Constructors in Java
Constructors are used to initialize the object’s state. Like methods, a constructor also
contains collection of statements(i.e. instructions) that are executed at time of Object creation.
When is a Constructor called ?
Each time an object is created using new() keyword at least one constructor (it could be default
constructor) is invoked to assign initial values to the data members of the same class.
Constructor is invoked at the time of object or instance creation. For Example:
class Geek
{
// A Constructor
new Geek() {}
// We can create an object of above class using below statement. This statement calls above
constructor.
Geek obj = new Geek();
Rules for writing Constructor:
Constructor(s) of a class must has same name as the class name in which it resides.
A constructor in Java can not be abstract, final, static and Synchronized.
Access modifiers can be used in constructor declaration to control its access i.e which other class
can call the constructor.
Types of constructor
There are two type of constructor in Java:
1. No-argument constructor: A constructor that has no parameter is known as default
constructor. If we don’t define a constructor in a class, then compiler creates default
constructor(with no arguments) for the class. And if we write a constructor with arguments
or no-argument then compiler does not create default constructor.
Default constructor provides the default values to the object like 0, null etc. depending on the type.
import java.io.*;
class Geek
{
int num;
String name;
Geek()
{
System.out.println("Constructor
called");
}}
class GFG
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
Geek geek1 = new Geek();
System.out.println(geek1.name);
System.out.println(geek1.num);
}}
Constructor called
null
0
2. Parameterized Constructor: A constructor that has parameters is known as parameterized
constructor. If we want to initialize fields of the class with your own values, then use parameterized
constructor.
// Java Program to illustrate calling of
// parameterized constructor.
import java.io.*;
class Geek
{
// data members of the class.
String name;
int id;
Geek(String name, int id)
{
this.name = name;
this.id = id;
}}
class GFG
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
// this would invoke parameterized constructor.
Geek geek1 = new Geek("adam", 1);
System.out.println("GeekName :" + geek1.name +
" and GeekId :" + geek1.id);
}}
3. GeekName :adam and GeekId :1
Does constructor return any value?
There are no “return value” statements in constructor, but constructor returns current class instance. We
can write ‘return’ inside a constructor.
Constructor Overloading
Like methods, we can overload constructors for creating objects in different ways. Compiler differentiates
constructors on the basis of numbers of parameters, types of the parameters and order of the
parameters.
import java.io.*;
class Geek
{
Geek(String name)
{
System.out.println("Constructor with one " +
"argument - String : " + name);
}
Geek(String name, int age)
{
System.out.print("Constructor with two arguments : " +
" String and Integer : " + name + " "+ age);
}
Geek(long id)
{
System.out.println("Constructor with one argument : " +
"Long : " + id);
}}
class GFG
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Geek geek2 = new Geek("Shikhar");
Geek geek3 = new Geek("Dharmesh", 26);
Geek geek4 = new Geek(325614567);
}}
Output:
Constructor with one argument - String : Shikhar
Constructor with two arguments - String and Integer : Dharmesh 26
Constructor with one argument - Long : 325614567
How constructors are different from methods in Java?
Constructor(s) must have the same name as the class within which it defined while it is not
necessary for the method in java.
Constructor(s) do not any return type while method(s) have the return type or void if does not
return any value.
Constructor is called only once at the time of Object creation while method(s) can be called any
numbers of time.
In Java, constructor is a block of codes similar to method. It is called when an instance of
object is created and memory is allocated for the object.
It is a special type of method which is used to initialize the object.
When is a constructor called
Everytime an object is created using new() keyword, atleast one constructor is called. It
is called a default constructor.
Note: It is called constructor because it constructs the values at the time of object
creation. It is not necessary to write a constructor for a class. It is because java compiler
creates a default constructor if your class doesn't have any.
Rules for creating java constructor
There are basically two rules defined for the constructor.
1. Constructor name must be same as its class name
2. Constructor must have no explicit return type
Types of java constructors
There are two types of constructors in java:
1. Default constructor (no-arg constructor)
2. Parameterized constructor
Java Default Constructor
A constructor is called "Default Constructor" when it doesn't have any parameter.
Syntax of default constructor:
1. <class_name>(){}
Example of default constructor
In this example, we are creating the no-arg constructor in the Bike class. It will be
invoked at the time of object creation.
1. class Bike1{
2. Bike1(){System.out.println("Bike is created");}
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. Bike1 b=new Bike1();
5. }
6. }
Output:
Bike is created
Rule: If there is no constructor in a class, compiler automatically creates a default
constructor.
Q) What is the purpose of default constructor?
Default constructor is used to provide the default values to the object like 0, null etc.
depending on the type.
Example of default constructor that displays the default
values
1. class Student3{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4.
5. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
6.
7. public static void main(String args[]){
8. Student3 s1=new Student3();
9. Student3 s2=new Student3();
10. s1.display();
11. s2.display();
12. } }
Output:
0 null
0 null
Explanation:In the above class,you are not creating any constructor so compiler
provides you a default constructor.Here 0 and null values are provided by default
constructor.
Java parameterized constructor
A constructor which has a specific number of parameters is called parameterized
constructor.
Why use parameterized constructor?
Parameterized constructor is used to provide different values to the distinct objects.
Example of parameterized constructor
In this example, we have created the constructor of Student class that have two
parameters. We can have any number of parameters in the constructor.
1. class Student4{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4.
5. Student4(int i,String n){
6. id = i;
7. name = n;
8. }
9. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
10.
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Student4 s1 = new Student4(111,"Karan");
13. Student4 s2 = new Student4(222,"Aryan");
14. s1.display();
15. s2.display();
16. } }
111 Karan
222 Aryan
Constructor Overloading in Java
In Java, a constructor is just like a method but without return type. It can also be
overloaded like Java methods.
Constructor overloading in Java is a technique of having more than one constructor with
different parameter lists. They are arranged in a way that each constructor performs a
different task. They are differentiated by the compiler by the number of parameters in the
list and their types.
Example of Constructor Overloading
1. class Student5{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. int age;
5. Student5(int i,String n){
6. id = i;
7. name = n;
8. }
9. Student5(int i,String n,int a){
10. id = i;
11. name = n;
12. age=a;
13. }
14. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name+" "+age);}
15.
16. public static void main(String args[]){
17. Student5 s1 = new Student5(111,"Karan");
18. Student5 s2 = new Student5(222,"Aryan",25);
19. s1.display();
20. s2.display();
21. } }
Output:
111 Karan 0
222 Aryan 25
Difference between constructor and method in java
There are many differences between constructors and methods. They are given below.
Java Constructor Java Method
Constructor is used to initialize the state of an Method is used to expose
object. behaviour of an object.
Constructor must not have return type. Method must have return type.
Constructor is invoked implicitly. Method is invoked explicitly.
The java compiler provides a default constructor if Method is not provided by
you don't have any constructor. compiler in any case.
Constructor name must be same as the class Method name may or may not be
name. same as class name.
Java Copy Constructor
There is no copy constructor in java. But, we can copy the values of one object to another
like copy constructor in C++.
There are many ways to copy the values of one object into another in java. They are:
o By constructor
o By assigning the values of one object into another
o By clone() method of Object class
In this example, we are going to copy the values of one object into another using java
constructor.
1. class Student6{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. Student6(int i,String n){
5. id = i;
6. name = n;
7. }
8.
9. Student6(Student6 s){
10. id = s.id;
11. name =s.name;
12. }
13. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
14.
15. public static void main(String args[]){
16. Student6 s1 = new Student6(111,"Karan");
17. Student6 s2 = new Student6(s1);
18. s1.display();
19. s2.display();
20. }
21. }
Output:
111 Karan
111 Karan
Copying values without constructor
We can copy the values of one object into another by assigning the objects values to
another object. In this case, there is no need to create the constructor.
1. class Student7{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. Student7(int i,String n){
5. id = i;
6. name = n;
7. }
8. Student7(){}
9. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
10.
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Student7 s1 = new Student7(111,"Karan");
13. Student7 s2 = new Student7();
14. s2.id=s1.id;
15. s2.name=s1.name;
16. s1.display();
17. s2.display();
18. }
19. }
Output:
111 Karan
111 Karan
Q) Does constructor return any value?
Ans:yes, that is current class instance (You cannot use return type yet it returns a value).
Can constructor perform other tasks instead of initialization?Yes,
like object creation, starting a thread, calling method etc. You can perform any
operation in the constructor as you perform in the method.
Characteristics of Constructors:
An interface cannot have the constructor.
Constructors cannot be private.
A constructor cannot be abstract, static, final, native, strictfp, or synchronized
A constructor can be overloaded.
Constructors cannot return a value.
Constructors do not have a return type; not even void.
An abstract class can have the constructor.
Constructors name must be similar to that of the class name inside which it resides.
Constructors are automatically called when an object is created.
Instance variables and methods of a class are known as members of a class. Constructors
are not members. For this reason, constructors cannot be inherited; but can be accessed by
a subclass. Java constructors do not get inherited; only their members (variables and
methods) get inherited. So declaring a constructor as final is useless and has no meaning
as constructors cannot be overridden. Again, Java constructors should not be synchronized
as it locks the object when created and hence, as long as the object is not created any other
object can be instantiated.
