JAVA PROGRAMMING WITH ECLIPSE PART 1

PLEASE READ ALL THE CONTENT ON THE SLIDES. WATCH THE RECOMMENDED VIDEOS LISTED.
DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL SOFTWARE

 Install Java JDK 8 (JDK: Java Development Kit)

 Install Eclipse IDE for Java Developers
 Eclipse is a IDE: Integrated Development Environment to write Java code
in.
 Both Java and Eclipse are supported on Windows and OSX
 Download links are provided on the MSE101 ACCESS Website
 SECTION 1

THE STEPS FOR CREATING & RUNNING A JAVA PROGRAM

A program is a sequence of instructions that perform a

task.

3
 STEPS FOR CREATING & RUNNING A PROGRAM

1. Write the source code in a

“anyFileName.java” file. Note
the .java extension.
2. The javac program will Compile
the source code into byte code
creating a .class file
3. JVM (Java Virtual Machine) will
interprets the byte code into
machine language 1s and 0s and
the computer then executes the
instructions

4
 SOURCE CODE IS WRITTEN IN A .JAVA FILE

Step1. When a programmer writes Java code, it is stored in a source code file that
has a .java extension like SampleCode.java.

The source code file is what the programmer compiles and runs to see the output of
a program. We will write our Java progams in the IDE software called Eclipse. IDE
stands for Integrated Development Environment. An IDE lets you write, compile,
and execute programs.

Source code can be typed in any simple text editor, but we will use Eclipse, which is
both a text editor and a compiler.

Eclipse is a nice Java editor and compiler because it will point out syntax errors when
java code is typed incorrectly. A program will not run until all syntax errors are
removed. 5
 SOURCE CODE IS COMPILED TO BYTE CODE

Step 2. An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) like Eclipse, has a built in

compiler that translates the Java source code into Java byte code.

When source code is compiled into byte code, the byte code is stored in a file that
has the same name as the source code file but with a .class extension. It is not
a text file and you cannot open it! For example, the source code file
RobotMan.java will be compiled into a byte code file named RobotMan.class.

The file is created during the compiling process, however, Eclipse sometimes
translates .java files into .class files behind the scenes before you ever compile
them. You can see these files in your package folders if you open your workspace
folder on your hard drive. 6
 BYTE CODE IS INTERPRETED TO MACHINE CODE

Step 3. The JVM (Java Virtual Machine) must interpret the byte code into
machine language. Interpret basically means to translate. The JVM is
software that acts like hardware. That is why it is called a virtual
machine. Java bytecodes are translated on the fly to 1s and 0s instead of
being stored in an executable file, which some languages do. The main
advantage of an interpreter is that it will run on any computer and there
are JVMs for Apple and Windows machines. This makes the code portable
from one platform to another.
Every kind of computer, whether it is an Apple, Windows, or Unix machine,
has an operating system that contains a JVM software component. The
JVM was automatically installed when your computer’s system software
was installed and updates to the JVM may be contained in any system
software updates you install now or in the future. 7
 WHAT ARE APPLETS?

Applets are small Java programs that are embedded in web pages. When you
load a web page that has a game in it, the game is an applet.

More specifically, the applet is usually a jar file that contains the byte code for all
the .java files that are needed for the game. A jar file is like a zip file, where a
number of files are compressed into one file.

An HTML web page can contain a special kind of tag called an Applet tag. That
tag tells the web page that the byte code is stored in a jar file with a specific
name.

The browser software, like FireFox, Chrome, Camino, or Safari will then use its
built-in JVM interpreter to translate the byte code into machine language 1s and
0s.
8
 JUST-IN-TIME COMPILATION BY THE JVM

Some JVMs support just-in-time compilation (JIT). JITs will

translate byte code instructions the first time they are
encountered into machine language code and that code is
saved so that the next time that code is encountered it
can be executed without being re-interpreted. This can
speed up the interpreting of the byte code of a program so
it will run faster.

9
 MACHINE LANGUAGE CODE IS
EXECUTED
Step 4. Finally, the machine
language code (patterns of 1s
and 0s), those instructions
that the computer
understands at the lowest
level, are executed. This
allows the program to appear
in its runnable form, either in
a console window, an applet
window, or a GUI (Graphical
User Interface) window.
Again the overall process is
….

10
 SECTION 2

FRAMEWORK OF A SIMPLE JAVA PROGRAM

1. PACKAGE DECLARATION
2. IMPORT STATEMENTS
3. CLASS DECLARATION LINE
4. MAIN METHOD

11
 FRAMEWORK OF A SIMPLE JAVA PROGRAM
The Framework (in order) of a simple console or standalone program:
1. package declaration for the file listed first (where it is stored)
2. followed by import statements (if any)
3. class declaration line
4. main method Sample
Skeleto
import java.util.Scanner;
n
public class DistanceCalculator Program Note:
{ // opening curly brace for the DistanceCalculator class • Curly braces always appear in
public static void main(String args[ ]) pairs.
{ // opening curly brace for main method • All comments start with two
// code for program goes inside these curly braces slashes //
} // ending curly brace for main method

} // ending curly brace for the DistanceCalculator class

12
All Java console and JFrame (standalone) programs have this framework. The framework for applets is different and
you will become familiar with it later.
 CLASSES IN JAVA
A Java program can use more than one class file (a .java file). In fact, it may be made up of
many .java files.
And most of the time, every .java source code file in a Java program contains only one class.
However, it is possible to have more than one class in a .java file, but this is usually done in
more advanced programming projects where the code is more complicated and there is a
reason for doing it.
So assume that every .java file contains only one class, but a java program can use one or
more .java files.
A class is a module of code that can stand alone by itself and if made “public” other files can
“see it” and “access parts of it”. Eclipse is a nice IDE for organizing Java files so that
classes are accessible to each other if they are in the same package folder or if an
appropriate import statement is used to direct Eclipse to where a package is located.
Eclipse manages this behind the scenes automatically and lets you know if something is
“unorganized”, so you can fix it.
13
 DECLARING CLASSES IN A FILE
A class is declared with a line like:
public class RobotMan
and has a set of curly braces that go with it { and }.
In Java, a class like RobotMan must be stored in a file named RobotMan.java. If they
don’t match, then Eclipse or any other IDE will flag it with an error and it must
be corrected before the file is used in a program. Eclipse has short cuts to
renaming the file (compilation unit) or the class if necessary. You’ll learn about
that soon.

Simple Java programs can be designed so that they contain just one class. We will
now look at some examples. 14
 SECTION 3

THREE TYPES OF
JAVA PROGRAMS

15
 THREE TYPES OF JAVA PROGRAMS

There are basically three types of Java programs that a

programmer can make:

1. A console text output program.

2. A standalone graphics or GUI program that can be

displayed in a standard window frame.

3. An applet graphics or GUI program that is embedded in a

web page.
16
 CONSOLE TEXT OUTPUT PROGRAMS

Some Java programs, like RobotMan, are displayed only in a console

window, because they show only text output. You will learn how
to do more than draw things with text characters in a console
window. Some programs may make mathematical calculations
and display them.

17
 GRAPHICS & GUI PROGRAMS

Besides console text programs, you can have applet or standalone programs that contain graphics or
GUI components:
1. GUI components are elements in a program like text fields, buttons, labels, text areas, or menus.
2. Graphics are lines, and curves, and pretty much anything that can be drawn.

So you can have:

3. A web applet program with GUI components.
4. A web applet program with graphics.
5. A standalone program with GUI components.
6. A standalone program with graphics.
7. A web applet or standalone program that has both GUI components and graphics.

18
 APPLET GUI OUTPUT PROGRAMS

Java applets are small Java programs downloaded from web pages
that run in a Web browser. A JVM is incorporated into every
browser, so the applet can be interpreted, executed and displayed
inside the browser. Both applet and standalone programs can
have GUI components.

A GUI program with fields, buttons, labels, and a

text area. 19
 SECTION 4
DATA TYPES AND THE BASICS
In this section, you will learn some very important information about:
OF INPUT AND OUTPUT
1. print and println Statements
2. Variables
3. Simple data types
4. The assignment operator =
5. How to declare and construct a Scanner object so you can read input from the
keyboard
6. The new operator

20
 JAVA IS HOT SOURCE CODE
public class JavaIsHot
{
public static void main(String args[ ])
{
System.out.println( " d ");
System.out.println( " o l ");
System.out.println( " l r ");
System.out.println( " l o ");
System.out.println( " e w ");
System.out.println( " H ");
System.out.println( " xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ");
System.out.println( " x x x ");
System.out.println( " x Java x x ");
System.out.println( " x xxxx ");
System.out.println( " x is Hot! x ");
System.out.println( " x x ");
System.out.println( " xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ");
} // end of main method
} // end of JavaIsHot class

System.out.println statements are used to print text to the console output 21

 PRINT AND PRINTLN STATEMENTS

Output to a console text window in Java is accomplished through

the use of print and println (pronounced print-line) statements.

print and println are two operations (or as we say in Java) …

methods that can be called. These operations output text
information to the console window in Eclipse.

We call methods when we want to accomplish some operation or

task.

22
 PRINT AND PRINTLN STATEMENTS

Here are lines of code that call the two methods print and println:
1. System.out.print(“Hello World”);
2. System.out.println(“Hello World”);

Think of methods as operations, but we always refer to them as

methods in Java. Some other languages refer to them as
functions or procedures.

When we say we are “calling a method”, what we mean is that we are

executing an operation! 23
 PRINT AND PRINTLN STATEMENTS

You may be wondering what the difference between

public class HelloWorld
the two methods print and println are. print will
{
display everything on one line but not start a new
line for anything else that will be printed by the public static void main(String args[ ])
next print or println statement. println will display {
everything on one line and then start a new line of //Consider these three lines of code:
output for the output of any other print or println System.out.print(“Hello World! ”);
statement. Here is an example:
System.out.print(“How are you doing?
(Note the extra spaces at the end of the first two ”);
print statements or the sentences would jam up
System.out.print(“I am doing fine.”);
together in output)
} // end of main method
The output in the console window is all on one line:
} // end of HelloWorld Class
Hello World! How are you doing? I am doing fine.
24
 PRINT AND PRINTLN STATEMENTS
Again … print will display everything on one line but not start a new line of output. println will display everything on one line and
then start a new line of output.
public class HelloWorldNew
{ //Filename: HelloWorldNew.java
public static void main(String args[ ])
{
//Consider these three lines of code:
System.out. print(“Hello World! ”);
System.out. println(“How are you doing?”);
System.out. println(“I am doing fine.”);
} // end of main method
} // end of HelloWorldNew Class

The output is on two lines in the console window:

Hello World! How are you doing?

I am doing fine. 25
 PRINT STATEMENTS AND SYNTAX ERRORS

So when we use the line of code:

System.out.print(“Hello World”);
We are calling the print method. Printing to a console window requires that we place
System.out. prior to the word print.
Please notice the periods “.” (method selector operators) that separate the words System, out,
and print.
Also, notice that the first S of System is capitalized (upper case). The reason is System is the
name of a class.
Also, notice that after the word print there are parentheses that include in double quotes the
information that we want to display to the screen and the entire line of code ends in a
semicolon.
All of this is required and must be typed correctly or you will get a syntax error. Programs with
26
syntax errors won’t run!
 SEMICOLONS END MOST JAVA STATEMENTS
• A Semicolon (;) marks the end of most Java statements. A statement is a
“sentence” in a program. Examples: Filename NumSum.java
public class NumSum
{
public static void main(String args[ ])
{
//Consider these three lines of code:

System.out.println(“Hello World!”);

num1 = reader.nextInt();

sum = num1 + num2;

} // end of main method

} // end of NumSumClass

Some Java lines do not end in a semicolon. You will learn which ones don’t as you are
27
 USING VARIABLES TO STORE VALUES

A variable names a memory address (location) in RAM memory where a value can be stored.

The variable is considered to be a nickname for the memory address.

The memory address of a variable may be some unusual combination of 1s or 0s or a

hexadecimal number, so its great that we can decide on the name of variables. We do
this when we declare them.

We can think of a variable as a small box that holds a value.

X Y name

an int variable a double variable a string 28

 SIMPLE JAVA DATA TYPES

In Java, we have different kinds of data types. Here you will learn three of them. We can store
each of the three types of data values in different kinds of variables.
We can have …
1. int variables that can hold integers (type int)
2. double variables that can hold real numbers or what we refer to also as floating-point
numbers (type double)
3. String variables that refer to an object that can hold a string of characters, in other words,
a bunch of characters that make up a word (type String)

The data types int and double are simple numeric data types and we store those kind of values
in simple variables that are not considered object variables.
However, Strings are objects and a String value must be stored in an object variable. Let’s
29
look at how we do that with the assignment operator.
 THE ASSIGNMENT OPERATOR

The assignment operator is the = character and you can initialize variables to literal numeric or string
values in one line of code.
So to store a value in a variable, we use the assignment operator.
Here is how to declare the different kinds of variables and store values in them or as we like to say
initialize them:

int x = 129; // x is the int variable and 129 is being stored.

double y = 3.14159; // y is the double variable and π is stored.

String name = “Java”;

In the last line of code, name is the String variable and the word “Java” is being stored. Notice the
double quotes around Java since we are storing a literal String value Don’t place double quotes
when you store numbers. 30
 NUMERIC VARIABLES

A numeric variable names a memory address (location) in RAM memory where a

number can be stored. It is considered to be a nickname for the memory
address. Numeric variables are of type int or double.

When we use the line of code:

double celsius;

then enough RAM memory is allocated so that a floating-point value can be

stored in celsius. Java does this automatically for you! A double variable gets
twice as much memory as an int variable. Thus, the data type was named
double. 31
 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT VARIABLES

Important points to remember about variables:

• A variable’s value may change during a program, but its
name remains constant.
• A variable’s type defines what kind of values can be stored
in RAM. The type of the variable cannot be changed while a
program is running. Remember when we say type we are
referring to int, double, boolean, String, or other data types.

32
 JAVA’S MATHEMATICAL OPERATORS

Java basically has 5 mathematical operators.

Addition is represented by the + sign.

Subtraction is represented by the - sign.

Multiplication is represented by the * sign.

Division is represented by the / sign.

Mod is represented by the % sign. Mod gives the remainder of int division. (You’ll be amazed at how
much you will use mod)

In the Convert.java program, the line of code:

celsius = ( fahrenheit - 32.0 ) * 5.0 / 9.0;

uses three of the above mathematical operators.

You’ll see the code for the program in a few of slides.

33
 DECLARING AND USING SCANNER OBJECTS

We also use the assignment operator when creating objects (constructing objects) so an
object variable can refer to them.
If we want to receive input from the keyboard during a program, then we need to
construct a Scanner object first. This allows the user to enter numbers or string values
into a program.
To do this we need to import Java’s Scanner class with the line:
import java.util.Scanner; // goes above the class declaration line
Next, inside the main method, we need to construct the Scanner object with the line:
Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);
We need to use System.in as the parameter because this indicates the keyboard, which
is the default input device for Java. Note: Scanner is a class so the S is capitalized.

34
 GENERAL FORM FOR CONSTRUCTING
OBJECTS

• In programming, the process of constructing an object is called

instantiation.
• In general, constructing or instantiating and object takes the general form:

<Name of Class> <variable> = new <Name of Class> (<parameters>);

You can see that the line of code below follows this form:

Scanner reader = new Scanner (System.in);

You can think of reader as something that is “scanning the keyboard waiting
for input”. 35
 CONSTRUCTING A SCANNER OBJECT WITH
NEW

In the line of code :

Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);
the name of the class Scanner is used twice.
The first part of the line:
Scanner reader
declares reader to be an object variable of type Scanner. We need to do
this or reader can’t refer to the Scanner object we construct.
The second part of the line:
new Scanner(System.in);
constructs the Scanner object and “attaches it” to the keyboard. The word
new is the new operator that we use to construct things. The assignment
operator makes reader refer to the Scanner object.
36
 MORE ABOUT READING INPUT FROM THE KEYBOARD
Assume the following lines of code appear in the main
Notice when we prompt the user, we use a print
method of a program.
statement NOT a println statement. We can
Filename: ScanIn.java receive different kinds of input using reader. We
public class ScanIn use the object variable reader to “call the
{ method nextLine() to receive a String value
public static void main(String args[ ]) from the keyboard. We use reader to “call the
{ method nextInt() to receive an integer and we
//Consider these three lines of code: use reader to “call the method nextDouble() to
Scanner reader = new Scanner (System.in); receive a floating-point value from the
keyboard.
System.out.print(“Enter your name and press return: ”);

String name = reader.nextLine();

System.out.print(“Enter your age and press return: ”); Note: the print statements “prompt” the user to
int age = reader.nextInt();
enter data, otherwise he or she wouldn’t know
the computer is waiting for input!
System.out.print(“Enter your gpa and press return: ”);

double gpa = reader.nextDouble();

} // end of main method 37
 ECHOING THE INPUT FROM THE KEYBOARD

We can now “echo the input” (print the information back to the screen that was
entered) by using some println statements. In each line, we will print a literal
string (something in double quotes) and the value contained in a variable. We
use a plus sign to concatenate the literal string value and the value stored in the
variable together to make a larger string that is then printed.

System.out.println(“Your name is: ” + name);

System.out.println(“Your age is: ” + age);
System.out.println(“Your gpa is: ” + gpa);

Notice that there are no double quotes around the variables name, age, and
38gpa.
SAMPLE CODE : NOTE TWO COLUMNS
public class ScanIn press return: ”);
{
int age = reader.nextInt();
public static void main(String args[ ])
System.out.print(“Enter your gpa and
{
press return: ”);
//Consider these three lines of
code: double gpa = reader.nextDouble();

Scanner reader = new Scanner System.out.println(“Your name is: ” +

(System.in); name);

System.out.print(“Enter your name System.out.println(“Your age is: ” +

and press return: ”); age);
System.out.println(“Your gpa is: ” +
String name = reader.nextLine();
gpa);
System.out.print(“Enter your age and } // end of main method
} // end of ScanIn Class
 ALGORITHM FOR CONVERTING
TEMPERATURES

If we wanted to write the code for a program that would convert Fahrenheit
temperatures to Celsius, it would be good to stop and develop an algorithm.
An algorithm is a step by step procedure for solving a problem. This helps
our code to be more efficient and we save a lot of time, because we
consider all that needs to be done … NOT just the mathematical formula
needed to convert the temperature.

40
 ALGORITHM FOR CONVERTING
TEMPERATURES

Consider this algorithm(break down to solve the problem):

1. Prompt the user to enter a Fahrenheit temperature.
2. Read the value from the keyboard and store it in a variable.
3. Use the value stored in the variable in an assignment statement that
applies the correct mathematical formula in code form.
4. Store the value calculated in a second variable.
5. Output the converted value to the screen.

41
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Convert THE CONVERT.JAVA PROGRAM

{

public static void main(String args[])

{
Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);

double fahrenheit;
double celsius;

// prompt the user to enter a value from the keyboard when the program runs.
System.out.print("Enter degrees Fahrenheit and press return: ");

// read the value from the keybaord and store it in the variable fahrenheit.
fahrenheit = reader.nextDouble();

// calculate the equivalent celsius value and store it in the variable celsius
celsius = (fahrenheit - 32.0) * 5.0 / 9.0;

// print out the following string of characters to the terminal window.

System.out.print("The equivalent in Celsius is ");

// print out the value stored in the variable celsius to the terminal window.
System.out.println(celsius);
}
}
Note the key Scanner lines identified by the red arrows.
42
 MORE ABOUT IMPORT STATEMENTS

In the Convert.java code you saw that the first line after the package declaration was an
import statement:

import java.util.Scanner;

This tells the compiler where to find a class that will be used during the program. The
class may be either in a Java library file or another file you have in a folder. The
import statement contains the path name of where to find the class.

The import statement tells us that the Scanner class is found in a sub-package folder
named util that is in the java package folder.

Now you know enough that you can finish the second half of the Convert.java program!
43
 SECTION 5

CALLING METHODS

IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL LEARN SOME VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

ABOUT:

1. METHOD CALLS AND PARAMETERS

2. CONCATENATION
3. READABILITY OF CODE

44
 METHOD CALLS WITH PARAMETERS

Consider the following line of code:

System.out.println(“Hello World!”);
• System is a class and out is an object of that class that knows how to
display or print characters in a console or terminal window.
 println is the name of the method (operation) being executed. (Another
way to say it is we are “sending the message println to the object
represented by System.out”.)
 The item inside the parentheses “Hello World” is the parameter of what
needs to be printed. Here the parameter is a string (string of characters)
that make up the words “Hello World”. Notice they appear in quotation
marks. This tells Java to print to the screen the literal string value “Hello
World”. The parameter could be a variable that contains a value instead of a
literal string value in double quotes. 45
 GENERAL RULE OF METHOD CALLS

The general form for calling methods is:

<name of object> . <name of method> (<parameters>)

A message may require zero, one, or multiple parameters. Here are some
examples:
• To print a blank line, we can use System.out.println(); without any parameters in
the ( ).
• To print “Hello World”, we need only one parameter the literal string value “Hello
World” in the parenthesis … System.out.println(“Hello World!”);
• To print “Hello World. Java Rules”, we still need only one parameter but the
parameter may be the concatenation of two literal string values as in …
System.out.println(“Hello World!” + “Java Rules!”); Notice that we concatenate two literal strings together using a + symbol.

• To call a method named calculateArea with two parameters length and width, we
use the code ...
calculateArea(length, width);
Notice the two parameters are separated by a comma. 46
 THE METHOD SELECTOR IS THE PERIOD

The Method selector operator is the period . and is always placed between the object’s name
and the method’s name. It is also placed between the name of a class and the name of an object
when needed as in System.out.
Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);

System.out.println(“Enter an integer: ”);

int num1 = reader.nextInt();

System.out.println(“Enter an integer: ”);

int num2 = reader.nextInt();

System.out.println(“Enter a floating-point number: ”);

double num3 = reader.nextDouble();

Above, reader has been declared to be a Scanner class variable that represents a new Scanner object.
That Scanner object can read data from the input of the keyboard. Reader can call either of the
methods nextInt() or nextDouble() to read integers or floating-point numbers from the47
keyboard.
 DECLARING INT AND DOUBLE VARIABLES

TIME OUT!!! What are we doing with the lines?

int num1 = reader.nextInt();

double num3 = reader.nextDouble();

In the first line, we declare a variable named num1, but we have to tell what type of data we intend
for it to hold. Since we want it to hold an integer (whole number), we use Java’s int data type.
The type of data must be listed before the name of the variable!
The assignment operator = means we want to store something in num1. What we want to store is
what is on the right side of the = sign. It could be an arithmetic expression or a reader line.
When a program runs and it encounters a line like reader.nextInt(), the program will pause and wait
for something to be entered from the keyboard. Once the user enters an integer and presses
return, then the number is read by reader’s nextInt() method, and then the value is stored in
num1.
With the second line of code, we declare a variable num3 that can hold a floating-point number
(one that contains a decimal point like 4.237). The method nextDouble() is used to read the
value from the keyboard and store it in the double (floating-point) variable num3.
48
 CONCATENATING OUTPUT ITEMS

Consider this segment of code:

System.out.println(“Enter an integer: ”);

int num1 = reader.nextInt(); // a whole number is stored in num1

System.out.println(“Enter an integer: ”);

int num2 = reader.nextInt(); // a whole number is stored in num2

int sum = num1 + num2; // a whole number is stored in sum

System.out.println(“The sum of ” + num1 + “ and ” + num2 + “ is ” + sum);

In the last output line, we concatenate 6 things together to be written to output. Three of the items are
literal strings and three are variables of type int that hold integers. Notice there are NO double
quotes around the variables. You never place double quotes around any variable … only literal
string values. Also, notice the blank spaces at the beginning and end of some literal string values.
49
This keeps the numbers from being jammed up against the words.
 REVIEW OF SIMPLE AND OBJECT VARIABLES

In the Convert.java program, simple variables like fahrenheit and celsius each hold a
single floating-point number.

Object variables like reader and System.out hold references to objects.

Object variables are used to send messages to objects.

reader.nextDouble() sends the message “get me the next floating point number” from
the keyboard.

In summary, to write effective Java programs, a programmer does not need to have
detailed knowledge of the inner workings of any object, he or she just needs to know
how to construct objects and how to send messages to the object by calling methods.
50
 THE READABILITY OF CODE

It is important for your code to be readable by others. In the real world, programmers are on
software teams as they develop and maintain software. So everyone must be able to read your
code! Programmers have developed a standard for how code should be formatted.

• The main factors that determine whether code is readable or not are
 Spacing (referring to extra blank lines that space things out)
 Indentation (referring to tabs or indentions on a specific line)

• Spacing and Indentation are just for programmer readability. The compiler ignores any kind of
spacing and indentation. It just checks to make sure that everything is syntactically correct
(spelled correctly)!

• Eclipse assists you with indenting segments of code as you type by automatically properly
indenting your next line depending on the kind of Java code you are writing. But if you mess up
the indenting then all you have to do is select all code by typing Control “a” on a Windows
machine or Apple “a” on a Mac, then type either Control “i” for Windows or Apple “i” for a Mac
and everything will get indented properly. 51
COMMENTS ARE USED TO …

Comments are used to:

• begin a program with a statement of its purpose

• explain the purpose of a variable that needs it

• explain the purpose of a major segment of code, like a method

• explain the workings of complex or tricky sections of code

52
 THE THREE TYPES OF PROGRAM COMMENTS
Program comments come in three varieties:
public class HelloWorld
{
public static void main(String args[ ])
 End of line or Single comments: All
{
text following a double forward slash //Consider these three lines of code:
(//) on a single line may explain a line System.out.println(“Hello World!”);
of code and are ignored by the
compiler. } // end of main method
} // end of HelloWorld

Notice the //. Everything after the // are programmer comments about t
 Multi-line comments: All text code.
occurring between a /* and a */ is It is does not perform any task when the code is executed.
ignored by the compiler. Multi-line
comments are used where lengthy
explanations are needed or you want
to deactivate a large segment of code
temporarily.
53
USEFUL READING AND YOUTUBE VIDEO

 How to Create first Application in Java

 http://www.java-made-easy.com/java-hello-world.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9vN0HJoUTI