CHAPTER 6
A Second Look
at Classes and
Objects
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Topics
Static Class Members
Overloaded Methods
Overloaded Constructors
Passing Objects as Arguments to Methods
Returning Objects from Methods
The toString method
Writing an equals method
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Topics (contd)
Methods that copy objects
Aggregation
The this Reference Variable
Inner Classes
Enumerated types
Garbage Collection
Object collaboration
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Review of Instance Fields and
Methods
Each instance of a class has its own copy of
instance variables.
Example:
The Rectangle class defines a length and a width field.
Each instance of the Rectangle class can have different
values stored in its length and width fields.
Instance methods require that an instance of
a class be created in order to be used.
Instance methods typically interact with
instance fields or calculate values based on
those fields.
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Static Class Members
Static fields and static methods do not
belong to a single instance of a class.
To invoke a static method or use a
static field, the class name, rather than
the instance name, is used.
Example:
double val = Math.sqrt(25.0);
Class name Static method
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Static Fields
Class fields are declared using the static keyword
between the access specifier and the field type.
private static int instanceCount = 0;
The field is initialized to 0 only once, regardless of
the number of times the class is instantiated.
Primitive static fields are initialized to 0 if no
initialization is performed.
Examples: Countable.java, StaticDemo.java
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Static Fields
instanceCount field
(static)
Object1 Object2 Object3
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Static Methods
Methods can also be declared static by placing the
static keyword between the access modifier and
the return type of the method.
public static double milesToKilometers(double miles)
{}
When a class contains a static method, it is not
necessary to create an instance of the class in order
to use the method.
double kilosPerMile = Metric.milesToKilometers(1.0);
Examples: Metric.java, MetricDemo.java
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Static Methods
Static methods are convenient because
they may be called at the class level.
They are typically used to create utility
classes, such as the Math class in the
Java Standard Library.
Static methods may not communicate
with instance fields, only static fields.
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Overloaded Methods
Two or more methods in a class may have the same name;
however, their parameter lists must be different.
public class MyMath{
public static int square(int number){
return number * number;
}
public static double square(double number){
return number * number;
}
}
Example: OverloadingDemo.java
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Overloaded Methods
Java uses the method signature (name,
type of parameters and order of
parameters) to determine which
method to call.
This process is known as binding.
The return type of the method is not
part of the method signature.
Example: Pay.java, WeeklyPay.java
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Overloaded Constructors
Class constructors are also methods.
This means that they can also be overloaded.
Overloading constructors gives
programmers more than one way to
construct an object of that class.
All of the previous restrictions on
overloading apply to constructors as well.
Example: Rectangle.java, TwoRectangles.java
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Revisiting The Default
Constructor
Java automatically provides a default
constructor for a class if a constructor
is not explicitly written.
The default constructor provided by
Java:
sets all numeric instance fields to 0
sets all char instance fields to ' ' (empty char)
sets all reference instance fields to null
sets all boolean instance fields to false
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Revisiting The Default
Constructor
We, as programmers, can provide a no-
arg constructor. This is a constructor
that accepts no arguments.
If a constructor that accepts arguments
is written, we should also write a no-arg
constructor.
If we write a no-arg constructor, we
should provide the initialization of all
instance fields.
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Revisiting The Default
Constructor
InventoryItem
- description : String
- units : int
+ InventoryItem() :
+ InventoryItem(d : String) :
+ InventoryItem(d : String, u : int) :
+ setDescription(d : String) : void
+ setUnits(u : int) : void
+ getDescription() : String
+ getUnits() : int
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Passing Objects as
Arguments
Objects can be passed to methods as arguments.
Java passes all arguments by value.
When an object is passed as an argument, the value of the
reference variable is passed.
The value of the reference variable is an address or
reference to the object in memory.
A copy of the object is not passed, just a pointer to the
object.
When a method receives a reference variable as an
argument, it is possible for the method to modify the
contents of the object referenced by the variable.
Example: Dealer.java, Player.java, ChoHan.java
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Passing Objects as
Examples:
Arguments
PassObject.java A Rectangle object
PassObject2.java length: 12.0
width: 5.0
displayRectangle(box);
Address
public static void displayRectangle(Rectangle r)
{
// Display the length and width.
System.out.println("Length: " + r.getLength() +
" Width: " + r.getWidth());
}
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Returning References From
Methods
Methods are not limited to returning the primitive
data types.
Methods can return references to objects as well.
Just as with passing parameters, a copy of the
object is not returned, only its address.
Example: ReturnObject.java
Method return type:
public static InventoryItem getData()
{
return new InventoryItem(d, u);
}
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Returning Objects from
item = getData();
Methods
A InventoryItem Object
description: Pliers
units: 25
address
public static InventoryItem getData()
{
return new InventoryItem(d, u);
}
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The toString Method
The toString method of a class can be
called explicitly:
Stock xyzCompany = new Stock ("XYZ", 9.62);
System.out.println(xyzCompany.toString());
However, the toString method does not
have to be called explicitly but is called
implicitly whenever you pass an object of the
class to println or print.
Stock xyzCompany = new Stock ("XYZ", 9.62);
System.out.println(xyzCompany);
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The toString method
The toString method is also called
implicitly whenever you concatenate an
object of the class with a string.
Stock xyzCompany = new Stock ("XYZ", 9.62);
System.out.println("The stock data is:\n" +
xyzCompany);
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The toString Method
All objects have a toString method that returns
the class name and a hash of the memory address
of the object.
We can override the default method with our own
to print out more useful information.
Examples: Stock.java, StockDemo1.java
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The equals Method
When the == operator is used with reference
variables, the memory address of the objects
are compared.
The contents of the objects are not
compared.
All objects have an equals method.
The default operation of the equals method
is to compare memory addresses of the
objects (just like the == operator).
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The equals Method
The Stock class has an equals method.
If we try the following:
Stock stock1 = new Stock("GMX", 55.3);
Stock stock2 = new Stock("GMX", 55.3);
if (stock1 == stock2) // This is a mistake!
System.out.println("The objects are the same.");
else
System.out.println("The objects are not the same.");
only the addresses of the objects are compared
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The equals Method
Compare objects by their contents rather than by their memory
addresses.
Instead of simply using the == operator to compare two Stock
objects, we should use the equals method.
public boolean equals(Stock object2)
{
boolean status;
if(symbol.equals(Object2.symbol) &&
sharePrice == Object2.sharePrice)
status = true;
else
status = false;
return status;
}
See example: StockCompare.java
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Methods That Copy Objects
There are two ways to copy an object.
You cannot use the assignment operator to
copy reference types
Reference only copy
This is simply copying the address of an object into
another reference variable.
Deep copy (correct)
This involves creating a new instance of the class
and copying the values from one object into the
new object.
Example: ObjectCopy.java
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Copy Constructors
A copy constructor accepts an existing object of the
same class and clones it.
public Stock(Stock object 2)
{
symbol = object2.symbol;
sharePrice = object2.sharePrice;
}
// Create a Stock object
Stock company1 = new Stock("XYZ", 9.62);
//Create company2, a copy of company1
Stock company2 = new Stock(company1);
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Aggregation
Creating an instance of one class as a
reference in another class is called
object aggregation.
Aggregation creates a has a
relationship between objects.
Examples:
Instructor.java, Textbook.java, Course.java, CourseDemo.java
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Aggregation in UML Diagrams
Course
- courseName : String
- Instructor : Instructor
- textBook : TextBook
+ Course(name : String, instr : Instructor, text : TextBook)
+ getName() : String
+ getInstructor() : Instructor
+ getTextBook() : TextBook
+ toString() : String
Instructor TextBook
- lastName : String - title : String
- firstName : String - author : String
- officeNumber : String - publisher : String
+ TextBook(title : String, author : String,
+ Instructor(lname : String, fname : String, publisher : String)
office : String) + TextBook(object2 : TextBook)
+Instructor(object2 : Instructor) + set(title : String, author : String,
+set(lname : String, fname : String, publisher : String) : void
office : String): void + toString() : String
+ toString() : String
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Returning References to
Private Fields
Avoid returning references to private
data elements.
Returning references to private
variables will allow any object that
receives the reference to modify the
variable.
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Null References
A null reference is a reference variable that points to
nothing.
If a reference is null, then no operations can be
performed on it.
References can be tested to see if they point to null
prior to being used.
if(name != null)
System.out.println("Name is: " +
name.toUpperCase());
Examples: FullName.java, NameTester.java
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The this Reference
The this reference is simply a name that an object
can use to refer to itself.
The this reference can be used to overcome
shadowing and allow a parameter to have the same
name as an instance field.
public void setFeet(int feet)
{
this.feet = feet; Local parameter variable
//sets the this instances feet field
//equal to the parameter feet.
}
Shadowed instance variable
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The this Reference
The this reference can be used to call a constructor from
another constructor.
public Stock(String sym)
{
this(sym, 0.0);
}
This constructor would allow an instance of the Stock class to be
created using only the symbol name as a parameter.
It calls the constructor that takes the symbol and the price, using
sym as the symbol argument and 0 as the price argument.
Elaborate constructor chaining can be created using this
technique.
If this is used in a constructor, it must be the first statement in
the constructor.
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Inner Classes
Classes my have other classes nested within
them.
These inner classes have unique properties.
An outer class can access the public
members of an inner class.
An inner class is not visible or accessible to
code outside the outer class.
An inner class can access the private
members of the outer class.
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Inner Classes
Inner classes are defined inside the outer class.
Compiled byte code for inner classes is stored in a
separate file.
The files name consists of:
the name of the outer class
followed by a $ character
followed by the name of the inner class
followed by .class
RetailItem$CostData.class
Example: RetailItem.java, InnerClassDemo.java
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Enumerated Types
Known as an enum
Requires declaration and definition like a class
Syntax:
enum typeName { one or more enum constants }
Definition:
enum Day { SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY,
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY }
Declaration:
Day WorkDay; // creates a Day enum
Assignment:
Day WorkDay = Day.WEDNESDAY;
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Enumerated Types
An enum is a specialized class
Each are objects of type Day, a specialized class
Day.SUNDAY
Day workDay = Day.WEDNESDAY; Day.MONDAY
The workDay variable holds the address of
Day.TUESDAY
the Day.WEDNESDAY object
address Day.WEDNESDAY
Day.THURSDAY
Day.FRIDAY
Day.SATURDAY
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Enumerated Types - Methods
toString returns name of calling constant
ordinal returns the zero-based position of the constant in
the enum. For example the ordinal for Day.THURSDAY is 4
equals accepts an object as an argument and returns true if
the argument is equal to the calling enum constant
compareTo - accepts an object as an argument and returns a
negative integer if the calling constants ordinal < than the
arguments ordinal, a positive integer if the calling constants
ordinal > than the arguments ordinal and zero if the calling
constants ordinal == the arguments ordinal.
Examples:
EnumDemo.java, CarType.java, SportsCar.java, SportsCarDemo.java
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Enumerated Types -
Switching
Java allows you to test an enum constant with
a switch statement.
Example: SportsCarDemo2.java
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Garbage Collection
When objects are no longer needed
they should be destroyed.
This frees up the memory that they
consumed.
Java handles all of the memory
operations for you.
Simply set the reference to null and
Java will reclaim the memory.
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Garbage Collection
The Java Virtual Machine has a process that runs in
the background that reclaims memory from released
objects.
The garbage collector will reclaim memory from any
object that no longer has a valid reference pointing to
it.
InventoryItem item1 = new InventoryItem ("Wrench", 20);
InventoryItem item2 = item1;
This sets item1 and item2 to point to the same object.
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Garbage Collection
An InventoryItem object
description: Wrench
item1 Address units: 20
item2 Address
Here, both item1 and item2 point to the same
instance of the InventoryItem class.
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Garbage Collection
An InventoryItem object
description: Wrench
item1 null units: 20
item2 Address
However, by running the command:
item1 = null;
only item2 will be pointing to the object.
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Garbage Collection
An InventoryItem object
description: Wrench
item1 null units: 20
Since there are no valid references to this
item2 null
object, it is now available for the garbage
collector to reclaim.
If we now run the command:
item2 = null;
neither item1 or item2 will be pointing to the object.
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Garbage Collection
An InventoryItem object
Wrench
item1 null description:
20
units:
The garbage collector reclaims the
item2 null
memory the next time it runs in
the background.
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The finalize Method
If a method with the signature:
public void finalize(){}
is included in a class, it will run just prior to
the garbage collector reclaiming its memory.
The garbage collector is a background
thread that runs periodically.
It cannot be determined when the finalize
method will actually be run.
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Class Collaboration
Collaboration two classes interact with
each other
If an object is to collaborate with another
object, it must know something about the
second objects methods and how to call
them
If we design a class StockPurchase that
collaborates with the Stock class
(previously defined), we define it to create
and manipulate a Stock object
See examples: StockPurchase.java, StockTrader.java
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CRC Cards
Class, Responsibilities and Collaborations (CRC)
cards are useful for determining and documenting a
classs responsibilities
The things a class is responsible for knowing
The actions a class is responsible for doing
CRC Card Layout (Example for the Stock class)
Stock
Know stock to purchase Stock class
Know number of shares None
Calculate cost of purchase Stock class
Etc. None or class name
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