Chapter 4: Writing Classes

Presentation slides for

Java Software Solutions

Foundations of Program Design
Third Edition
Presented by

Ali Kassem

Java Software Solutions is published by Addison-Wesley

Presentation slides are copyright 2002 by John Lewis and William Loftus. All rights reserved.
Instructors using the textbook may use and modify these slides for pedagogical purposes.
Writing Classes
 We've been using predefined classes. Now we will learn to
write our own classes to define objects

 Chapter 4 focuses on:

• class definitions
• encapsulation and Java modifiers
• method declaration, invocation, and parameter passing
• method overloading
• method decomposition
• graphics-based objects

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Objects
 An object has:
• state - descriptive characteristics

• behaviors - what it can do (or what can be done to it)

 For example, consider a coin that can be flipped so that it's

face shows either "heads" or "tails"
 The state of the coin is its current face (heads or tails)

 The behavior of the coin is that it can be flipped

 Note that the behavior of the coin might change its state

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Classes
 A class is a blueprint of an object

 It is the model or pattern from which objects are created

 For example, the String class is used to define String

objects

 Each String object contains specific characters (its state)

 Each String object can perform services (behaviors) such

as toUpperCase

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Classes
 The String class was provided for us by the Java
standard class library

 But we can also write our own classes that define specific
objects that we need

 For example, suppose we want to write a program that

simulates the flipping of a coin

 We can write a Coin class to represent a coin object

Classes
 A class contains data declarations and method declarations

int x, y; Data declarations

char ch;

Method declarations
The Coin Class
 In our Coin class we could define the following data:
• face, an integer that represents the current face

• HEADS and TAILS, integer constants that represent the two

possible states

 We might also define the following methods:

• a Coin constructor, to initialize the object

• a flip method, to flip the coin

• a isHeads method, to determine if the current face is heads

• a toString method, to return a string description for printing

The Coin Class
 See CountFlips.java (page 213)

 See Coin.java (page 214)

 Note that the CountFlips program did not use the

toString method

 A program will not necessarily use every service provided

by an object

 Once the Coin class has been defined, we can use it again
in other programs as needed
Data Scope
 The scope of data is the area in a program in which that
data can be used (referenced)

 Data declared at the class level can be used by all methods

in that class

 Data declared within a method can be used only in that

method

 Data declared within a method is called local data

Instance Data
 The face variable in the Coin class is called instance data
because each instance (object) of the Coin class has its own
 A class declares the type of the data, but it does not reserve
any memory space for it
 Every time a Coin object is created, a new face variable
is created as well
 The objects of a class share the method definitions, but
each has its own data space
 That's the only way two objects can have different states
Instance Data
See FlipRace.java (page 217)

class Coin coin1

int face; face 0

coin2

face 1
UML Diagrams
 UML stands for the Unified Modeling Language

 UML diagrams show relationships among classes and

objects

 A UML class diagram consists of one or more classes, each

with sections for the class name, attributes, and methods

 Lines between classes represent associations

 Associations can show multiplicity

UML Class Diagrams
 A UML class diagram for the FlipRace program:

FlipRace Coin
1 2
face : int
main (args : String[]) : void
flip() : void
isHeads() : boolean
toString() : String
UML Diagrams
 A UML object diagram consists of one or more instantiated
objects.

 It is a snapshot of the objects during an executing program,

showing data values

coin1 : Coin coin2 : Coin

face = 0 face = 1
Encapsulation
 We can take one of two views of an object:

• internal - the variables the object holds and the methods that
make the object useful

• external - the services that an object provides and how the object
interacts

 From the external view, an object is an encapsulated entity,

providing a set of specific services

 These services define the interface to the object

 Recall from Chapter 2 that an object is an abstraction,

hiding details from the rest of the system
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Encapsulation
 An object should be self-governing

 Any changes to the object's state (its variables) should be

made only by that object's methods

 We should make it difficult, if not impossible, to access an

object’s variables other than via its methods

 The user, or client, of an object can request its services, but

it should not have to be aware of how those services are
accomplished

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Encapsulation
 An encapsulated object can be thought of as a black box

 Its inner workings are hidden to the client, which invokes

only the interface methods

Client Methods

Data

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Visibility Modifiers
 In Java, we accomplish encapsulation through the
appropriate use of visibility modifiers

 A modifier is a Java reserved word that specifies particular

characteristics of a method or data value

 We've used the modifier final to define a constant

 Java has three visibility modifiers: public, protected,

and private

 The protected modifier involves inheritance, which we

will discuss later

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Visibility Modifiers
 Members of a class that are declared with public visibility
can be accessed from anywhere

 Public variables violate encapsulation

 Members of a class that are declared with private visibility

can only be accessed from inside the class

 Members declared without a visibility modifier have default

visibility and can be accessed by any class in the same
package

 Java modifiers are discussed in detail in Appendix F

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Visibility Modifiers
 Methods that provide the object's services are usually
declared with public visibility so that they can be invoked
by clients

 Public methods are also called service methods

 A method created simply to assist a service method is called

a support method

 Since a support method is not intended to be called by a

client, it should not be declared with public visibility

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Visibility Modifiers

public private

Variables Violate Enforce

encapsulation encapsulation

Support other
Provide services
Methods methods in the
to clients
class
Driver Programs
 A driver progam drives the use of other, more interesting
parts of a program

 Driver programs are often used to test other parts of the

software

 The Banking class contains a main method that drives the

use of the Account class, exercising its services

 See Banking.java (page 226)

 See Account.java (page 227)

Method Declarations
 A method declaration specifies the code that will be
executed when the method is invoked (or called)

 When a method is invoked, the flow of control jumps to the

method and executes its code

 When complete, the flow returns to the place where the

method was called and continues

 The invocation may or may not return a value, depending

on how the method is defined
Method Control Flow
 The called method can be within the same class, in which case
only the method name is needed

compute myMethod

myMethod();
Method Control Flow
 The called method can be part of another class or object

main doIt helpMe

obj.doIt(); helpMe();
Method Header
 A method declaration begins with a method header

char calc (int num1, int num2, String message)

method
parameter list
name

return The parameter list specifies the type

type and name of each parameter

The name of a parameter in the method

declaration is called a formal argument
Method Body
 The method header is followed by the method body

char calc (int num1, int num2, String message)

{
int sum = num1 + num2;
char result = message.charAt (sum);

return result;
} sum and result
are local data

The return expression must be They are created

consistent with the return type each time the
method is called, and
are destroyed when
it finishes executing
The return Statement
 The return type of a method indicates the type of value that
the method sends back to the calling location

 A method that does not return a value has a void return

type

 A return statement specifies the value that will be returned

return expression;

 Its expression must conform to the return type

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Parameters
 Each time a method is called, the actual parameters in the
invocation are copied into the formal parameters

ch = obj.calc (25, count, "Hello");

char calc (int num1, int num2, String message)

{
int sum = num1 + num2;
char result = message.charAt (sum);

return result;
}
Local Data
 Local variables can be declared inside a method

 The formal parameters of a method create automatic local

variables when the method is invoked

 When the method finishes, all local variables are destroyed

(including the formal parameters)

 Keep in mind that instance variables, declared at the class

level, exists as long as the object exists

 Any method in the class can refer to instance data

Constructors Revisited
 Recall that a constructor is a special method that is used to
initialize a newly created object

 When writing a constructor, remember that:

• it has the same name as the class

• it does not return a value

• it has no return type, not even void

• it typically sets the initial values of instance variables

 The programmer does not have to define a constructor for

a class

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Overloading Methods
 Method overloading is the process of using the same method
name for multiple methods

 The signature of each overloaded method must be unique

 The signature includes the number, type, and order of the

parameters

 The compiler determines which version of the method is

being invoked by analyzing the parameters

 The return type of the method is not part of the signature

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Overloading Methods

Version 1 Version 2

float tryMe (int x) float tryMe (int x, float y)

{ {
return x + .375; return x*y;
} }

Invocation

result = tryMe (25, 4.32)

Overloaded Methods
 The println method is overloaded:

println (String s)
println (int i)
println (double d)

and so on...

 The following lines invoke different versions of the

println method:
System.out.println ("The total is:");
System.out.println (total);

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Overloading Methods
 Constructors can be overloaded

 Overloaded constructors provide multiple ways to initialize

a new object

 See SnakeEyes.java (page 236)

 See Die.java (page 237)

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Method Decomposition
 A method should be relatively small, so that it can be
understood as a single entity

 A potentially large method should be decomposed into

several smaller methods as needed for clarity

 A service method of an object may call one or more support

methods to accomplish its goal

 Support methods could call other support methods if

appropriate
Pig Latin
 The process of translating an English sentence into Pig
Latin can be decomposed into the process of translating
each word

 The process of translating a word can be decomposed into

the process of translating words that
• begin with vowels
• begin with consonant blends (sh, cr, tw, etc.)
• begins with single consonants

 See PigLatin.java (page 238)

 See PigLatinTranslator.java (page 240)

Class Diagrams Revisited
 In a UML class diagram, public members can be preceded
by a plus sign
 Private members are preceded by a minus sign

 A class diagram for the PigTranslator program:

PigLatin PigLatinTranslator
1 1

+ main (args : String[]) : void

+ translate (sentence : String) : String
- translateWord (word : String) : String
- beginsWithVowel (word : String) : boolean
- beginsWithBlend (word : String) : boolean
Object Relationships
 Objects can have various types of relationships to each
other
 A general association, as we've seen in UML diagrams, is
sometimes referred to as a use relationship
 A general association indicates that one object (or class)
uses or refers to another object (or class) in some way
 We could even annotate an association line in a UML
diagram to indicate the nature of the relationship

writes
Author Book
Object Relationships
 Some use associations occur between objects of the same
class

 For example, we might add two Rational number objects

together as follows:

r3 = r1.add(r2);

 One object (r1) is executing the method and another (r2)

is passed as a parameter

 See RationalNumbers.java (page 244)

 See Rational.java (page 246)

Aggregation
 An aggregate object is an object that contains references to
other objects
 For example, an Account object contains a reference to a
String object (the owner's name)
 An aggregate object represents a has-a relationship

 A bank account has a name

 Likewise, a student may have one or more addresses

 See StudentBody.java (page 250)

 See Student.java (page 252)

 See Address.java (page 253)

Aggregation in UML
 An aggregation association is shown in a UML class
diagram using an open diamond at the aggregate end

StudentBody Student
1 2
- firstName : String
+ main (args : String[]) : void - lastName : String
- homeAddress : Address
- schoolAddress : Address

+ toString() : String
Address
- streetAddress : String
- city : String
- state : String
- zipCode : long

+ toString() : String
Applet Methods
 In previous examples we've used the paint method of the
Applet class to draw on an applet

 The Applet class has several methods that are invoked

automatically at certain points in an applet's life

 The init method, for instance, is executed only once when

the applet is initially loaded

 The start and stop methods are called when the applet
becomes active or inactive

 The Applet class also contains other methods that

generally assist in applet processing
Graphical Objects
 Any object we define by writing a class can have graphical
elements

 The object must simply obtain a graphics context (a

Graphics object) in which to draw

 An applet can pass its graphics context to another object

just as it can any other parameter

 See LineUp.java (page 257)

 See StickFigure.java (page 259)

Summary
 Chapter 4 has focused on:
• class definitions
• encapsulation and Java modifiers
• method declaration, invocation, and parameter passing
• method overloading
• method decomposition
• graphics-based objects