Classes and Methods

Basic Terminology
• A class defines a kind of objects:
• specifies the kinds of attributes (data) an object of the class
can have.
• provides methods specifying the actions an object of the class
can take.

• An object is an instance of the class.

• Person is a class
• Alice and Bob are objects of the Person class.
What does a class have?
• Members of a class:
• Attributes (instance variables, data)
• For each instance of the class (object), values of attributes can vary,
hence instance variables
• Methods

• Person class
• Attributes: name, address, phone number
• Methods: change address, change phone number

• Alice object
• Name is Alice, address is …

• Bob object
• Name is Bob, address is …
A Class as
an Outline
Methods
• Class provides one or more methods
• Method represents task in a program
• Describes the mechanisms that actually perform its tasks
• Hides from its user the complex tasks that it performs
• Method call tells method to perform its task

• Calling a method
• Object name, then dot separator (.)
• Then method name and parentheses

5
Method Definitions
• Methods belong to a class
• Defined inside the class
• Heading
• Return type (e.g. int, float, void)
• Name (e.g. nextInt, println)
• Parameters (e.g. println(…) )
• More…
• Body
• enclosed in braces {}.
• Declarations and/or statements.
 7

• GradeBook.java
1 // Fig. 3.1: GradeBook.java
2 // Class declaration with one method.
3
4 public class GradeBook
5 {
6 // display a welcome message to the GradeBook user Print line of text to output
7 public void displayMessage()
8 {
9 System.out.println( "Welcome to the Grade Book!" );
10 } // end method displayMessage
11
12 } // end class GradeBook
 8

• GradeBookTest.java
1 // Fig. 3.2: GradeBookTest.java
2 // Create a GradeBook object and call its displayMessage method.
3
4 public class GradeBookTest
5 {
6 // main method begins program execution
7 public static void main( String args[] )
8 {
9 // create a GradeBook object and assign it to myGradeBook Use class instance creation
10 GradeBook myGradeBook = new GradeBook(); expression to create object of
11 class GradeBook
12 // call myGradeBook's displayMessage method
13 myGradeBook.displayMessage();
Call method
displayMessage using
14 } // end main
GradeBook object
15
16 } // end class GradeBookTest

Welcome to the Grade Book!

Java Sample Program
Ex-1
Ex-1 solution
Adding parameters to method and return values
Adding Multiple parameters to method and return values
Adding Multiple parameters to method and return values
Ex-2
Ex-2 –Solution
Storing and Accessing Instance Variables of an Object
Adding a Method to a Class
Returning a Value from a Class Method
Class Methods with Parameters
Class Files and Separate
Compilation
• One class definition per file
• File name and class name are the same
• File extension is .java
• After compilation
• byte code is stored in a file with extension .class
• Execution
• .class is run in the JVM
• Multiple .class files in the same directory
• No need to import them
Two Types of Methods

1. Return a value
• next = keyboard.nextInt();
• keyboard is the calling object.

2. Don’t return a value, called void method

• System.out.println(“Enter data:”);
• System.out is the calling object
void Method Definitions
• example
public void writeOuput() //heading
{ //body
System.out.println(“Name: “ + name);
System.out.println(“Age: “ + age);
}
Defining Methods That Return a
Value
• example
public float density(float area) // heading
{ // body
return population / area;
}
Defining Methods That Return a
Value (cont.)
• must contain return statement
return Expression;
• Expression must have a type that matches the return type

• multiple return statements are allowed

• a single return statement is better (one exit point for
the method).
Naming Methods
• Use a verb to name methods
• Actions
• getBalance, deposit, changeAddress
• Start a method name with a lowercase letter.
public Method Definitions
• syntax for a void method
public void methodName(parameters)
{
<statement(s)>
}
public Method Definitions
• syntax for methods that return a value
public returnType methodName(parameters)
{
<statement(s), including a
return statement>
}
Local Variables
• Declared within a method
• “local to” (confined to) the method definition
• can’t be accessed outside the method

• Not attributes (instance variables)

Local Variables, cont.
• class BankAccount
• class LocalVariablesDemoProgram
Scope of a local variable
• The region in the program where the local variable can be
accessed
• Start: declaration of the variable
• End: the closing } of the block in which the variable is declared
 public void method1()
Example of { // begin of block
int x;
Scope if (…)
{ // begin of block
int y; // can’t have int x here, confusing
anyway
…
}
else
{ // begin of block
… // can y be used here?
}
… // can y be used here?
}

public int method2()

{ // begin of block
int x; // can I do this?

…
return x;
}
Example of Scope
public void method()
{
for (int i=0; i < 10; i++) // start of a block
{
int y=0;
…
}
// Are i and y accessible here?
}
Passing Values to a Method:
Parameters
• Input values for methods (within the program, not from user)
• passed values or parameters
• More flexibility for methods
• formal parameters
• Part of method definition
• After the method name, within parentheses
• type
• name
• arguments, or actual parameters
• Calling a method with an object within the parentheses
• matching data type
• in the same order
Formal vs Actual Parameters
public static void main(String[] args)
{
print(“George Bush”); //“George Bush” as argument
}

public static void print(String name) //name as parameter

{
System.out.print(“The name is: “ + name);
}
Parameter Passing Example
//Definition of method to square an integer
public int doubleValue(int numberIn)
{
return 2 * numberIn;
}

//Invocation of the method... somewhere in main...

...
int square = keyboard.nextInt();
System.out.println(someObj.doubleValue(square));
//calling
• What is the formal parameter in the method definition?
• numberIn
• What is the argument (actual parameter) in the method invocation?
• square
Arguments to Methods
• An argument in a method invocation can be
• a literal such as 2 or ‘A’
• a variable
• an expression that yields a value
[technically a literal or variable is also an “expression”]
Multiple Arguments to Methods
anObject.doStuff(42, 100, 9.99, ‘Z’);
public void doStuff(int n1, int n2, double d1,
char c1);

• arguments and formal parameters are matched by position

• Corresponding types need to match
public and private
public
• Attribute (instance variable)
• any class can directly access/change

• Method
• any class can invoke

private
• Attribute (instance variable)
• only the same class can access/change

• Method
• only the same class can invoke
private or public ?
• Attributes (instance variables)
• should be private, why?

• Methods
• usually public, why?
• sometimes private

• Default is package access in Java

• Convention is to explicitly state public or private
Accessors (get) and Mutators (set)
Methods
• Accessor / get methods—public methods that allow attributes (instance
variables) to be read
• Mutator / set methods—public methods that allow attributes (instance
variables) to be modified
• Check to make sure that changes are appropriate.
• Much better than making instance variables public

private attributes (instance variables) with public accessor and

mutator methods
• Use set methods to alter the value
• Use get methods to retrieve the value
Set Methods
• Fields in classes are usually private and therefore cannot be accessed from
outside the class.
• To assign values to such fields we need public methods that can be called by
application classes external to the class in which they are defined.
• The practice of assigning a value to a private field is so common that methods
which are specifically intended to do so are called “set methods”.
• For example, a set method in Circle class
public void setRadius(double cRad) {
radius = cRad;
}
Get Methods
• Another common requirement is for an application calls to access (get)
the value associated with a private field defined in another class.
• To do this it is common practice to define a public method for each field
which may need to be accessed that returns the value for each field.
• Such methods are generally referred to as "get methods".
• For example, a get method in Circle class
public double getRadius() {
return radius;
}
Account Class with an Instance Variable, and
set and get Methods
Circle Class Definition
CircleTest Class Definition
Class Task – Get and Set Methods
• Write a class called Person with the following attributes:
 title (Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms.)
 first name
 last name
 age in years
 gender (boolean - true/false to indicated either male or female)

• The Person class should have a setter method with public access for each attribute.
• The Person class should have a getter method with public access for each attribute.
• For a Person with the following attributes:
title = "Mr."
first name = "William"
last name = "Gates"
age = 44
gender = true (true is male, false is female, or vice versa)
• The Person class should have the following public access methods that return Strings as follows:
standardName() formalName()
concatenation of the first and last names concatenation of the title, first name, and lastname
(i.e., "William Gates") (i.e., "Mr. William Gates")