference point to a new object, it
won’t affect the original reference outside the method.

PRIMITIVE TYPES VS REFERENCE TYPES

1 When we pass a primitive type to a method, it is passed by value.

2 But when we pass an object to a method, the situation changes dramatically.

3 Because objects are passed by what is effectively call-by-reference.

INTRODUCTION TO INHERITANCE

WHAT IS INHERITANCE?

• allows one class to inherit the properties and behaviors (methods) of another class.
• This promotes code reusability and establishes a relationship between classes.

CLASSES IN INHERITANCE

• Parent Class: whose properties and methods are inherited by another class.
• Child Class: inherits the properties and methods of the base class.

TYPES OF INHERITANCE

• Single Inheritance
- a sub-class is derived from only one super class.
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- It inherits the properties and behavior of a single-parent class.

- It is also called as simple inheritance.

Parent Class -> Child Class

SIMPLE INHERITANCE

This is the basic example of a simple inheritance in java.

// Parent class

public class Animal {

public void action ()

System.out.println(“Tet”);

// Child Class

public class Dog extends Animal {

public void back() {

System.out.println(“ Woof”);

// Driver class

public class Main {

// Main function

public static void main(String[] args)

Dog = new Dog();

dog.action();

dog.bark();

dog.action();

}
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• Multilevel Inheritance
- a class inherits from a superclass, which in turn is a subclass of another
class.
• For example, class A serves as a base class for the derived class B,
which in turn serves as a base class for the derived class C.
• Note that, a class cannot directly access the grandparent’s
members.

• Hierarchical Inheritance
- one class serves as a superclass (base class) for more than one subclass.
- This structure allows for logical grouping of related classes and the ability to
define common behavior in a single place (the superclass) while enabling
specific behavior in the subclasses.
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ENUMERATED TYPES AND ESSENTIAL METHODS

WHAT ARE ENUMS?

- (enumerated types) provide a flexible way to define a collection of constants.

- They can be defined in various ways, including specifying fields, methods,
and constructors.

DEFINITIONS OF ENUMS

• BASIC ENUM DEFINITION

• ENUM WITH CONSTRUCTOR AND FIELDS
• ENUM WITH METHODS
• ENUM WITH STATIC METHODS

BASIC ENUM DEFINITION

- simplest form of an enum, where you only declare the constants.

ENUM WITH CONSTRUCTOR AND FIELDS

- You can define fields and a constructor for the enum to associate additional
data with each constant.
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WHAT IS AN ENUM?

- can also define enums with methods, static methods, and implementing
interfaces.
- We can also create enums with fields of different types.

BUILT IN METHODS IN ENUM

- Values(): Returns an array of all the constants of the enum type in the order
they are declared.
- valueOf(String name): Returns the enum constant of the specified enum
type with the specified name.
- Ordinal(): Returns the ordinal of the enum constant (its position in the enum
declaration, starting from 0).

ESSENTIAL METHODS TO NOTE

- The toString() Method provides a string representation of an object. This is

particularly useful for debugging and logging
- The equals() Method is used to compare two objects for logical equality. By
default, it compares references, so it must be overridden for meaningful
comparison.

ASSOCIATION, AGGREGATION, AND COMPOSITION

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- Association, Aggregation, and Composition are ways to establish

relationships between classes and objects.
- Each of these varies in strength and dependency.
- These relationships allow you to model complex systems by defining how
objects work together.

WHAT IS ASSOCIATION?

- indicates the relationship between two independent classes.

- It is a general relationship between the two where each class has a reference
to the other.
- They don’t depend on each other for their lifecycle.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ASSOCIATION

- Weak Relationship: Neither object “owns” the other.

- No Lifecycle Dependency: Each object can exist independently of the other.

TYPES OF ASSOCIATION

- Unidirectional Association: The idea that the class is aware and associated
with another class.
- Bidirectional Association: The idea is that the classes interact and are
aware of each other.

WHAT IS AGGREGATION?

- Aggregation is a specific form of association.

- The ‘the whole’ contains a property of another class, which is ‘the part’.
- The lifecycle of ‘the part’ does not depend on ‘the whole’.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGREGATION

- Weak Ownership: The “whole” can use the “part,” but it does not own it. The
part can exist outside of the whole.
- No Lifecycle Dependency: When the whole is destroyed, the parts can still
exist separately.

WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

- Composition is a stronger form of aggregation.

- The ownership and lifecycle depends on ‘the whole’.
- If ‘the whole’ gets destroyed, the parts no longer exist.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITION
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- Strong Ownership: The “whole” fully owns the “part,” and the “part” is
created and destroyed with the “whole.“
- Lifecycle Dependency: When the whole is destroyed, the part is also
destroyed.