Chapter 3

Using Classes and Objects

Java Software Solutions

Foundations of Program Design
9th Edition

John Lewis
William Loftus

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Using Classes and Objects
• We can create more interesting programs using predefined
classes and related objects
• Chapter 3 focuses on:
– object creation and object references
– the String class and its methods
– the Java API class library
– the Random and Math classes
– formatting output
– enumerated types
– wrapper classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Creating Objects
• A variable holds either a primitive value or a
reference to an object
• A class name can be used as a type to declare an
object reference variable
String title;
• No object is created with this declaration
• An object reference variable holds the address of
an object
• The object itself must be created separately

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Creating Objects
• Generally, we use the new operator to create an
object
• Creating an object is called instantiation
• An object is an instance of a particular class

title = new String("Java Software Solutions");

This calls the String constructor, which is

a special method that sets up the object

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Invoking Methods
• We've seen that once an object has been
instantiated, we can use the dot operator to invoke
its methods
numChars = title.length()
• A method may return a value, which can be used in
an assignment or expression
• A method invocation can be thought of as asking an
object to perform a service

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

References
• Note that a primitive variable contains the value
itself, but an object variable contains the address of
the object
• An object reference can be thought of as a pointer
to the location of the object
• Rather than dealing with arbitrary addresses, we
often depict a reference graphically

num1 38

name1 "Steve Jobs"

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Assignment Revisited
• The act of assignment takes a copy of a value and
stores it in a variable
• For primitive types:

num1 38
Before:
num2 96

num2 = num1;

num1 38
After:
num2 38

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Reference Assignment
• For object references, assignment copies the
address:

name1 "Steve Jobs"

Before:
name2 "Steve Wozniak"

name2 = name1;

name1 "Steve Jobs"

After:
name2

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Aliases
• Two or more references that refer to the same
object are called aliases of each other
• That creates an interesting situation: one object
can be accessed using multiple reference variables
• Aliases can be useful, but should be managed
carefully
• Changing an object through one reference
changes it for all of its aliases, because there is
really only one object

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Garbage Collection
• When an object no longer has any valid references
to it, it can no longer be accessed by the program
• The object is useless, and therefore is called
garbage
• Java performs automatic garbage collection
periodically, returning an object's memory to the
system for future use
• In other languages, the programmer is responsible
for performing garbage collection

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The String Class
• Because strings are so common, we don't have to
use the new operator to create a String object

title = "Java Software Solutions";

• This is special syntax that works only for strings

• Each string literal (enclosed in double quotes)

represents a String object

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

String Methods
• Once a String object has been created, neither
its value nor its length can be changed
• Therefore we say that an object of the String
class is immutable
• However, several methods of the String class
return new String objects that are modified
versions of the original

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

String Indexes
• It is occasionally helpful to refer to a particular
character within a string
• This can be done by specifying the character's
numeric index
• The indexes begin at zero in each string
• In the string "Hello", the character 'H' is at
index 0 and the 'o' is at index 4
• See StringMutation.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// StringMutation.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the use of the String class and its methods.
//********************************************************************

public class StringMutation

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Prints a string and various mutations of it.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String phrase = "Change is inevitable";
String mutation1, mutation2, mutation3, mutation4;

System.out.println("Original string: \"" + phrase + "\"");

System.out.println("Length of string: " + phrase.length());

mutation1 = phrase.concat(", except from vending machines.");

mutation2 = mutation1.toUpperCase();
mutation3 = mutation2.replace('E', 'X');
mutation4 = mutation3.substring(3, 30);

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

// Print each mutated string

System.out.println("Mutation #1: " + mutation1);
System.out.println("Mutation #2: " + mutation2);
System.out.println("Mutation #3: " + mutation3);
System.out.println("Mutation #4: " + mutation4);

System.out.println("Mutated length: " + mutation4.length());

}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Output
Original string: "Change is inevitable"
Length of string: 20
continued
Mutation #1: Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
Mutation// #2:
PrintCHANGE IS INEVITABLE,
each mutated string EXCEPT FROM VENDING MACHINES.
Mutation #3: CHANGX IS INXVITABLX,
System.out.println("Mutation #1: XXCXPT FROM VXNDING MACHINXS.
" + mutation1);
MutationSystem.out.println("Mutation
#4: NGX IS INXVITABLX, #2: " + mutation2);
XXCXPT F
MutatedSystem.out.println("Mutation
length: 27 #3: " + mutation3);
System.out.println("Mutation #4: " + mutation4);

System.out.println("Mutated length: " + mutation4.length());

}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
What output is produced by the following?

String str = "Space, the final frontier.";

System.out.println(str.length());
System.out.println(str.substring(7));
System.out.println(str.toUpperCase());
System.out.println(str.length());

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
What output is produced by the following?

String str = "Space, the final frontier.";

System.out.println(str.length());
System.out.println(str.substring(7));
System.out.println(str.toUpperCase());
System.out.println(str.length());

26
the final frontier.
SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER.
26

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Class Libraries
• A class library is a collection of classes that we can
use when developing programs
• The Java standard class library is part of any Java
development environment
• Its classes are not part of the Java language per se,
but we rely on them heavily
• Various classes we've already used (System ,
Scanner, String) are part of the Java standard
class library

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Java API
• The Java class library is sometimes referred to as
the Java API
• API stands for Application Programming Interface

• Clusters of related classes are sometimes referred

to as specific APIs:
– The JavaFX API
– The Database API

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Java API
• Get comfortable using the online Java API
documentation

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Packages
• For purposes of accessing them, classes in the
Java API are organized into packages
• These often overlap with specific APIs
• Examples:
Package Purpose
java.lang General support
java.util Utilities
java.net Network communication
javafx.scene.shape Graphical shapes
javafx.scene.control GUI controls

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The import Declaration
• When you want to use a class from a package, you
could use its fully qualified name
java.util.Scanner

• Or you can import the class, and then use just the
class name
import java.util.Scanner;

• To import all classes in a particular package, you

can use the * wildcard character
import java.util.*;

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The import Declaration
• All classes of the java.lang package are
imported automatically into all programs
• It's as if all programs contain the following line:
import java.lang.*;
• That's why we didn't have to import the System or
String classes explicitly in earlier programs
• The Scanner class, on the other hand, is part of
the java.util package, and therefore must be
imported

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Random Class
• The Random class is part of the java.util
package
• It provides methods that generate pseudorandom
numbers
• A Random object performs complicated calculations
based on a seed value to produce a stream of
seemingly random values
• See RandomNumbers.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// RandomNumbers.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the creation of pseudo-random numbers using the
// Random class.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Random;

public class RandomNumbers

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Generates random numbers in various ranges.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Random generator = new Random();
int num1;
float num2;

num1 = generator.nextInt();
System.out.println("A random integer: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(10);
System.out.println("From 0 to 9: " + num1);

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

num1 = generator.nextInt(10) + 1;
System.out.println("From 1 to 10: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(15) + 20;

System.out.println("From 20 to 34: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(20) - 10;

System.out.println("From -10 to 9: " + num1);

num2 = generator.nextFloat();
System.out.println("A random float (between 0-1): " + num2);

num2 = generator.nextFloat() * 6; // 0.0 to 5.999999

num1 = (int)num2 + 1;
System.out.println("From 1 to 6: " + num1);
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued Sample Run
A random integer: 672981683
num1 = generator.nextInt(10) + 1;
From 0 to 9:("From
System.out.println 0 1 to 10: " + num1);
From 1 to 10: 3
num1 =From 20 to 34: 30
generator.nextInt(15) + 20;
System.out.println
From -10 to ("From
9: -4 20 to 34: " + num1);
A random float (between 0-1): 0.18538326
num1 =From
generator.nextInt(20)
1 to 6: 3 - 10;
System.out.println ("From -10 to 9: " + num1);

num2 = generator.nextFloat();
System.out.println("A random float (between 0-1): " + num2);

num2 = generator.nextFloat() * 6; // 0.0 to 5.999999

num1 = (int)num2 + 1;
System.out.println("From 1 to 6: " + num1);
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Given a Random object named gen, what range of
values are produced by the following expressions?

gen.nextInt(25)
gen.nextInt(6) + 1
gen.nextInt(100) + 10
gen.nextInt(50) + 100
gen.nextInt(10) – 5
gen.nextInt(22) + 12

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Given a Random object named gen, what range of
values are produced by the following expressions?
Range
gen.nextInt(25) 0 to 24
gen.nextInt(6) + 1 1 to 6
gen.nextInt(100) + 10 10 to 109
gen.nextInt(50) + 100 100 to 149
gen.nextInt(10) – 5 -5 to 4
gen.nextInt(22) + 12 12 to 33

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Write an expression that produces a random integer
in the following ranges:

Range
0 to 12
1 to 20
15 to 20
-10 to 0

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Write an expression that produces a random integer
in the following ranges:

Range
0 to 12 gen.nextInt(13)
1 to 20 gen.nextInt(20) + 1
15 to 20 gen.nextInt(6) + 15
-10 to 0 gen.nextInt(11) – 10

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Math Class
• The Math class is part of the java.lang package
• The Math class contains methods that perform
various mathematical functions
• These include:
– absolute value
– square root
– exponentiation
– trigonometric functions

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Math Class
• The methods of the Math class are static methods
(also called class methods)
• Static methods are invoked through the class name
– no object of the Math class is needed
value = Math.cos(90) + Math.sqrt(delta);
• We discuss static methods further in Chapter 7
• See Quadratic.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// Quadratic.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the use of the Math class to perform a calculation
// based on user input.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Quadratic

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Determines the roots of a quadratic equation.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int a, b, c; // ax^2 + bx + c
double discriminant, root1, root2;

Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);

System.out.print("Enter the coefficient of x squared: ");

a = scan.nextInt();

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

System.out.print("Enter the coefficient of x: ");

b = scan.nextInt();

System.out.print("Enter the constant: ");

c = scan.nextInt();

// Use the quadratic formula to compute the roots.

// Assumes a positive discriminant.

discriminant = Math.pow(b, 2) - (4 * a * c);

root1 = ((-1 * b) + Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);
root2 = ((-1 * b) - Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);

System.out.println("Root #1: " + root1);

System.out.println("Root #2: " + root2);
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued
Sample Run
Enter the coefficient of x squared: 3
System.out.print("Enter the coefficient of x: ");
Enter the coefficient of x: 8
b = scan.nextInt();
Enter the constant: 4
Root #1: -0.6666666666666666
System.out.print("Enter the constant: ");
Root #2: -2.0
c = scan.nextInt();

// Use the quadratic formula to compute the roots.

// Assumes a positive discriminant.

discriminant = Math.pow(b, 2) - (4 * a * c);

root1 = ((-1 * b) + Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);
root2 = ((-1 * b) - Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);

System.out.println("Root #1: " + root1);

System.out.println("Root #2: " + root2);
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Formatting Output
• It is often necessary to format output values in
certain ways so that they can be presented properly
• The Java standard class library contains classes
that provide formatting capabilities
• The NumberFormat class allows you to format
values as currency or percentages
• The DecimalFormat class allows you to format
values based on a pattern
• Both are part of the java.text package

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Formatting Output
• The NumberFormat class has static methods that
return a formatter object
getCurrencyInstance()
getPercentInstance()
• Each formatter object has a method called
format that returns a string with the specified
information in the appropriate format
• See Purchase.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// Purchase.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the use of the NumberFormat class to format output.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.text.NumberFormat;

public class Purchase

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Calculates the final price of a purchased item using values
// entered by the user.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
final double TAX_RATE = 0.06; // 6% sales tax

int quantity;
double subtotal, tax, totalCost, unitPrice;

Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

NumberFormat fmt1 = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance();

NumberFormat fmt2 = NumberFormat.getPercentInstance();

System.out.print("Enter the quantity: ");

quantity = scan.nextInt();

System.out.print("Enter the unit price: ");

unitPrice = scan.nextDouble();

subtotal = quantity * unitPrice;

tax = subtotal * TAX_RATE;
totalCost = subtotal + tax;

// Print output with appropriate formatting

System.out.println("Subtotal: " + fmt1.format(subtotal));
System.out.println("Tax: " + fmt1.format(tax) + " at "
+ fmt2.format(TAX_RATE));
System.out.println("Total: " + fmt1.format(totalCost));
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued
Sample Run
Enter the quantity: 5
NumberFormat fmt1 = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance();
Enter the unit price: 3.87
NumberFormat fmt2 = NumberFormat.getPercentInstance();
Subtotal: $19.35
Tax: $1.16
System.out.print("Enter at 6%
the quantity: ");
Total: $20.51
quantity = scan.nextInt();

System.out.print("Enter the unit price: ");

unitPrice = scan.nextDouble();

subtotal = quantity * unitPrice;

tax = subtotal * TAX_RATE;
totalCost = subtotal + tax;

// Print output with appropriate formatting

System.out.println("Subtotal: " + fmt1.format(subtotal));
System.out.println("Tax: " + fmt1.format(tax) + " at "
+ fmt2.format(TAX_RATE));
System.out.println("Total: " + fmt1.format(totalCost));
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Formatting Output
• The DecimalFormat class can be used to format
a floating point value in various ways
• For example, you can specify that the number
should be truncated to three decimal places
• The constructor of the DecimalFormat class
takes a string that represents a pattern for the
formatted number
• See CircleStats.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// CircleStats.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the formatting of decimal values using the
// DecimalFormat class.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;

public class CircleStats

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Calculates the area and circumference of a circle given its
// radius.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int radius;
double area, circumference;

Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

System.out.print("Enter the circle's radius: ");

radius = scan.nextInt();

area = Math.PI * Math.pow(radius, 2);

circumference = 2 * Math.PI * radius;

// Round the output to three decimal places

DecimalFormat fmt = new DecimalFormat("0.###");

System.out.println("The circle's area: " + fmt.format(area));

System.out.println("The circle's circumference: "
+ fmt.format(circumference));
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Sample Run
continued
Enter the circle's radius: 5
The circle'sthe
System.out.print("Enter area: 78.54
circle's radius: ");
The circle's circumference: 31.416
radius = scan.nextInt();

area = Math.PI * Math.pow(radius, 2);

circumference = 2 * Math.PI * radius;

// Round the output to three decimal places

DecimalFormat fmt = new DecimalFormat("0.###");

System.out.println("The circle's area: " + fmt.format(area));

System.out.println("The circle's circumference: "
+ fmt.format(circumference));
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Enumerated Types
• Java allows you to define an enumerated type,
which can then be used to declare variables
• An enumerated type declaration lists all possible
values for a variable of that type
• The values are identifiers of your own choosing
• The following declaration creates an enumerated
type called Season
enum Season {winter, spring, summer, fall};
• Any number of values can be listed

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Enumerated Types
• Once a type is defined, a variable of that type can
be declared:
Season time;
• And it can be assigned a value:
time = Season.fall;
• The values are referenced through the name of the
type
• Enumerated types are type-safe – you cannot
assign any value other than those listed

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Ordinal Values
• Internally, each value of an enumerated type is
stored as an integer, called its ordinal value
• The first value in an enumerated type has an
ordinal value of zero, the second one, and so on
• However, you cannot assign a numeric value to an
enumerated type, even if it corresponds to a valid
ordinal value

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Enumerated Types
• The declaration of an enumerated type is a special
type of class, and each variable of that type is an
object
• The ordinal method returns the ordinal value of
the object
• The name method returns the name of the identifier
corresponding to the object's value
• See IceCream.java

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

//********************************************************************
// IceCream.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the use of enumerated types.
//********************************************************************

public class IceCream

{
enum Flavor {vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, fudgeRipple, coffee,
rockyRoad, mintChocolateChip, cookieDough}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Creates and uses variables of the Flavor type.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Flavor cone1, cone2, cone3;

cone1 = Flavor.rockyRoad;
cone2 = Flavor.chocolate;

System.out.println("cone1 value: " + cone1);

System.out.println("cone1 ordinal: " + cone1.ordinal());
System.out.println("cone1 name: " + cone1.name());

continued

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

continued

System.out.println();
System.out.println("cone2 value: " + cone2);
System.out.println("cone2 ordinal: " + cone2.ordinal());
System.out.println("cone2 name: " + cone2.name());

cone3 = cone1;

System.out.println();
System.out.println("cone3 value: " + cone3);
System.out.println("cone3 ordinal: " + cone3.ordinal());
System.out.println("cone3 name: " + cone3.name());
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Output
continued
cone1 value: rockyRoad
System.out.println();
cone1 ordinal: 5
System.out.println("cone2 value: " + cone2);
cone1 name: rockyRoad
System.out.println("cone2 ordinal: " + cone2.ordinal());
cone2 value: chocolate
System.out.println("cone2 name: " + cone2.name());
cone2 ordinal: 1
cone3 = cone1; cone2 name: chocolate
cone3 value: rockyRoad
System.out.println();
cone3 ordinal: 5
System.out.println("cone3 value:
cone3 name: " + cone3);
rockyRoad
System.out.println("cone3 ordinal: " + cone3.ordinal());
System.out.println("cone3 name: " + cone3.name());
}
}

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Outline
Creating Objects
The String Class
The Random and Math Classes
Formatting Output
Enumerated Types
Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Wrapper Classes
• The java.lang package contains wrapper
classes that correspond to each primitive type:

Primitive Type Wrapper Class

byte Byte
short Short
int Integer
long Long
float Float
double Double
char Character
boolean Boolean
Wrapper Classes
• The following declaration creates an Integer
object which represents the integer 40 as an object
Integer age = new Integer(40);
• An object of a wrapper class can be used in any
situation where a primitive value will not suffice
• For example, some objects serve as containers of
other objects
• Primitive values could not be stored in such
containers, but wrapper objects could be

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Wrapper Classes
• Wrapper classes also contain static methods that
help manage the associated type
• For example, the Integer class contains a
method to convert an integer stored in a String
to an int value:
num = Integer.parseInt(str);
• They often contain useful constants as well
• For example, the Integer class contains
MIN_VALUE and MAX_VALUE which hold the
smallest and largest int values

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Autoboxing
• Autoboxing is the automatic conversion of a
primitive value to a corresponding wrapper object:
Integer obj;
int num = 42;
obj = num;
• The assignment creates the appropriate Integer
object
• The reverse conversion (called unboxing) also
occurs automatically as needed

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Are the following assignments valid? Explain.

Double value = 15.75;

Character ch = new Character('T');

char myChar = ch;

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Quick Check
Are the following assignments valid? Explain.

Double value = 15.75;

Yes. The double literal is autoboxed into a Double object.

Character ch = new Character('T');

char myChar = ch;

Yes, the char in the object is unboxed before the assignment.

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.