JAVA For Beginners: 2 Edition

2nd Edition
JAVA for
Beginners
An introductory course for Advanced IT Students and those who would Riccardo
like to learn the Java programming language.
Flask
JAVA for Beginners
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
About JAVA ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
OOP – Object Oriented Programming .................................................................................................................... 5
Part 1 - Getting Started ........................................................................................................................................... 6
The Java Development Kit – JDK ........................................................................................................................ 6
My first Java program......................................................................................................................................... 6
Using an IDE ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Variables and Data Types ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Variables ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
 Test your skills – Example3................................................................................................................................ 8
Mathematical Operators .................................................................................................................................... 9
Logical Operators ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Character Escape Codes ................................................................................................................................... 11
Test your skills – Example7............................................................................................................................... 12
Data Types ........................................................................................................................................................ 13
Introducing Control Statements ....................................................................................................................... 16
Blocks of Code .................................................................................................................................................. 18
Test your skills – Example14 ................................................................................................................................. 18
The Math Class ................................................................................................................................................. 19
Scope and Lifetime of Variables ....................................................................................................................... 20
Type Casting and Conversions .......................................................................................................................... 21
Console Input ................................................................................................................................................... 24
Using the Keyboard Class ............................................................................................................................. 24
Using the Scanner Class ............................................................................................................................... 33
Using Swing Components ............................................................................................................................ 34
Part 2 - Advanced Java Programming ................................................................................................................... 35
Control Statements - The if Statement ................................................................................................................. 35
Guessing Game (Guess.java) ............................................................................................................................ 36
Nested if ............................................................................................................................................................... 37
Guessing Game v.3 ........................................................................................................................................... 37
if-else-if Ladder ..................................................................................................................................................... 38
Ternary (?) Operator ............................................................................................................................................. 39
switch Statement (case of) ................................................................................................................................... 41
Nested switch ....................................................................................................................................................... 45
Mini-Project – Java Help System (Help.java) ........................................................................................................ 45
Complete Listing .......................................................................................................................................... 46
Riccardo Flask 2|Page

JAVA for Beginners
The for Loop.......................................................................................................................................................... 48

Multiple Loop Control Variable ........................................................................................................................ 50
Terminating a loop via user intervention ......................................................................................................... 50
Interesting For Loop Variations ........................................................................................................................ 51
Infinite Loops .................................................................................................................................................... 52
No ‘Body’ Loops................................................................................................................................................ 52
Declaring variables inside the loop .................................................................................................................. 52
Enhanced For loop ........................................................................................................................................... 53
The While Loop ..................................................................................................................................................... 54
The do-while Loop ............................................................................................................................................ 55
Mini-Project 2– Java Help System (Help2.java) .................................................................................................... 58
Complete listing ........................................................................................................................................... 59
Using Break to Terminate a Loop ......................................................................................................................... 62
Terminating a loop with break and use labels to carry on execution .............................................................. 63
Use of Continue (complement of Break) .............................................................................................................. 66
Continue + Label............................................................................................................................................... 67
Mini-Project 3– Java Help System (Help3.java) .................................................................................................... 68
Complete Listing .......................................................................................................................................... 68
Nested Loops ........................................................................................................................................................ 71
Class Fundamentals .............................................................................................................................................. 72
Definition .............................................................................................................................................................. 72
The Vehicle Class .............................................................................................................................................. 72
Using the Vehicle class ................................................................................................................................. 73
Creating more than one instance ................................................................................................................ 73
Creating Objects ................................................................................................................................................... 74
Reference Variables and Assignment ................................................................................................................... 74
Methods ............................................................................................................................................................... 75
Returning from a Method ................................................................................................................................ 76
Returning a Value ............................................................................................................................................. 77
Methods which accept Parameters: ................................................................................................................ 79
Project: Creating a Help class from the Help3.java .......................................................................................... 83
Method helpon( ) ......................................................................................................................................... 83
Method showmenu( ) .................................................................................................................................. 84
Method isvalid( ) .......................................................................................................................................... 85
Class Help ..................................................................................................................................................... 85
Main Program: ............................................................................................................................................. 87
Constructors ......................................................................................................................................................... 88

JAVA for Beginners
Constructor having parameters ....................................................................................................................... 89

Overloading Methods and Constructors .......................................................................................................... 90
Method Overloading .................................................................................................................................... 90
Automatic Type Conversion for Parameters of overloaded Methods ......................................................... 92
Overloading Constructors ............................................................................................................................ 94
Access Specifiers: public and private .................................................................................................................... 96
Arrays and Strings ............................................................................................................................................... 101
Arrays .................................................................................................................................................................. 101
One-dimensional Arrays ................................................................................................................................. 101
Sorting an Array – The Bubble Sort ................................................................................................................ 103
Two-Dimensional Arrays: ............................................................................................................................... 104
Different syntax used to declare arrays: .................................................................................................... 105
Array References:....................................................................................................................................... 106
The Length Variable: .................................................................................................................................. 107
Using Arrays to create a Queue data structure ** .................................................................................... 110
The Enhanced ‘for’ Loop: ........................................................................................................................... 113
Strings ................................................................................................................................................................. 114
Using String Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 115
String Arrays ................................................................................................................................................... 117
Vector and ArrayList ........................................................................................................................................... 122
Employee.java ............................................................................................................................................ 125
ComparableDemo.java .............................................................................................................................. 126
File Operations in Java ........................................................................................................................................ 134
Template to read data from disk .................................................................................................................... 138
Template to write (save) data to disk ............................................................................................................ 142
Introduction to GUI using AWT/Swing ............................................................................................................... 143
Using Swing to create a small Window............................................................................................................... 143
Inserting Text inside Window ......................................................................................................................... 144
Creating a simple application implementing JButton, JTextfield and JLabel ................................................. 145

JAVA for Beginners
Introduction
About JAVA
“Java refers to a number of computer software products and specifications from Sun Microsystems
(the Java™ technology) that together provide a system for developing and deploying cross-platform
applications. Java is used in a wide variety of computing platforms spanning from embedded devices
and mobile phones on the low end to enterprise servers and super computers on the high end. Java
is fairly ubiquitous in mobile phones, Web servers and enterprise applications, and somewhat less
common in desktop applications, though users may have come across Java applets when browsing
the Web.
Writing in the Java programming language is the primary way to produce code that will be deployed
as Java bytecode, though there are compilers available for other languages such as JavaScript,
Python and Ruby, and a native Java scripting language called Groovy. Java syntax borrows heavily
from C and C++ but it eliminates certain low-level constructs such as pointers and has a very simple
memory model where every object is allocated on the heap and all variables of object types are
references. Memory management is handled through integrated automatic garbage collection
performed by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).”1
OOP – Object Oriented Programming
OOP is a particular style of programming which involves a particular way of designing solutions to
particular problems. Most modern programming languages, including Java, support this paradigm.
When speaking about OOP one has to mention:
 Inheritance
 Modularity
 Polymorphism
 Encapsulation (binding code and its data)
However at this point it is too early to try to fully understand these concepts.
This guide is divided into two major sections, the first section is an introduction to the language and
illustrates various examples of code while the second part goes into more detail.
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28Sun%29

JAVA for Beginners
Part 1 - Getting Started

The Java Development Kit – JDK
In order to get started in Java programming, one needs to get a recent copy of the Java JDK. This can
be obtained for free by downloading it from the Sun Microsystems website, http://java.sun.com/
Once you download and install this JDK you are ready to get started. You need a text editor as well
and Microsoft’s Notepad (standard with all Windows versions) suits fine.
My first Java program

Open your text editor and type the following lines of code:
/*
This is known as a Block Comment.
My first program These lines are useful to the
programmer and are ignored by the
Version 1 Compiler
*/
public class Example1 {
public static void main (String args []) {
System.out.println ("My first Java program");
Save the file as Example1.java2. The name of the program has to be similar to the filename.
Programs are called classes. Please note that Java is case-sensitive. You cannot name a file
“Example.java” and then in the program you write “public class example”. It is good practice to
insert comments at the start of a program to help you as a programmer understand quickly what the
particular program is all about. This is done by typing “/*” at the start of the comment and “*/”
when you finish. The predicted output of this program is:
My first Java program
In order to get the above output we have to first compile the program and then execute the
compiled class. The applications required for this job are available as part of the JDK:
 javac.exe – compiles the program

 java.exe – the interpreter used to execute the compiled program
In order to compile and execute the program we need to switch to the command prompt. On
windows systems this can be done by clicking Start>Run>cmd
2
Ideally you should create a folder on the root disk (c:\) and save the file there

JAVA for Beginners
At this point one needs some basic DOS commands in order to get to the directory (folder), where
the java class resides:
 cd\ (change directory)

 cd\[folder name] to get to the required folder/directory
When you get to the required destination you need to type the following:
c:\[folder name]\javac Example1.java
The above command will compile the java file and prompt the user with any errors. If the
compilation is successful a new file containing the bytecode is generated: Example1.class
To execute the program, we invoke the interpreter by typing:
c:\[folder name]\java Example1
The result will be displayed in the DOS window.
Using an IDE
Some of you might already be frustrated by this point. However there is still hope as one can forget
about the command prompt and use an IDE (integrated development environment) to work with
Java programming. There are a number of IDE’s present, all of them are fine but perhaps some are
easier to work with than others. It depends on the user’s level of programming and tastes! The
following is a list of some of the IDE’s available:
 BlueJ – www.bluej.org (freeware)

 NetBeans – www.netbeans.org (freeware/open-source)
 JCreator – www.jcreator.com (freeware version available, pro version purchase required)
 Eclipse – www.eclipse.org (freeware/open-source)
 IntelliJ IDEA – www.jetbrains.com (trial/purchase required)
 JBuilder – www.borland.com (trial/purchase required)
Beginners might enjoy BlueJ and then move onto other IDE’s like JCreator, NetBeans, etc. Again it’s
just a matter of the user’s tastes and software development area.

JAVA for Beginners
Variables and Data Types
Variables
A variable is a place where the program stores data temporarily. As the name implies the value
stored in such a location can be changed while a program is executing (compare with constant).
class Example2 {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int var1; // this declares a variable
int var2; // this declares another variable
var1 = 1024; // this assigns 1024 to var1
System.out.println("var1 contains " + var1);
var2 = var1 / 2;
System.out.print("var2 contains var1 / 2: ");
System.out.println(var2);
Predicted Output:
var2 contains var1 / 2: 512
The above program uses two variables, var1 and var2. var1 is assigned a value directly while var2 is
filled up with the result of dividing var1 by 2, i.e. var2 = var1/2. The words int refer to a particular
data type, i.e. integer (whole numbers).
 Test your skills – Example3

As we saw above, we used the ‘/’ to work out the quotient of var1 by 2. Given that ‘+’ would
perform addition, ‘-‘ subtraction and ‘*’ multiplication, write out a program which performs all the
named operations by using two integer values which are hard coded into the program.
Hints:
 You need only two variables of type integer

 Make one variable larger and divisible by the other
 You can perform the required calculations directly in the print statements, remember to
enclose the operation within brackets, e.g. (var1-var2)

JAVA for Beginners
Mathematical Operators
As we saw in the preceding example there are particular symbols used to represent operators when
performing calculations:
Operator Description Example – given a is 15 and b is 6

+ Addition a + b, would return 21
- Subtraction a - b, would return 9
* Multiplication a * b, would return 90
/ Division a / b, would return 2
% Modulus a % b, would return 3 (the remainder)
class Example4 {
int iresult, irem;
double dresult, drem;
iresult = 10 / 3;
irem = 10 % 3;
dresult = 10.0 / 3.0;
drem = 10.0 % 3.0;
System.out.println("Result and remainder of 10 / 3: " +
iresult + " " + irem);
System.out.println("Result and remainder of 10.0 / 3.0: "

+ dresult + " " + drem);
Predicted Output:
Result and Remainder of 10/3: 3 1

Result and Remainder of 10.0/3.0: 3.3333333333333335 1
The difference in range is due to the data type since ‘double’ is a double precision 64-bit floating
point value.
Logical Operators
These operators are used to evaluate an expression and depending on the operator used, a
particular output is obtained. In this case the operands must be Boolean data types and the result is
also Boolean. The following table shows the available logical operators:

JAVA for Beginners
Operator Description
& AND gate behaviour (0,0,0,1)
| OR gate behaviour (0,1,1,1)
^ XOR – exclusive OR (0,1,1,0)
&& Short-circuit AND
|| Short-circuit OR
! Not
class Example5 {
int n, d;
n = 10;
d = 2;
if(d != 0 && (n % d) == 0)
System.out.println(d + " is a factor of " + n);
d = 0; // now, set d to zero
// Since d is zero, the second operand is not evaluated.
if(d != 0 && (n % d) == 0)
/* Now, try same thing without short-circuit operator.
This will cause a divide-by-zero error.
*/
if(d != 0 & (n % d) == 0)
Predicted Output:
*Note if you try to execute the above program you will get an error (division by zero). To be able to
execute it, first comment the last two statements, compile and then execute.
2 is a factor of 10
Riccardo Flask 10 | P a g e
JAVA for Beginners
Trying to understand the above program is a bit difficult, however the program highlights the main
difference in operation between a normal AND (&) and the short-circuit version (&&). In a normal
AND operation, both sides of the expression are evaluated, e.g.
if(d != 0 & (n % d) == 0) – this returns an error as first d is compared to 0 to check inequality and then
the operation (n%d) is computed yielding an error! (divide by zero error)
The short circuit version is smarter since if the left hand side of the expression is false, this mean
that the output has to be false whatever there is on the right hand side of the expression, therefore:
if(d != 0 && (n % d) == 0) – this does not return an error as the (n%d) is not computed since d is
equal to 0, and so the operation (d!=0) returns false, causing the output to be false. Same applies for
the short circuit version of the OR.
Character Escape Codes

The following codes are used to represents codes or characters which cannot be directly accessible
through a keyboard:
Code Description
\n New Line
\t Tab
\b Backspace
\r Carriage Return
\\ Backslash
\’ Single Quotation Mark
\” Double Quotation Mark
\* Octal - * represents a number or Hex digit
\x* Hex
\u* Unicode, e.g. \u2122 = ™ (trademark symbol)
class Example6 {
System.out.println("First line\nSecond line");
System.out.println("A\tB\tC");
System.out.println("D\tE\tF") ;
Predicted Output:
First Line
Second Line
A B C
D E F
JAVA for Beginners

Make a program which creates a sort of truth table to show the behaviour of all the logical operators
mentioned. Hints:
 You need two Boolean type variables which you will initially set both to false
 Use character escape codes to tabulate the results
The following program can be used as a guide:
class LogicTable {
boolean p, q;
System.out.println("P\tQ\tPANDQ\tPORQ\tPXORQ\tNOTP");
p = true; q = true;
System.out.print(p + "\t" + q +"\t");
System.out.print((p&q) + "\t" + (p|q) + "\t");
System.out.println((p^q) + "\t" + (!p));
p = true; q = false;
p = false; q = true;
p = false; q = false;
JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
P Q PANDQ PORQ PXORQ NOTP
true true true true false fals
true false false true true fals
false true false true true true
false false false false false true
Data Types
The following is a list of Java’s primitive data types:
Data Type Description

int Integer – 32bit ranging from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,648
byte 8-bit integer ranging from -128 to 127
short 16-bit integer ranging from -32,768 to 32,768
long 64-bit integer from -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to -9,223,372,036,854,775,808
float Single-precision floating point, 32-bit

double Double-precision floating point, 64-bit
char Character , 16-bit unsigned ranging from 0 to 65,536 (Unicode)
boolean Can be true or false only
The ‘String’ type has not been left out by mistake. It is not a primitive data type, but strings (a
sequence of characters) in Java are treated as Objects.
class Example8 {
int var; // this declares an int variable
double x; // this declares a floating-point variable
var = 10; // assign var the value 10
x = 10.0; // assign x the value 10.0
System.out.println("Original value of var: " + var);
System.out.println("Original value of x: " + x);
System.out.println(); // print a blank line
JAVA for Beginners
// now, divide both by 4
var = var / 4;
x = x / 4;
System.out.println("var after division: " + var);
System.out.println("x after division: " + x);
Predicted output:
Original value of var: 10
Original value of x: 10.0
var after division: 2
x after division: 2.5
One here has to note the difference in precision of the different data types. The following example
uses the character data type. Characters in Java are encoded using Unicode giving a 16-bit range, or
a total of 65,537 different codes.
class Example9 {
char ch;
ch = 'X';
System.out.println("ch contains " + ch);
ch++; // increment ch
System.out.println("ch is now " + ch);
ch = 90; // give ch the value Z
System.out.println("ch is now " + ch);
JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
ch is now X
ch is now Y
ch is now Z
The character ‘X’ is encoded as the number 88, hence when we increment ‘ch’, we get character
number 89, or ‘Y’.
The Boolean data type can be either TRUE or FALSE. It can be useful when controlling flow of a
program by assigning the Boolean data type to variables which function as flags. Thus program flow
would depend on the condition of these variables at the particular instance. Remember that the
output of a condition is always Boolean.
class Example10 {
boolean b;
b = false;
System.out.println("b is " + b);
b = true;
System.out.println("b is " + b);
// a boolean value can control the if statement
if(b) System.out.println("This is executed.");
b = false;
if(b) System.out.println("This is not executed.");
// outcome of a relational operator is a boolean value
System.out.println("10 > 9 is " + (10 > 9));
Predicted output:
b is false
b is true
This is executed
10 > 9 is true
JAVA for Beginners
Introducing Control Statements

These statements will be dealt with in more detail further on in this booklet. For now we will learn
about the if and the for loop.
class Example11 {
int a,b,c;
a = 2;
b = 3;
c = a - b;
if (c >= 0) System.out.println("c is a positive number");
if (c < 0) System.out.println("c is a negative number");
System.out.println();
c = b - a;
if (c >= 0) System.out.println("c is a positive number");
if (c < 0) System.out.println("c is a negative number");
Predicted output:
c is a negative number
c is a positive number
The ‘if’ statement evaluates a condition and if the result is true, then the following statement/s are
executed, else they are just skipped (refer to program output). The line System.out.println() simply
inserts a blank line. Conditions use the following comparison operators:
Operator Description
< Smaller than
> Greater than
<= Smaller or equal to, (a<=3) : if a is 2 or 3, then result of comparison is TRUE
>= Greater or equal to, (a>=3) : if a is 3 or 4, then result of comparison is TRUE
== Equal to
!= Not equal
JAVA for Beginners
The for loop is an example of an iterative code, i.e. this statement will cause the program to repeat a
particular set of code for a particular number of times. In the following example we will be using a
counter which starts at 0 and ends when it is smaller than 5, i.e. 4. Therefore the code following the
for loop will iterate for 5 times.
class Example12 {
int count;
for(count = 0; count < 5; count = count+1)
System.out.println("This is count: " + count);
System.out.println("Done!");
Predicted Output:
This is count: 0
This is count: 1
This is count: 2
This is count: 3
This is count: 4
Done!
Instead of count = count+1, this increments the counter, we can use count++
The following table shows all the available shortcut operators:
Operator Description Example Description

++ Increment a++ a = a + 1 (adds one from a)
-- Decrement a-- a = a – 1 (subtract one from a)
+= Add and assign a+=2 a=a+2
-= Subtract and assign a-=2 a=a–2
*= Multiply and assign a*=3 a=a*3
/= Divide and assign a/=4 a=a/4
%= Modulus and assign a%=5 a = a mod 5
JAVA for Beginners
Blocks of Code
Whenever we write an IF statement or a loop, if there is more than one statement of code which has
to be executed, this has to be enclosed in braces, i.e. ‘, …. -’
class Example13 {
double i, j, d;
i = 5;
j = 10;
if(i != 0) {
System.out.println("i does not equal zero");
d = j / i; Block of
Code
System.out.print("j / i is " + d);
Predicted Output:
i does not equal to zero
j/i is 2

Write a program which can be used to display a conversion table, e.g. Euros to Malta Liri, or Metres
to Kilometres.
Hints:
 One variable is required

 You need a loop
The Euro Converter has been provided for you for guidance. Note loop starts at 1 and finishes at 100
(<101). In this case since the conversion rate does not change we did not use a variable, but assigned
it directly in the print statement.
class EuroConv {
JAVA for Beginners
public static void main (String args []){
double eu;
System.out.println("Euro conversion table:");
for (eu=1;eu<101;eu++)
System.out.println(eu+" Euro is euqivalent to Lm

"+(eu*0.43));
The Math Class

In order to perform certain mathematical operations like square root (sqrt), or power (pow); Java
has a built in class containing a number of methods as well as static constants, e.g.
Pi = 3.141592653589793 and E = 2.718281828459045. All the methods involving angles use radians
and return a double (excluding the Math.round()).
class Example15 {
double x, y, z;
x = 3;
y = 4;
z = Math.sqrt(x*x + y*y);
System.out.println("Hypotenuse is " +z);
Predicted Output:
Hypotenuse is 5.0
Please note that whenever a method is called, a particular nomenclature is used where we first
specify the class that the particular method belongs to, e.g. Math.round( ); where Math is the class
name and round is the method name. If a particular method accepts parameters, these are placed in
brackets, e.g. Math.max(2.8, 12.9) – in this case it would return 12.9 as being the larger number. A
JAVA for Beginners
useful method is the Math.random( ) which would return a random number ranging between 0.0
and 1.0.
Scope and Lifetime of Variables

The following simple programs, illustrate how to avoid programming errors by taking care where to
initialize variables depending on the scope.
class Example16 {
int x; // known to all code within main
x = 10;
if(x == 10) { // start new scope
int y = 20; // known only to this block
// x and y both known here.
System.out.println("x and y: " + x + " " + y);
x = y * 2;
// y = 100; // Error! y not known here
// x is still known here.
System.out.println("x is " + x);
Predicted Output:
x and y: 10 20
x is 40
If we had to remove the comment marks from the line, y = 100; we would get an error during
compilation as y is not known since it only exists within the block of code following the ‘if’
statement.
The next program shows that y is initialized each time the code belonging to the looping sequence is
executed; therefore y is reset to -1 each time and then set to 100. This operation is repeated for
three (3) times.
JAVA for Beginners
class Example17 {
int x;
for(x = 0; x < 3; x++) {
int y = -1; // y is initialized each time block is

entered
System.out.println("y is: " + y); // this always

prints -1
y = 100;
System.out.println("y is now: " + y);
Predicted Output:
y is: -1
y is now: 100
y is: -1
y is now: 100
y is: -1
y is now: 100
Type Casting and Conversions

Casting is the term used when a value is converted from one data type to another, except for
Boolean data types which cannot be converted to any other type. Usually conversion occurs to a
data type which has a larger range or else there could be loss of precision.
class Example18 { //long to double automatic conversion
long L;
double D;
L = 100123285L;
D = L; // L = D is impossible
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("L and D: " + L + " " + D);
Predicted Output:
L and D: 100123285 1.00123285E8
The general formula used in casting is as follows: (target type) expression, where target type could
be int, float, or short, e.g. (int) (x/y)
class Example19 { //CastDemo
double x, y;
byte b;
int i;
char ch;
x = 10.0;
y = 3.0;
i = (int) (x / y); // cast double to int
System.out.println("Integer outcome of x / y: " + i);
i = 100;
b = (byte) i;
System.out.println("Value of b: " + b);
i = 257;
b = (byte) i;
System.out.println("Value of b: " + b);
b = 88; // ASCII code for X
ch = (char) b;
System.out.println("ch: " + ch);
JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
Integer outcome of x / y: 3
Value of b: 100
Value of b: 1
ch: X
In the above program, x and y are doubles and so we have loss of precision when converting to
integer. We have no loss when converting the integer 100 to byte, but when trying to convert 257 to
byte we have loss of precision as 257 exceeds the size which can hold byte. Finally we have casting
from byte to char.
class Example20 {
byte b;
int i;
b = 10;
i = b * b; // OK, no cast needed
b = 10;
b = (byte) (b * b); // cast needed!! as cannot assing int

to byte
System.out.println("i and b: " + i + " " + b);
Predicted Output:
i and b: 100 100
The above program illustrates the difference between automatic conversion and casting. When we
are assigning a byte to integer, i = b * b, the conversion is automatic. When performing an arithmetic
operation the byte type are promoted to integer automatically, but if we want the result as byte, we
have to cast it back to byte. This explains why there is the statement: b = (byte) (b * b). Casting has
to be applied also if adding variables of type char, as result would else be integer.
JAVA for Beginners
Console Input
Most students at this point would be wondering how to enter data while a program is executing.
This would definitely make programs more interesting as it adds an element of interactivity at run-
time. This is not that straight forward in Java, since Java was not designed to handle console input.
The following are the three most commonly used methods to cater for input:
Using the Keyboard Class

One can create a class, which would contain methods to cater for input of the various data types.
Another option is to search the internet for the Keyboard Class. This class is easily found as it is used
in beginners Java courses. This class is usually found in compiled version, i.e. keyboard.class. This file
has to be put in the project folder or else placed directly in the Java JDK. The following is the source
code for the Keyboard class just in case it is not available online!
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
public class Keyboard {
//************* Error Handling Section
private static boolean printErrors = true;
private static int errorCount = 0;
// Returns the current error count.
public static int getErrorCount(){
return errorCount;
}
// Resets the current error count to zero.
public static void resetErrorCount (int count){
errorCount = 0;
// Returns a boolean indicating whether input errors are
// currently printed to standard output.
public static boolean getPrintErrors(){
return printErrors;
JAVA for Beginners
// Sets a boolean indicating whether input errors are to be
// printed to standard output.
public static void setPrintErrors (boolean flag){
printErrors = flag;
// Increments the error count and prints the error message
// if appropriate.
private static void error (String str){
errorCount++;
if (printErrors)
System.out.println (str);
//************* Tokenized Input Stream Section ****
private static String current_token = null;
private static StringTokenizer reader;
private static BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader
(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
// Gets the next input token assuming it may be on

// subsequent input lines.
private static String getNextToken() {
return getNextToken (true);
// Gets the next input token, which may already have been
//read.
private static String getNextToken (boolean skip) {
String token;
if (current_token == null)
token = getNextInputToken (skip);
JAVA for Beginners
else {
token = current_token;
current_token = null;
return token;
// Gets the next token from the input, which may come from
// the current input line or a subsequent one. The
// parameter determines if subsequent lines are used.
private static String getNextInputToken (boolean skip) {
final String delimiters = " \t\n\r\f";
String token = null;
try {
if (reader == null)
reader = new StringTokenizer
(in.readLine(), delimiters, true);
while (token == null ||
((delimiters.indexOf (token) >= 0) && skip)){
while (!reader.hasMoreTokens())
reader = new StringTokenizer
(in.readLine(), delimiters,true);
token = reader.nextToken();
catch (Exception exception) {
token = null;
JAVA for Beginners
return token;
// Returns true if there are no more tokens to read on the
// current input line.
public static boolean endOfLine() {
return !reader.hasMoreTokens();
//************* Reading Section
// Returns a string read from standard input.
public static String readString() {
String str;
try {
str = getNextToken(false);
while (! endOfLine()) {
str = str + getNextToken(false);
catch (Exception exception){
error ("Error reading String data, null value

returned.");
str = null;
return str;
// Returns a space-delimited substring (a word) read from
// standard input.
public static String readWord() {
String token;
JAVA for Beginners
try {
token = getNextToken();
error ("Error reading String data, null value

returned.");
token = null;
return token;
// Returns a boolean read from standard input.
public static boolean readBoolean() {
String token = getNextToken();
boolean bool;
try {
if (token.toLowerCase().equals("true"))
bool = true;
else if (token.toLowerCase().equals("false"))
bool = false;
else {
error ("Error reading boolean data, false value

returned.");
bool = false;
error ("Error reading boolean data, false value

returned.");
JAVA for Beginners
bool = false;
return bool;
// Returns a character read from standard input.
public static char readChar() {
String token = getNextToken(false);
char value;
try {
if (token.length() > 1) {
current_token = token.substring (1,

token.length());
} else current_token = null;
value = token.charAt (0);
error ("Error reading char data, MIN_VALUE value

returned.");
value = Character.MIN_VALUE;
return value;
// Returns an integer read from standard input.
public static int readInt() {
int value;
try {
value = Integer.parseInt (token);
JAVA for Beginners
error ("Error reading int data, MIN_VALUE value

returned.");
value = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
return value;
// Returns a long integer read from standard input.
public static long readLong(){
long value;
try {
value = Long.parseLong (token);
error ("Error reading long data, MIN_VALUE value

returned.");
value = Long.MIN_VALUE;
return value;
// Returns a float read from standard input.
public static float readFloat() {
float value;
try {
value = (new Float(token)).floatValue();
JAVA for Beginners
error ("Error reading float data, NaN value

returned.");
value = Float.NaN;
return value;
// Returns a double read from standard input.
public static double readDouble() {
double value;
try {
value = (new Double(token)).doubleValue();
error ("Error reading double data, NaN value

returned.");
value = Double.NaN;
return value;
The above class contains the following methods:
 public static String readString ()

o Reads and returns a string, to the end of the line, from standard input.
 public static String readWord ()
o Reads and returns one space-delimited word from standard input.
 public static boolean readBoolean ()
JAVA for Beginners
o Reads and returns a boolean value from standard input. Returns false if an exception
occurs during the read.
 public static char readChar ()
o Reads and returns a character from standard input. Returns MIN_VALUE if an
exception occurs during the read.
 public static int readInt ()
o Reads and returns an integer value from standard input. Returns MIN_VALUE if an
exception occurs during the read.
 public static long readLong ()
o Reads and returns a long integer value from standard input. Returns MIN_VALUE if
an exception occurs during the read.
 public static float readFloat ()
o Reads and returns a float value from standard input. Returns NaN if an exception
 public static double readDouble ()
o Reads and returns a double value from standard input. Returns NaN if an exception
 public static int getErrorCount()
o Returns the number of errors recorded since the Keyboard class was loaded or since
the last error count reset.
 public static void resetErrorCount (int count)
o Resets the current error count to zero.
 public static boolean getPrintErrors ()
o Returns a boolean indicating whether input errors are currently printed to standard
output.
 public static void setPrintErrors (boolean flag)
o Sets the boolean indicating whether input errors are to be printed to standard input.
Let’s try it out by writing a program which accepts three integers and working the average:
public class KeyboardInput {
public static void main (String args[]) {
System.out.println("Enter a number:");
int a = Keyboard.readInt ();
System.out.println("Enter a second number:");
int b = Keyboard.readInt ();
System.out.println("Enter a third number:");
int c = Keyboard.readInt ();
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("The average is " + (a+b+c)/3);
After printing a statement, the program will wait for the use r to enter a number and store it in the
particular variable. It utilizes the readInt( ) method. Finally it will display the result of the average.
Using the Scanner Class

In Java 5 a particular class was added, the Scanner class. This class allows users to create an instance
of this class and use its methods to perform input. Let us look at the following example which
performs the same operation as the one above (works out the average of three numbers):
import java.util.Scanner;
public class ScannerInput {
public static void main(String[] args) {
//... Initialize Scanner to read from console.
Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("Enter first number : ");
int a = input.nextInt();
System.out.print("Enter second number: ");
int b = input.nextInt();
System.out.print("Enter last number : ");
int c = input.nextInt();
System.out.println("Average is " + (a+b+c)/3);
By examining the code we see that first we have to import the java.util.Scanner as part of the
java.util package. Next we create an instance of Scanner and name it as we like, in this case we
named it “input”. We have to specify also the type of input expected (System.in). The rest is similar
to the program which uses the Keyboard class, the only difference is the name of the method used,
in this case it is called nextInt ( ) rather than readInt( ). This time the method is called as part of the
instance created, i.e. input.nextInt( )
JAVA for Beginners
Using Swing Components

This is probably the most exciting version, since the Swing package offers a graphical user interface
(GUI) which allows the user to perform input into a program via the mouse, keyboard and other
input devices.
import javax.swing.*; // * means „all‟
public class SwingInput {
String temp; // Temporary storage for input.
temp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "First

number");
int a = Integer.parseInt(temp); // String to int
temp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "Second

number");
int b = Integer.parseInt(temp);
temp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "Third

number");
int c = Integer.parseInt(temp);
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Average is " +

(a+b+c)/3);
One has to note that the input is stored as a string, temp, and then parsed to integer using the
method parseInt( ). This time the method accepts a parameter, temp, and returns an integer. When
the above program is executed, a dialog box will appear on screen with a field to accept input from
user via keyboard (JOptionPane.showInputDialog). This is repeated three times and finally the result
is again displayed in a dialog box (JOptionPane.showMessageDialog).
JOptionPane.showInputDialog JOptionPane.showMessageDialog
JAVA for Beginners
Part 2 - Advanced Java Programming
Control Statements - The if Statement
if(condition) statement;
else statement;
Note:
 else clause is optional

 targets of both the if and else can be blocks of statements.
The general form of the if, using blocks of statements, is:
if(condition)
statement sequence
else
statement sequence
If the conditional expression is true, the target of the if will be executed; otherwise, if it exists,
the target of the else will be executed. At no time will both of them be executed. The conditional
expression controlling the if must produce a boolean result.
JAVA for Beginners
Guessing Game (Guess.java)
The program asks the player for a letter between A and Z. If the player presses the correct letter on
the keyboard, the program responds by printing the message **Right **.
// Guess the letter game.
class Guess {
public static void main(String args[])
throws java.io.IOException {
char ch, answer = 'K';
System.out.println("I'm thinking of a letter between A

and Z.");
System.out.print("Can you guess it: ");
ch = (char) System.in.read(); // read a char from the

keyboard
if(ch == answer) System.out.println("** Right **");
Extending the above program to use the else statement:
// Guess the letter game, 2nd version.
class Guess2 {

and Z.");
ch = (char) System.in.read(); // get a char
else System.out.println("...Sorry, you're wrong.");
JAVA for Beginners
Nested if
The main thing to remember about nested ifs in Java is that an else statement always refers to the
nearest if statement that is within the same block as the else and not already associated with an
else. Here is an example:
if(i == 10) {
if(j < 20) a = b;
if(k > 100) c = d;
else a = c; // this else refers to if(k > 100)
else a = d; // this else refers to if(i == 10)
Guessing Game v.3
// Guess the letter game, 3rd version.
class Guess3 {

and Z.");
else {
System.out.print("...Sorry, you're ");
// a nested if
if(ch < answer) System.out.println("too low");
else System.out.println("too high");
JAVA for Beginners
A sample run is shown here:
I'm thinking of a letter between A and Z.
Can you guess it: Z
...Sorry, you're too high
if-else-if Ladder
if(condition)
statement;
else if(condition)
statement;
else if(condition)
statement;
...
else
statement;
The conditional expressions are evaluated from the top downward. As soon as a true condition is
found, the statement associated with it is executed, and the rest of the ladder is bypassed. If none of
the conditions is true, the final else statement will be executed. The final else often acts as a default
condition; that is, if all other conditional tests fail, the last else statement is performed. If there is no
final else and all other conditions are false, no action will take place.
// Demonstrate an if-else-if ladder.
class Ladder {
int x;
for(x=0; x<6; x++) {
if(x==1)
System.out.println("x is one");
else if(x==2)
System.out.println("x is two");
JAVA for Beginners
else if(x==3)
System.out.println("x is three");
else if(x==4)
System.out.println("x is four");
else
System.out.println("x is not between 1 and 4");
The program produces the following output:
x is not between 1 and 4
x is one
x is two
x is three
x is four
x is not between 1 and 4
Ternary (?) Operator
Declared as follows:
Exp1 ? Exp2 : Exp3;
Exp1 would be a boolean expression, and Exp2 and Exp3 are expressions of any type other than
void. The type of Exp2 and Exp3 must be the same, though. Notice the use and placement of the
colon. Consider this example, which assigns absval the absolute value of val:
absval = val < 0 ? -val : val; // get absolute value of val
Here, absval will be assigned the value of val if val is zero or greater. If val is negative, then absval
will be assigned the negative of that value (which yields a positive value).
JAVA for Beginners
The same code written using the if-else structure would look like this:
if(val < 0) absval = -val;

else absval = val;
e.g. 2 This program divides two numbers, but will not allow a division by zero.
// Prevent a division by zero using the ?.

class NoZeroDiv {
int result;
for(int i = -5; i < 6; i++) {
result = i != 0 ? 100 / i : 0;
if(i != 0)
System.out.println("100 / " + i + " is " + result);
}
}
}
The output from the program is shown here:
100 / -5 is -20
100 / -4 is -25
100 / -3 is -33
100 / -2 is -50
100 / -1 is -100
100 / 1 is 100
100 / 2 is 50
100 / 3 is 33
100 / 4 is 25
100 / 5 is 20
Please note:
result = i != 0 ? 100 / i : 0;
result is assigned the outcome of the division of 100 by i. However, this division takes place only if i
is not zero. When i is zero, a placeholder value of zero is assigned to result. Here is the preceding
program rewritten a bit more efficiently. It produces the same output as before.
// Prevent a division by zero using the ?.

class NoZeroDiv2 {
for(int i = -5; i < 6; i++)
if(i != 0 ? true : false)
System.out.println("100 / " + i +
" is " + 100 / i);
}
}
Notice the if statement. If i is zero, then the outcome of the if is false, the division by zero is
prevented, and no result is displayed. Otherwise the division takes place.
JAVA for Beginners
switch Statement (case of)
The switch provides for a multi-way branch. Thus, it enables a program to select among several
alternatives. Although a series of nested if statements can perform multi-way tests, for many
situations the switch is a more efficient approach.
switch(expression) {
case constant1:
statement sequence
break;
case constant2:
statement sequence
break;
case constant3:
statement sequence
break;
...
default:
statement sequence
 The switch expression can be of type char, byte, short, or int. (Floating-point expressions,
for example, are not allowed.)
 Frequently, the expression controlling the switch is simply a variable.
 The case constants must be literals of a type compatible with the expression.
 No two case constants in the same switch can have identical values.
 The default statement sequence is executed if no case constant matches the expression.
The default is optional; if it is not present, no action takes place if all matches fail. When a
match is found, the statements associated with that case are executed until the break is
encountered or, in the case of default or the last case, until the end of the switch is reached.
JAVA for Beginners
The following program demonstrates the switch.
// Demonstrate the switch.
class SwitchDemo {
int i;
for(i=0; i<10; i++)
switch(i) {
case 0:
System.out.println("i is zero");
break;
case 1:
System.out.println("i is one");
break;
case 2:
System.out.println("i is two");
break;
case 3:
System.out.println("i is three");
break;
case 4:
System.out.println("i is four");
break;
default:
System.out.println("i is five or more");
JAVA for Beginners
The output produced by this program is shown here:
i is zero
i is one
i is two
i is three
i is four
i is five or more
i is five or more
i is five or more
i is five or more
i is five or more
The break statement is optional, although most applications of the switch will use it. When
encountered within the statement sequence of a case, the break statement causes program flow to
exit from the entire switch statement and resume at the next statement outside the switch.
However, if a break statement does not end the statement sequence associated with a case, then all
the statements at and following the matching case will be executed until a break (or the end of the
switch) is encountered. For example,
// Demonstrate the switch without break statements.
class NoBreak {
int i;
for(i=0; i<=5; i++) {
switch(i) {
case 0:
System.out.println("i is less than one");
case 1:
System.out.println("i is less than two");
case 2:
System.out.println("i is less than three");
case 3:
System.out.println("i is less than four");
case 4:
System.out.println("i is less than five");
JAVA for Beginners
Output:
i is less than one

i is less than two
i is less than three
i is less than four
i is less than five
i is less than two
i is less than four
i is less than five
i is less than four
i is less than five
i is less than four
i is less than five
i is less than five
Execution will continue into the next case if no break statement is present.
You can have empty cases, as shown in this example:
switch(i) {
case 1:
case 2:
case 3: System.out.println("i is 1, 2 or 3");
break;
case 4: System.out.println("i is 4");
break;
JAVA for Beginners
Nested switch
switch(ch1) {
case 'A': System.out.println("This A is part of outer

switch.");
switch(ch2) {
case 'A':
System.out.println("This A is part of inner

switch");
break;
case 'B': // ...
} // end of inner switch
break;
case 'B': // ...
 Mini-Project – Java Help System (Help.java)

Your program should display the following options on screen:
Help on:
1. if
2. switch
Choose one:
To accomplish this, you will use the statement
System.out.println("Help on:");
System.out.println(" 1. if");
System.out.println(" 2. switch");
System.out.print("Choose one:
Next, the program obtains the user’s selection
choice = (char) System.in.read();
Once the selection has been obtained, the display the syntax for the selected statement.
JAVA for Beginners
switch(choice) {
case '1':
System.out.println("The if:\
System.out.println("if(condition)
System.out.println("else statement;");
break;
case '2':
System.out.println("The switch:\
System.out.println("switch(
System.out.println(" case
System.out.println(" statement default clause catches invalid choices. For

example, if the user enters 3, no case constants
System.out.println(" break;");
will match, causing the default sequence to
System.out.println(" // ..."); execute.
System.out.println("}");
break;
default:
System.out.print("Selection not found.");
Complete Listing
/*
Project 3-1
A simple help system.
*/
class Help {
JAVA for Beginners
char choice;
System.out.print("Choose one: ");
System.out.println("\n");
switch(choice) {
case '1':
System.out.println("The if:\n");
System.out.println("if(condition) statement;");
break;
case '2':
System.out.println("The switch:\n");
System.out.println("switch(expression) {");
System.out.println(" case constant:");
System.out.println(" statement sequence");
System.out.println(" // ...");
break;
default:
System.out.print("Selection not found.");
JAVA for Beginners
Sample run:
Help on:
1. if
2. switch
Choose one: 1
The if:
if(condition) statement;
else statement;
The for Loop
Loops are structures used to make the program repeat one or many instructions for ‘n’ times as
specified in the declaration of the loop.
The for Loop can be used for just one statement:
for(initialization; condition; iteration) statement;
or to repeat a block of code:
for(initialization; condition; iteration)
statement sequence
 Initialization = assignment statement that sets the initial value of the loop control variable,
(counter)
 Condition = Boolean expression that determines whether or not the loop will repeat
 Iteration = amount by which the loop control variable will change each time the loop is
repeated.
 The for loop executes only/till the condition is true.
JAVA for Beginners
Example: using a ‘for’ loop to print the square roots of the numbers between 1 and 99. (It also
displays the rounding error present for each square root).
// Show square roots of 1 to 99 and the rounding error.
class SqrRoot {
double num, sroot, rerr;
for(num = 1.0; num < 100.0; num++) {
sroot = Math.sqrt(num);
System.out.println("Square root of " + num +
" is " + sroot);
// compute rounding error
rerr = num - (sroot * sroot);
System.out.println("Rounding error is " + rerr);
‘For’ loop counters (loop control variables) can either increment or decrement,
// A negatively running for loop.
class DecrFor { Counter

public static void main(String args[]) { decrements by 5
int x;
(x = x – 5)
for(x = 100; x > -100; x -= 5)
System.out.println(x);
JAVA for Beginners
Multiple Loop Control Variable

Using more than one variable in the same loop is possible:
// Use commas in a for statement.

‘i’ and ‘j’ are the
class Comma {
two variables used
public static void main(String args[]) { in the same loop
int i, j;
for(i=0, j=10; i < j; i++, j--)
System.out.println("i and j: " + i + " " + j);
Expected output:
i and j: 0 10
i and j: 1 9
i and j: 2 8
i and j: 3 7
i and j: 4 6
Terminating a loop via user intervention

Let us write a program which involves a loop and this is stopped when the user types ‘s’ on the
keyboard:
// Loop until an S is typed.
class ForTest {
int i;
System.out.println("Press S to stop.");
for(i = 0; (char) System.in.read() != 'S'; i++)
System.out.println("Pass #" + i);
JAVA for Beginners
Interesting For Loop Variations

It is possible to leave out parts of the loop declaration:
// Example 1 - Parts of the for can be empty.
class Empty {
int i;
for(i = 0; i < 10; ) {
i++; // increment loop control var
// Example 2 - Parts of the for can be empty.
class Empty2 {
int i;
i = 0; // move initialization out of loop
for(; i < 10; ) {
i++; // increment loop control var
Initialising the loop out of the ‘for’ statement is only required when the value needs to be a result of
another complex process which cannot be written inside the declaration.
JAVA for Beginners
Infinite Loops
Sometimes one needs to create an infinite loop, i.e. a loop which never ends! (However it can be
stopped using the break statement). An example of an infinite loop declaration is as follows:
for(;;)
// … statements
N.B. Using break to terminate an infinite loop will be discussed later on in the course.
No ‘Body’ Loops
Loops can be declared without a body. This can be useful in particular situations, consider the
following example:
// Loop without body.
class Empty3 {

Two operations are carried
int i;
on, sum = sum + i and
int sum = 0;
i=i+1
// sum the numbers through 5
for(i = 1; i <= 5; sum += i++) ;
System.out.println("Sum is " + sum);
Predicted Output:
Sum is 15
Declaring variables inside the loop

Variables can be declared inside the loop itself but one must remember that in such case the
variable exists only inside the loop!
JAVA for Beginners
// Declare loop variable inside the for.
class ForVar {
int sum = 0;
int fact = 1;
// compute the factorial of the numbers through 5
for(int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
sum += i; // i is known throughout the loop
fact *= i;
// but, i is not known here.
System.out.println("Sum is " + sum);
System.out.println("Factorial is " + fact);
Enhanced For loop

This type of loop will be discussed later on in the course as it involves arrays.
JAVA for Beginners
The While Loop

while (condition) statement; //or more than one statement
The condition could be any valid Boolean expression. The loop will function only if the condition is
true. If false it will move on to the next line of code.
// Demonstrate the while loop.
class WhileDemo {
char ch;
// print the alphabet using a while loop
ch = 'a';
while(ch <= 'z') {
System.out.print(ch);
ch++;
The above program will output the alphabet. As can be seen in the code the while loop will result
false when the character is greater than ‘z’. The condition is tested at the beginning of the program.
// Compute integer powers of 2.
class Power {
int e;
int result;
for(int i=0; i < 10; i++) {
result = 1;
e = i;
while(e > 0) {
result *= 2;
e--;
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("2 to the power of " + i + " is "

+ result);
Predicted Output:
2 to the power of 0 is 1
2 to the power … (up to „of 9 is 512‟)
The do-while Loop

This conditional statement checks the Boolean expression after going at least one time through the
loop. The do-while is declared as follows:
do {
statements;
} while(condition);
Braces are used if there is more than one statements and to improve program readability.
// Demonstrate the do-while loop.
class DWDemo {
char ch;
do {
System.out.print("Press a key followed by ENTER: ");
} while(ch != 'q');
JAVA for Beginners
// Guess the letter game, 4th version.
class Guess4 {
do {
System.out.println("I'm thinking of a letter between

A and Z.");
// read a letter, but skip cr/lf
do {
The function ch = (char) System.in.read(); // get a char
of this
} while(ch == '\n' | ch == '\r');
statement is
to skip if(ch == answer) System.out.println("** Right **");
carriage else {
return and line
System.out.print("...Sorry, you're ");
feed
characters if(ch < answer) System.out.println("too low");
else System.out.println("too high");
System.out.println("Try again!\n");
} while(answer != ch);
Predicted Output:
Can you guess it: A
...Sorry, you're too low
Try again!
JAVA for Beginners
Can you guess it: Z
...Sorry, you're too high
Try again!
Can you guess it: K
** Right **
JAVA for Beginners
 Mini-Project 2– Java Help System (Help2.java)
We are going to work on our previous project. Copy all the code and add the following code:
do {
System.out.println(" 3. for");
System.out.println(" 4. while");
System.out.println(" 5. do-while\n");
do {
} while(choice == '\n' | choice == '\r');
} while( choice < '1' | choice > '5');
Now extend the switch as follows:
switch(choice) {
case '1':
break;
case '2':
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break;
case '3':
System.out.println("The for:\n");
System.out.print("for(init; condition; iteration)");
System.out.println(" statement;");
break;
case '4':
System.out.println("The while:\n");
System.out.println("while(condition) statement;");
break;
case '5':
System.out.println("The do-while:\n");
System.out.println("do {");
System.out.println("} while (condition);");
break;
The default statement has been removed as the loop ensures that a proper response is entered or
else the program will continue to execute.
Complete listing
/*
Project 3-2
An improved Help system that uses a
do-while to process a menu selection.
*/
class Help2 {
char choice;
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do {
System.out.println(" 5. do-while\n");
do {
} while( choice < '1' | choice > '5');
switch(choice) {
case '1':
System.out.println("if(condition)
statement;");
break;
case '2':
break;
case '3':
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System.out.print("for(init; condition;
iteration)");
break;
case '4':
System.out.println("while(condition)
statement;");
break;
case '5':
break;
JAVA for Beginners
Using Break to Terminate a Loop
One can use the ‘break’ command to terminate voluntarily a loop. Execution will continue from the
next line following the loop statements,
e.g. 1 Automatic termination (hard-coded)
class BreakDemo {
int num;
num = 100;
for(int i=0; i < num; i++) {
if(i*i >= num) break; // terminate loop if i*i >= 100
System.out.print(i + " ");
}
System.out.println("Loop complete."); When i = 10, i*i = 100. Therefore
} the ‘if’ condition is satisfied and
}
the loop terminates before i = 100
Expected Output:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Loop complete.
e.g. 2 Termination via user intervention
class Break2 {
char ch;
for( ; ; ) {
if(ch == 'q') break;
}
System.out.println("You pressed q!");
}
}
In the above program there is an infinite loop, for( ; ; ) . This means that the program will
never terminate unless the user presses a particular letter on the keyboard, in this case ‘q’.
If we have nested loops, i.e. a loop within a loop, the ‘break’ will terminate the inner loop. It is not
recommended to use many ‘break’ statement in nested loops as it could lead to bad programs.
However there could be more than one ‘break’ statement in a loop. If there is a switch statement in
a loop, the ‘break’ statement will affect the switch statement only. The following code shows an
example of nested loops using the ‘break’ to terminate the inner loop;
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// Using break with nested loops
class Break3 {
for(int i=0; i<3; i++) {
System.out.println("Outer loop count: " + i);
System.out.print(" Inner loop count: ");
int t = 0;
while(t < 100) {
if(t == 10) break; // terminate loop if t is 10
System.out.print(t + " ");
t++;
}
}
System.out.println("Loops complete.");
}
}
Predicted Output:
Outer loop count: 0

Inner loop count: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Outer loop count: 1
Inner loop count: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Outer loop count: 2
Inner loop count: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Loops complete.
Terminating a loop with break and use labels to carry on execution
Programmers refer to this technique as the GOTO function where one instructs the program to jump
to another location in the code and continue execution. However Java does not offer this feature but
it can be implemented by using break and labels. Labels can be any valid Java identifier and a colon
should follow. Labels have to be declared before a block of code, e.g.
// Using break with labels.
class Break4 {
public static void main(String args[]) { One, two and three are
int i; labels
for(i=1; i<4; i++) {
one: {
two: {
three: {
System.out.println("\ni is " + i);
if(i==1) break one;
if(i==2) break two;
if(i==3) break three;
// the following statement is never executed
System.out.println("won't print");
}
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System.out.println("After block three.");  three

}
System.out.println("After block two.");  two
}
System.out.println("After block one.");  one
}
//the following statement executes on termination of the

for loop
System.out.println("After for.");
}
}
Predicted Output:
i is 1
After block one.
i is 2
After block two.
After block one.
i is 3
After block three.
After block two.
After block one.
After for.
Interpreting the above code can prove to be quite tricky. When ‘i’ is 1, execution will break after the
first ‘if’ statement and resume where there is the label ‘one’. This will execute the statement
labelled ‘one’ above. When ‘i’ is 2, this time execution will resume at the point labelled ‘two’ and
hence will also execute the following statements including the one labelled ‘one’.
The following code is another example using labels but this time the label marks a point outside the
loop:
class Break5 {
done:
for(int i=0; i<10; i++) {
for(int j=0; j<10; j++) {
for(int k=0; k<10; k++) {
System.out.println(k);
if(k == 5) break done; // jump to done
}
System.out.println("After k loop"); // skipped
}
System.out.println("After j loop"); // skipped
}
System.out.println("After i loop");
}
}
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Predicted Output:
0
1
2
3
4
5
After i loop
The ‘k’ loop is terminated when ‘k’ = 5. However the ‘j’ loop is skipped since the break operation
cause execution to resume at a point outside the loops. Hence only the ‘i’ loop terminates and thus
the relevant statement is printed.
The next example shows the difference in execution taking care to where one puts the label:
class Break6 {
int x=0, y=0;
stop1: for(x=0; x < 5; x++) {
for(y = 0; y < 5; y++) {
if(y == 2) break stop1;
}
}
for(x=0; x < 5; x++)
stop2: {
for(y = 0; y < 5; y++) {
if(y == 2) break stop2;
}
}
}
}
In the first part the inner loop stops when ‘y’ = 2. The
Predicted Output: break operation forces the program to skip the outer
x and y: 0 0 ‘for’ loop, print a blank line and start the next set of
x and y: 0 1 loops. This time the label is placed after the ‘for’ loop
declaration. Hence the break operation is only
x and y: 0 0
x and y: 0 1 operating on the inner loop this time. In fact ‘x’ goes
x and y: 1 0 all the way from 0 to 4, with ‘y’ always stopping
x and y: 1 1
x and y: 2 0
when it reaches a value of 2.
x and y: 2 1
x and y: 3 0
x and y: 3 1
x and y: 4 0
x and y: 4 1
JAVA for Beginners
The break – label feature can only be used within the same block of code. The following code is an
example of misuse of the break – label operation:
class BreakErr { This break cannot

one: for(int i=0; i<3; i++) {
continue from the
System.out.print("Pass " + i + ": "); assigned label since it
} is not part of the same
for(int j=0; j<100; j++) {
if(j == 10) break one; block
System.out.print(j + " ");
}
}
}
Use of Continue (complement of Break)
The ‘continue’ feature can force a loop to iterate out of its normal control behaviour. It is regarded
as the complement of the break operation. Let us consider the following example,
class ContDemo {
int i;
for(i = 0; i<=100; i++) {
if((i%2) != 0) continue;
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Predicted Output:
100
The program prints on screen the even numbers. This happens since whenever the modulus results
of ‘i’ by 2 are not equal to ‘0’, the ‘continue’ statement forces loop to iterate bypassing the following
statement (modulus refers to the remainder of dividing ‘i’ by 2).
JAVA for Beginners
In ‘while’ and ‘do-while’ loops, a ‘continue’ statement will cause control to go directly to the
conditional expression and then continue the looping process. In the case of the ‘for’ loop, the
iteration expression of the loop is evaluated, then the conditional expression is executed, and then
the loop continues.
Continue + Label
It is possible to use labels with the continue feature. It works the same as when we used it before in
the break operation.
class ContToLabel {
outerloop:
for(int i=1; i < 10; i++) {
System.out.print("\nOuter loop pass " + i +
", Inner loop: ");
for(int j = 1; j < 10; j++) {
if(j == 5) continue outerloop;
System.out.print(j);
}
}
}
}
Predicted Output:
Outer loop pass 1, Inner loop: 1234

Note that the inner loop is allowed to execute until ‘j’ is equal to 5. Then loop is forced to outer loop.
JAVA for Beginners
 Mini-Project 3– Java Help System (Help3.java)

This project puts the finishing touches on the Java help system that was created in the previous
projects. This version adds the syntax for ‘break’ and ‘continue’. It also allows the user to request the
syntax for more than one statement. It does this by adding an outer loop that runs until the user
enters ‘q’ as a menu selection.
1. Copy all the code from Help2.java into a new file, Help3.java
2. Create an outer loop which covers the whole code. This loop should be declared as infinite but
terminate when the user presses ‘q’ (use the break)
3. Your menu should look like this:
do {
System.out.println(" 5. do-while");
System.out.println(" 6. break");
System.out.println(" 7. continue\n");
System.out.print("Choose one (q to quit): ");
do {
} while( choice < '1' | choice > '7' & choice != 'q');
4. Adjust the switch statement to include the ‘break’ and ‘continue’ features.
Complete Listing
class Help3 {
char choice;
for(;;) {
do {
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do {
} while( choice < '1' | choice > '7' & choice != 'q');
if(choice == 'q') break;
switch(choice) {
case '1':
break;
case '2':
break;
case '3':
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break;
case '4':
break;
case '5':
break;
case '6':
System.out.println("The break:\n");
System.out.println("break; or break label;");
break;
case '7':
System.out.println("The continue:\n");
System.out.println("continue; or continue label;");
break;
JAVA for Beginners
Nested Loops
A nested loop is a loop within a loop. The previous examples already included such loops. Another
example to consider is the following:
class FindFac {
for(int i=2; i <= 100; i++) {
System.out.print("Factors of " + i + ": ");
for(int j = 2; j < i; j++)
if((i%j) == 0) System.out.print(j + " ");
}
}
}
The above code prints the factors of each number starting from 2 up to 100. Part of the output is as
follows:
Factors of 2:
Factors of 3:
Factors of 4: 2
Factors of 5:
Factors of 6: 2 3
Factors of 7:
Factors of 8: 2 4
Factors of 9: 3
Factors of 10: 2 5
…
Can you think of a way to make the above code more efficient? (Reduce the number of iterations in
the inner loop).
JAVA for Beginners
Class Fundamentals
Definition
A class is a sort of template which has attributes and methods. An object is an instance of a class,
e.g. Riccardo is an object of type Person. A class is defined as follows:
class classname {
// declare instance variables
type var1;
type var2;
// ...
type varN;
// declare methods
type method1(parameters) {
// body of method
}
type method2(parameters) {
// body of method
}
// ...
type methodN(parameters) {
// body of method
}
}
The classes we have used so far had only one method, main(), however not all classes specify a main
method. The main method is found in the main class of a program (starting point of program).
The Vehicle Class

The following is a class named ‘Vehicle’ having three attributes, ‘passengers’ – the number of
passengers the vehicle can carry, ‘fuelcap’ – the fuel capacity of the vehicle and ‘mpg’ – the fuel
consumption of the vehicle (miles per gallon).
class Vehicle {
int passengers; //number of passengers
int fuelcap; //fuel capacity in gallons
int mpg; //fuel consumption
}
Please note that up to this point there is no OBJECT. By typing the above code a new data type is
created which takes three parameters. To create an instance of the Vehicle class we use the
following statement:
Vehicle minivan = new Vehicle ();
To set the values of the parameters we use the following syntax:
minivan.fuelcap = 16; //sets value of fuel capacity to 16
JAVA for Beginners
Note the general form of the previous statement: object.member
Using the Vehicle class

Having created the Vehicle class, let us create an instance of that class:
class VehicleDemo {
Vehicle minivan = new Vehicle();
int range;
// assign values to fields in minivan
minivan.passengers = 7;
minivan.fuelcap = 16;
minivan.mpg = 21;
Till now we have created an instance of Vehicle called ‘minivan’ and assigned values to passengers,
fuel capacity and fuel consumption. Let us add some statements to work out the distance that this
vehicle can travel with a tank full of fuel:
// compute the range assuming a full tank of gas
range = minivan.fuelcap * minivan.mpg;
System.out.println("Minivan can carry " +

minivan.passengers + " with a range of " + range);
}
}
Creating more than one instance

It is possible to create more than one instance in the same program, and each instance would have
its own parameters. The following program creates another instance, sportscar, which has different
instance variables and finally display the range each vehicle can travel having a full tank.
class TwoVehicles {
Vehicle sportscar = new Vehicle();
int range1, range2;

minivan.mpg = 21;
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// assign values to fields in sportscar

sportscar.passengers = 2;
sportscar.fuelcap = 14;
sportscar.mpg = 12;
// compute the ranges assuming a full tank of gas

range1 = minivan.fuelcap * minivan.mpg;
range2 = sportscar.fuelcap * sportscar.mpg;
minivan.passengers +
" with a range of " + range1);
System.out.println("Sportscar can carry " +
sportscar.passengers +
" with a range of " + range2);
}
}
Creating Objects
In the previous code, an object was created from a class. Hence ‘minivan’ was an object which was
created at run time from the ‘Vehicle’ class – vehicle minivan = new Vehicle( ) ; This statement
allocates a space in memory for the object and it also creates a reference. We can create a
reference first and then create an object:
Vehicle minivan; // reference to object only

minivan = new Vehicle ( ); // an object is created
Reference Variables and Assignment

Consider the following statements:
Vehicle car1 = new Vehicle ( );
Vehicle car2 = car 1;
We have created a new instance of type Vehicle named car1. However note that car2 is NOT
another instance of type Vehicle. car2 is the same object as car1 and has been assigned the same
properties,
car1.mpg = 26; // sets value of mpg to 26
If we had to enter the following statements:
System.out.println(car1.mpg);
System.out.println(car2.mpg);
The expected output would be 26 twice, each on a separate line.
JAVA for Beginners
car1 and car2 are not linked. car2 can be re-assigned to another data type:
Vehicle car1 = new Vehicle();
Vehicle car2 = car1;
Vehicle car3 = new Vehicle();
car2 = car3; // now car2 and car3 refer to the same object.
Methods
Methods are the functions which a particular class possesses. These functions usually use the data
defined by the class itself.
// adding a range() method
class Vehicle {
int passengers; // number of passengers
int fuelcap; // fuel capacity in gallons
int mpg; // fuel consumption in miles per gallon
// Display the range.
void range() {
System.out.println("Range is " + fuelcap * mpg);
Note that ‘fuelcap’ and ‘mpg’ are called directly without the dot (.) operator. Methods take the
following general form:
ret-type name( parameter-list ) {
// body of method
‘ret-type’ specifies the type of data returned by the method. If it does not return any value we write
void. ‘name’ is the method name while the ‘parameter-list’ would be the values assigned to the
variables of a particular method (empty if no arguments are passed).
class AddMeth {
JAVA for Beginners
int range1, range2;
minivan.mpg = 21;
sportscar.mpg = 12;
System.out.print("Minivan can carry " +

minivan.passengers + ". ");
minivan.range(); // display range of minivan
System.out.print("Sportscar can carry " +

sportscar.passengers + ". ");
sportscar.range(); // display range of sportscar.
}
}
Returning from a Method

When a method is called, it will execute the statements which it encloses in its curly brackets, this is
referred to what the method returns. However a method can be stopped from executing completely
by using the return statement.
void myMeth() {
int i;
for(i=0; i<10; i++) {
if(i == 5) return; // loop will stop when i = 5
}
}
JAVA for Beginners
Hence the method will exit when it encounters the return statement or the closing curly bracket ‘ } ‘
There can be more than one exit point in a method depending on particular conditions, but one
must pay attention as too many exit points could render the code unstructured and the program will
not function as desired (plan well your work).
void myMeth() {
// ...
if(done) return;
// ...
if(error) return;
Returning a Value
Most methods return a value. You should be familiar with the sqrt( ) method which returns the
square root of a number. Let us modify our range method to make it return a value:
// Use a return value.
class Vehicle {
// Return the range.
int range() {
return mpg * fuelcap; //returns range for a

particular vehicle
Please note that now our method is no longer void but has int since it returns a value of type
integer. It is important to know what type of variable a method is expected to return in order to set
the parameter type correctly.
JAVA for Beginners
Main program:
class RetMeth {
int range1, range2;
minivan.mpg = 21;
sportscar.mpg = 12;
// get the ranges
range1 = minivan.range();
range2 = sportscar.range();

minivan.passengers + " with range of " + range1 + "
Miles");
System.out.println("Sportscar can carry " +

sportscar.passengers + " with range of " + range2 +
" miles");
Study the last two statements, can you think of a way to make them more efficient, eliminating the
use of the two statements located just above them?
JAVA for Beginners
Methods which accept Parameters:

We can design methods which when called can accept a value/s. When a value is passed to a
method it is called an Argument, while the variable that receives the argument is the Parameter.
// Using Parameters.
The method accepts a
class ChkNum { value of type integer, the
parameter is x, while the
// return true if x is even argument would be any
value passed to it
boolean isEven(int x) {
if((x%2) == 0) return true;
else return false;
class ParmDemo {
ChkNum e = new ChkNum();
if(e.isEven(10)) System.out.println("10 is even.");
Predicted Output:
10 is even.
8 is even.
A method can accept more than one parameter. The method would be declared as follows:
int myMeth(int a, double b, float c) {
// ...
JAVA for Beginners
The following examples illustrates this:
class Factor {
boolean isFactor(int a, int b) { Note that these

statements are validating
if( (b % a) == 0) return true; ‘x’, and print the correct
else return false; statement.
class IsFact {
Factor x = new Factor();
if(x.isFactor(2, 20)) System.out.println("2 is a

factor.");
if(x.isFactor(3, 20)) System.out.println("this won't be

displayed");
Predicted Output:
2 is a factor.
If we refer back to our ‘vehicle’ example, we can now add a method which works out the fuel
needed by a particular vehicle to cover a particular distance. One has to note here that the result of
this method, even if it takes integers as parameters, might not be a whole number.
Therefore one has to specify that the value that the method returns, in this case we can use
‘double’:
double fuelneeded(int miles) {
return (double) miles / mpg;

}
JAVA for Beginners
Updated vehicle class:
class Vehicle {
// Return the range.
int range() {
return mpg * fuelcap;
// Compute fuel needed for a given distance.
double fuelneeded(int miles) {
return (double) miles / mpg;
Main Program:
class CompFuel {
double gallons;
int dist = 252;
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minivan.mpg = 21;
sportscar.mpg = 12;
gallons = minivan.fuelneeded(dist);
System.out.println("To go " + dist + " miles minivan

needs " +
gallons + " gallons of fuel.");
gallons = sportscar.fuelneeded(dist); //overwriting same

variable
System.out.println("To go " + dist + " miles sportscar

needs " +
gallons + " gallons of fuel.");
Predicted Output:
To go 252 miles minivan needs 12.0 gallons of fuel.
To go 252 miles sportscar needs 21.0 gallons of fuel.
JAVA for Beginners
 Project: Creating a Help class from the Help3.java
In order to carry out this task we must examine the Help3.java and identifies ways how we can break
down the code into classes and methods. The code can be broken down as follows:
1. A method which displays the ‘help’ text – helpon( )

2. A method which displays the menu – showmenu( )
3. A method which checks (validates) the entry by the user – isvalid( )
Method helpon( )
void helpon(int what) {
switch(what) {
case '1':
break;
case '2':
break;
case '3':
break;
JAVA for Beginners
case '4':
break;
case '5':
break;
case '6':
break;
case '7':
System.out.println("continue; or continue label;");
break;
Method showmenu( )
void showmenu() {
JAVA for Beginners
Method isvalid( )
boolean isvalid(int ch) {
if(ch < '1' | ch > '7' & ch != 'q') return false;
else return true;
Class Help
class Help {
void helpon(int what) {
switch(what) {
case '1':
break;
case '2':
JAVA for Beginners
break;
case '3':
System.out.print("for(init; condition;
iteration)");
break;
case '4':
System.out.println("while(condition)
statement;");
break;
case '5':
break;
case '6':
break;
case '7':
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("continue; or continue
label;");
break;
void showmenu() {
boolean isvalid(int ch) {
if(ch < '1' | ch > '7' & ch != 'q') return false;
else return true;
Main Program:
class HelpClassDemo {
char choice;
JAVA for Beginners
Help hlpobj = new Help();
for(;;) {
do {
hlpobj.showmenu();
do {
} while( !hlpobj.isvalid(choice) );
if(choice == 'q') break;
hlpobj.helpon(choice);
Constructors
In previous examples when working with the vehicle class we did assign values to the class variables
by using statements like: minivan.passengers = 7;
To accomplish this task Java programmers use constructors. A constructor is created by default and
initializes all member variables to zero. However we can create our constructors and set the values
the way we want, e.g.
class MyClass {
int x;
MyClass() {
This is the constructor
x = 10;
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class ConsDemo {
MyClass t1 = new MyClass();
System.out.println(t1.x + " " + t2.x);
Predicted Output:
10 10
Constructor having parameters

We can edit our previous constructor to create a parameter:
MyClass(int i) {
x = i;
If we edit the main program, by changing the statements which initiate the two objects:
MyClass t1 = new MyClass(10);
The output would now be:
10 88
The values 10 and 88 are first passed on to ‘i’ and then are assigned to ‘x’.
Now we can modify our vehicle class and add a constructor:
// Constructor for Vehicle class
Vehicle(int p, int f, int m) {
passengers = p;
fuelcap = f;
mpg = m;
JAVA for Beginners
The main program would be as follows:
class VehConsDemo {
// construct complete vehicles
Vehicle minivan = new Vehicle(7, 16, 21);
Vehicle sportscar = new Vehicle(2, 14, 12);
double gallons;
int dist = 252;
gallons = minivan.fuelneeded(dist);
System.out.println("To go " + dist + " miles minivan

needs " + gallons + " gallons of fuel.");
gallons = sportscar.fuelneeded(dist);
System.out.println("To go " + dist + " miles sportscar

needs " + gallons + " gallons of fuel.");
Overloading Methods and Constructors

The term overloading refers to the act of using the same method/constructor name in a class but
different parameter declarations. Method overloading is an example of Polymorphism.
Method Overloading
// Demonstrate method overloading.
class Overload {
void ovlDemo() {
System.out.println("No parameters");
// Overload ovlDemo for one integer parameter.
void ovlDemo(int a) {
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("One parameter: " + a);
// Overload ovlDemo for two integer parameters.
int ovlDemo(int a, int b) {
System.out.println("Two parameters: " + a + " " +

b);
return a + b;
// Overload ovlDemo for two double parameters.
double ovlDemo(double a, double b) {
System.out.println("Two double parameters: " +
a + " "+ b);
return a + b;
Main Program:
class OverloadDemo {
Overload ob = new Overload();
int resI;
double resD;
// call all versions of ovlDemo()
ob.ovlDemo();
ob.ovlDemo(2);
resI = ob.ovlDemo(4, 6);
System.out.println("Result of ob.ovlDemo(4, 6): " +
JAVA for Beginners
resI);
resD = ob.ovlDemo(1.1, 2.32);
System.out.println("Result of ob.ovlDemo(1.1, 2.32):

" + resD);
Predicted Output:
No parameters
One parameter: 2
Two parameters: 4 6
Result of ob.ovlDemo(4, 6): 10
Two double parameters: 1.1 2.32
Result of ob.ovlDemo(1.1, 2.32): 3.42
Automatic Type Conversion for Parameters of overloaded Methods
class Overload2 {
void f(int x) {
System.out.println("Inside f(int): " + x);
void f(double x) {
System.out.println("Inside f(double): " + x);
JAVA for Beginners
Main Program:
class TypeConv {
Overload2 ob = new Overload2();
int i = 10;
double d = 10.1;
byte b = 99;
short s = 10;
float f = 11.5F;
ob.f(i); // calls ob.f(int)
ob.f(d); // calls ob.f(double)
ob.f(b); // calls ob.f(int) – type conversion
ob.f(s); // calls ob.f(int) – type conversion
ob.f(f); // calls ob.f(double) – type conversion
Predicted Output:
Inside f(int): 10
Inside f(double): 10.1
Inside f(int): 99
Inside f(int): 10
Inside f(double): 11.5
Even though “f” had been defined with two parameters, ‘int’ and ‘double’, it is possible to pass a
different data type and automatic conversion occurs. ‘byte’ and ‘short’ are converted to ‘int’ while
‘float’ is converted to ‘double’ and the respective methods are called.
JAVA for Beginners
Overloading Constructors
// Overloading constructors.
class MyClass {
int x;
MyClass() {
System.out.println("Inside MyClass().");
x = 0;
MyClass(int i) {
System.out.println("Inside MyClass(int).");
x = i;
MyClass(double d) {
System.out.println("Inside MyClass(double).");
x = (int) d;
MyClass(int i, int j) {
System.out.println("Inside MyClass(int, int).");
x = i * j;
Main Program:
class OverloadConsDemo {
MyClass t3 = new MyClass(17.23);
JAVA for Beginners
MyClass t4 = new MyClass(2, 4);
System.out.println("t1.x: " + t1.x);
Predicted Output:
Inside MyClass().
Inside MyClass(int).
Inside MyClass(double).
Inside MyClass(int, int).
t1.x: 0
t2.x: 88
t3.x: 17
t4.x: 8
In Java programming, overloading constructors is a technique used to allow an object to initialize

another. This makes coding more efficient.
class Summation {
int sum;
// Construct from an integer
Summation(int num) {
sum = 0;
for(int i=1; i <= num; i++)
sum += i;
// Construct from another object (ob)
JAVA for Beginners
Summation(Summation ob) {
sum = ob.sum;
Main Program:
class SumDemo {
Summation s1 = new Summation(5);
Summation s2 = new Summation(s1);
System.out.println("s1.sum: " + s1.sum);
System.out.println("s2.sum: " + s2.sum);
Predicted Output:
s1.sum: 15
s2.sum: 15
In the above example, when s2 is constructed, it takes the value of the summation of s1. Hence
there is no need to recompute the value.
Access Specifiers: public and private

Whenever we started a class, we always wrote ‘public’. If one writes ‘class’ only, by default it is
taken to be public.
// Public and private access.
class MyClass {
private int alpha; // private access
public int beta; // public access
int gamma; // default access (essentially public)
JAVA for Beginners
/* Methods to access alpha. Members of a class can access a

private member of the same class.
*/
void setAlpha(int a) {
alpha = a;
int getAlpha() {
return alpha;
Main Program:
class AccessDemo {
MyClass ob = new MyClass();
ob.setAlpha(-99);
System.out.println("ob.alpha is " + ob.getAlpha());
// You cannot access alpha like this:
// ob.alpha = 10; // Wrong! alpha is private!
// These are OK because beta and gamma are public.
ob.beta = 88;
ob.gamma = 99;
JAVA for Beginners
Another example using arrays:
class FailSoftArray {
private int a[]; // reference to array
private int errval; // value to return if get() fails
public int length; // length is public
/* Construct array given its size and the value to
return if get() fails. */
public FailSoftArray(int size, int errv) {
a = new int[size];
errval = errv;
length = size;
// Return value at given index.
public int get(int index) {
if(ok(index)) return a[index];
return errval;
// Put a value at an index. Return false on failure.
public boolean put(int index, int val) {
if(ok(index)) {
a[index] = val;
return true;
return false;
// Return true if index is within bounds.
private boolean ok(int index) {
JAVA for Beginners
if(index >= 0 & index < length) return true;
return false;
Main Program:
class FSDemo {
FailSoftArray fs = new FailSoftArray(5, -1);
int x;
// show quiet failures
System.out.println("Fail quietly.");
for(int i=0; i < (fs.length * 2); i++)
fs.put(i, i*10);
for(int i=0; i < (fs.length * 2); i++) {
x = fs.get(i);
if(x != -1) System.out.print(x + " ");
System.out.println("");
// now, handle failures
System.out.println("\nFail with error reports.");
for(int i=0; i < (fs.length * 2); i++)
if(!fs.put(i, i*10))
System.out.println("Index " + i + " out-of-bounds");
for(int i=0; i < (fs.length * 2); i++) {
x = fs.get(i);
if(x != -1) System.out.print(x + " ");
else
JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("Index " + i + " out-of-

bounds");
Predicted Output:
Fail with error reports.
Index 5 out-of-bounds
0 10 20 30 40 Index 5 out-of-bounds
Riccardo Flask 100 |

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JAVA for Beginners
Arrays and Strings
Arrays
An array can be defined as a collection of variables of the same type defined by a common name,
e.g. an array called Names which stores the names of your class mates:
Names *name1, name2, name3, … nameX+
Arrays in Java are different from arrays in other programming languages because they are
implemented as objects.
One-dimensional Arrays
Declaration: type array-name[ ] = new type[size];
e.g. int sample[] = new int[10];
The following code creates an array of ten integers, fills it up with numbers using a loop and then
prints the content of each location (index) of the array:
class ArrayDemo {
int sample[] = new int[10];
int i;
for(i = 0; i < 10; i = i+1)
sample[i] = i;
for(i = 0; i < 10; i = i+1)
System.out.println("This is sample[" + i + "]: " +
sample[i]);
Predicted Output:
This is sample[0]: 0

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JAVA for Beginners
The following program contains two loops used to identify the smallest and the largest value stored
in the array:
class MinMax {
int nums[] = new int[10];
int min, max;
nums[0] = 99;
nums[1] = -10;
nums[2] = 100123;
nums[3] = 18;
nums[4] = -978;
nums[5] = 5623;
nums[6] = 463;
nums[7] = -9;
nums[8] = 287;
nums[9] = 49;
min = max = nums[0];
for(int i=1; i < 10; i++) {
if(nums[i] < min) min = nums[i];

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JAVA for Beginners
if(nums[i] > max) max = nums[i];
System.out.println("min and max: " + min + " " +

max);
Predicted Output:
min and max: -978 100123
Sorting an Array – The Bubble Sort

The Bubble sort is one type, the simplest, of sorting algorithms. It can be used to sort data stored in
arrays but it is not ideal when the size of the array to sort is large.
class Bubble {
int nums[] = { 99, -10, 100123, 18, -978,
5623, 463, -9, 287, 49 };
int a, b, t;
int size;
size = 10; // number of elements to sort
// display original array
System.out.print("Original array is:");
for(int i=0; i < size; i++)
System.out.print(" " + nums[i]);
// This is the Bubble sort.
for(a=1; a < size; a++)
for(b=size-1; b >= a; b–-) {

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JAVA for Beginners
if(nums[b-1] > nums[b]) { // if out of order
// exchange elements
t = nums[b-1];
nums[b-1] = nums[b];
nums[b] = t;
// display sorted array
System.out.print("Sorted array is:");
for(int i=0; i < size; i++)
System.out.print(" " + nums[i]);
Predicted Output:
Original array is: 99 -10 100123 18 -978 5623 463 -9 287 49
Sorted array is: -978 -10 -9 18 49 99 287 463 5623 100123
Two-Dimensional Arrays:
A two dimensional array is like a list of one-dimensional arrays. Declaration is as follows:
int table[][] = new int[10][20];
This would create a table made up of 10 rows (index: 0 to 9) and 20 columns (index: 0 to 19). The
following code creates a table, 3 rows by 4 columns, and fills it up woth numbers from 1 to 12. Note
that at index [0][0] = 1, [0][1] = 2, [0][2] = 3, [0][3] = 4, [1][0] = 5, etc.
class TwoD {

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JAVA for Beginners
int t, i;
int table[][] = new int[3][4];
for(t=0; t < 3; ++t) {
for(i=0; i < 4; ++i) {
table[t][i] = (t*4)+i+1;
System.out.print(table[t][i] + " ");
Different syntax used to declare arrays:

Consider the following: type[ ] var-name;
The square brackets follow the type specifier, not the name of the array variable. For example, the
following two declarations are equivalent:
int counter[] = new int[3];
int[] counter = new int[3];
The following declarations are also equivalent:
char table[][] = new char[3][4];
char[][] table = new char[3][4];
This alternative declaration form offers convenience when declaring several arrays at the same time.
int[] nums, nums2, nums3; // create three arrays
This creates three array variables of type int. It is the same as writing:
int nums[], nums2[], nums3[]; // also, create three arrays
The alternative declaration form is also useful when specifying an array as a return type for a
method:
int[] someMeth( ) { ...

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JAVA for Beginners
This declares that someMeth( ) returns an array of type int.
Array References:
Consider a particular array, nums1, and another array, nums2 and at one point in the code we assign
one array reference to the other, i.e. nums2 = nums1. Then every action on nums2 will be as if it
were on nums1 (nums2 reference is lost).
class AssignARef {
int i;
int nums1[] = new int[10];
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
nums1[i] = i;
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
nums2[i] = -i;
System.out.print("Here is nums1: ");
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
System.out.print(nums1[i] + " ");
System.out.print("Here is nums2: ");
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
nums2 = nums1; // nums2 is now nums1
System.out.print("Here is nums2 after assignment:

");
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
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JAVA for Beginners
// now operate on nums1 array through nums2
nums2[3] = 99;
System.out.print("Here is nums1 after change through

nums2: ");
for(i=0; i < 10; i++)
Predicted Output:
Here is nums1: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Here is nums2: 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9
Here is nums2 after assignment: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Here is nums1 after change through nums2: 0 1 2 99 4 5 6 7 8 9
The Length Variable:
This variable automatically keeps track of the number of items an array can hold and NOT the actual
items. When an array is declared to have ten items, even if one does not put actual data, the length
of the array is 10. Something to keep in mind is also when dealing with two dimensional arrays. As
already explained in the theory lessons, two dimensional arrays are considered to be an array of
arrays. Hence calling up the length of such array would return the number of sub-arrays. To access
the length of the particular sub-array, one has to write the ‘row’ index, e.g. arrayname [0].length
// length of array demo
class LengthDemo {
int list[] = new int[10];
int nums[] = { 1, 2, 3 };
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JAVA for Beginners
int table[][] = { // a variable-length table

0 1 2 3
{1, 2, 3},
0 1 2 3
{4, 5}, 1 4 5
2 6 7 8 9
{6, 7, 8, 9}
};
System.out.println("length of list is " +

list.length);
System.out.println("length of nums is " +

nums.length);
System.out.println("length of table is " +

table.length); // returns number of rows
System.out.println("length of table[0] is " +

table[0].length);

table[1].length);

table[2].length);
// using length to initialize list
for(int i=0; i < list.length; i++)
list[i] = i * i;
System.out.print("Here is list: ");
// using length to display list
for(int i=0; i < list.length; i++)
System.out.print(list[i] + " ");
Predicted Output:

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JAVA for Beginners
length of list is 10
length of nums is 3
length of table is 3
length of table[0] is 3
Here is list: 0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81
Using the Length to copy elements from one array to another while previously checking for size to
prevent errors:
//copying an array
class ACopy {
int i;
for(i=0; i < nums1.length; i++)
nums1[i] = i;
if(nums2.length >= nums1.length)//size check
for(i = 0; i < nums2.length; i++)//limit set
nums2[i] = nums1[i];
for(i=0; i < nums2.length; i++)

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JAVA for Beginners
Using Arrays to create a Queue data structure **
Data structures are used to organize data. Arrays can be used to create Stacks and Queues. Imagine
a stack to be a pile of plates. Stacks implement a Last In First Out system (LIFO). Queues use a First In
First Out order (FIFO). We can implement this as a class and also two methods to PUT and GET data
to and from a queue. Therefore we put items at the end of the queue and get items from the front.
Once a data item is retrieved, it cannot be retrieved again (consumptive). A queue can also be full or
empty. The following code creates a noncircular queue (does not reuse locations once they are
emptied).
class Queue {
char q[]; // array of type char
int putloc, getloc; // the put and get indices
Queue(int size) {
q = new char[size+1]; // allocate memory for queue
putloc = getloc = 0;
// method put – places a character into the queue
void put(char ch) {
if(putloc==q.length-1) {
System.out.println(" – Queue is full.");
return;
putloc++;
q[putloc] = ch;
// method get – get a character from the queue
char get() {
if(getloc == putloc) {
System.out.println(" – Queue is empty.");
return (char) 0;
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JAVA for Beginners
getloc++;
return q[getloc];
// MAIN PROGRAM
class QDemo {
Queue bigQ = new Queue(100);
Queue smallQ = new Queue(4);
char ch;
int i;
System.out.println("Using bigQ to store the

alphabet.");
// put some numbers into bigQ
for(i=0; i < 26; i++)
bigQ.put((char) ('A' + i));
// retrieve and display elements from bigQ
System.out.print("Contents of bigQ: ");
for(i=0; i < 26; i++) {
ch = bigQ.get();
if(ch != (char) 0) System.out.print(ch);
System.out.println("Using smallQ to generate errors.");
// Now, use smallQ to generate some errors
for(i=0; i < 5; i++) {

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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.print("Attempting to store " +
(char) ('Z' - i));
smallQ.put((char) ('Z' - i));
// more errors on smallQ
System.out.print("Contents of smallQ: ");
for(i=0; i < 5; i++) {
ch = smallQ.get();
if(ch != (char) 0) System.out.print(ch);
Predicted Output:
Using bigQ to store the alphabet.
Contents of bigQ: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Using smallQ to generate errors.
Attempting to store Z
Attempting to store Y
Attempting to store X
Attempting to store W
Attempting to store V – Queue is full.
Contents of smallQ: ZYXW – Queue is empty.

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JAVA for Beginners
The Enhanced ‘for’ Loop:

While studying loops we had mentioned the ‘enhanced for loop’. This special loop was designed to
cater for situations where one would need to manipulate each data item of an array. Declaration of
this for loop includes an iteration variable (itr-var), which is a variable that will be used to store
temporarily each item from a particular collection (e.g. array, vectors, lists, sets, maps):
for(type itr-var : collection) statement-block
The type of itr-var should be similar or compatible to the type of the data items held in the array.
Traditional vs. enhanced version:

Traditional:
int nums[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 };
int sum = 0;
for(int i=0; i < 10; i++) sum += nums[i];
Enhanced:
int nums[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 };
int sum = 0; x will automatically

increment
for(int x: nums) sum += x;
Sample program:
class ForEach {
int nums[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 };
int sum = 0;
// Use for-each style for to display and sum the values.
for(int x : nums) {
System.out.println("Value is: " + x);
sum += x;
System.out.println("Summation: " + sum);

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JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
Value is: 1
Value is: 2
Value is: 3
Value is: 4
Value is: 5
Value is: 6
Value is: 7
Value is: 8
Value is: 9
Value is: 10
Summation: 55
Strings
The string data type defines is used in Java to handle character strings. It is important to note that in
Java, strings are Objects. Every time we write an output statement, the characters we enclose within
the quotes are automatically turned into a String object,
System.out.println(“Hello World”);
Strings are constructed just like other objects, e.g.
String str = new String (“Hello”);
String str2 = new String (str); //str2 = “Hello”
String str = “I love Java.”;
Basic String example:
// Introduce String.
class StringDemo {
// declare strings in various ways

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JAVA for Beginners
String str1 = new String("Java strings are objects.");
String str2 = "They are constructed various ways.";
String str3 = new String(str2);
System.out.println(str1);
Predicted Output:
Java strings are objects.
They are constructed various ways.
They are constructed various ways.
Using String Methods
// Some String operations.
class StrOps {
String str1 =
"When it comes to Web programming, Java is #1.";
String str2 = new String(str1);
String str3 = "Java strings are powerful.";
int result, idx;
char ch;
System.out.println("Length of str1: " +

str1.length());
// display str1, one char at a time.
for(int i=0; i < str1.length(); i++)

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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.print(str1.charAt(i));
if(str1.equals(str2))
System.out.println("str1 equals str2");
else
System.out.println("str1 does not equal str2");
if(str1.equals(str3))
System.out.println("str1 equals str3");
else
System.out.println("str1 does not equal

str3");
result = str1.compareTo(str3);
if(result == 0)
System.out.println("str1 and str3 are equal");
else if(result < 0)
System.out.println("str1 is less than str3");
else
System.out.println("str1 is greater than

str3");
// assign a new string to str2
str2 = "One Two Three One";
idx = str2.indexOf("One");
System.out.println("Index of first occurrence

of One: " + idx);
idx = str2.lastIndexOf("One");
System.out.println("Index of last occurrence of

One: " + idx);
}
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JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
Length of str1: 45
When it comes to Web programming, Java is #1.
str1 equals str2
str1 does not equal str3
str1 is greater than str3
Index of first occurrence of One: 0
Index of last occurrence of One: 14
String Arrays
// Demonstrate String arrays.
class StringArrays {
String strs[] = { "This", "is", "a", "test." };
System.out.println("Original array: ");
for(String s : strs)
System.out.print(s + " ");
// change a string
strs[1] = "was";
strs[3] = "test, too!";
System.out.println("Modified array: ");
for(String s : strs)
System.out.print(s + " ");

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JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
Original array:
This is a test.
Modified array:
This was a test, too!
Strings are said to be ‘immutable’, i.e. they cannot be changed once they are created. However we
can use the method substring() to capture part of a string. The method is declared as follows:
String substring(int startIndex, int endIndex)
Example:
// Use substring().
class SubStr {
String orig = "Java makes the Web move.";
// construct a substring
String subst = orig.substring(5, 18);
System.out.println("Original String: " + orig);
System.out.println("Sub String: " + subst);
Note:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
J a v a m a k e s t h e W e b m o v e .
Predicted Output:
Original String: Java makes the Web move.
Sub String: makes the Web

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JAVA for Beginners
 Understanding the “public static void main(String args[])” line of code – FYI only
This line really represents a method call, main, having ‘args’ (a string array) as parameter. This array
stores command-line arguments (CLI arguments), which is any information which follows the
program name. Consider the following examples:
Example 1:
// Display all command-line information.
class CLDemo {
System.out.println("There are " + args.length +
" command-line arguments.");
System.out.println("They are: ");
for(int i=0; i<args.length; i++)
System.out.println("arg[" + i + "]: " + args[i]);
If we execute this program in a DOS shell3 (not via IDE), we use the following syntax:
C:\ java CLDemo one two three (press enter)
3
Put your file (*.class, after compilation) in root drive. Then Start > Run > cmd
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JAVA for Beginners
The following output will be generated:
There are 3 command-line arguments.
They are:
arg[0]: one
arg[1]: two
arg[2]: three
Example 2:
// A simple automated telephone directory.
class Phone {
String numbers[][] = {
{ "Tom", "555-3322" },
{ "Mary", "555-8976" },
{ "Jon", "555-1037" },
{ "Rachel", "555-1400" }
};
int i;
if(args.length != 1)
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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("Usage: java Phone <name>");
else {
for(i=0; i<numbers.length; i++) {
if(numbers[i][0].equals(args[0])) {
System.out.println(numbers[i][0] + ": " +
numbers[i][1]);
break;
if(i == numbers.length)
System.out.println("Name not found.");
Execute the code as follows (after compilation):
C>java Phone Mary
Mary: 555-8976

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JAVA for Beginners
Vector and ArrayList

A vector can be defined simply as an Array which can ‘grow’. Nowadays it has been replaced by
ArrayList. The following code snippets are examples of implementing Vectors:
// beware Vector's List-compatible set method with the

parameters reversed:
vector.set( i, object );
// yet in the old form:
vector.setElementAt( object, i );
// get has two forms, the new List-compatible:
Object o = vector.get( i );
// or the old form:
Object o = vector.elementAt( i );
// there is no such thing as:
Object o = vector.getElementAt( i );
// similarly add has two forms: the new list-compatible:
vector.add ( o );
// or the old form:
vector.addElement( o );
[Further details can be obtained by referring to text book]
As already stated in the previous page ArrayList have replaced Vector in versions of Java following
1.1. ArrayList are much faster than Vector. You can add items to an ArrayList either at a particular
index, ‘i', or simply at the end of the list. The methods used are as follows:
// adding an element to the middle of a list
arrayList.add( i, object ); //i = index
// adding an element to the end of a list
arrayList.add( object );
If one tries to add an element to a list, and this operation results in an error one would get an
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException. Possible sources of error include:
 Using a negative index.

 Indexing past the current end of the ArrayList with get or set.
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JAVA for Beginners
 Doing a lastIndexOf starting out past the end.
Code snippets used to remove items from an ArrayList:
// Removing item at particular index
arrayList.remove( i, object );
To remove an item at an unknown index, one must first search for it (better if list is sorted). To
remove elements from the entire list one must work backwards since the list shrinks as we go.
// removing empty Strings.
for ( int i=arrayList.size(); i>=0; i-- ) {
String element = (String)arrayList.get(i);
if ( element == null || element.length() == 0 )
arrayList.remove(i);
else
break;
To remove undesirable elements from the head end of a list one has to work forwards without
incrementing, always working on element 0. The list shrinks as we go.
// removing empty Strings.
while ( arrayList.size() > 0 )
String element = (String)arrayList.get(0);
if ( element == null || element.length() == 0 )
arrayList.remove(0);
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JAVA for Beginners
else
break;
To delete the last ‘n’ elements from the list one can use the following:
arrayList.setSize( arrayList.size() - n );
Or to delete a portion of it:
arrayList.subList( from, to ).clear();
Once all the unwanted items have been removed, unless the list will grow again, it is best to use the
method ArrayList.trimToSize(). One has to note that some programmers prefer to convert ArrayLists
into arrays to perform certain functions as it is much faster. Once done the arrays can be converted
back to ArrayLists.
Sample code:
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class AraryListDemo {
ArrayList al = new ArrayList();
System.out.print("Initial size of al : " + al.size());
System.out.print("\n");
//add.elements to the array list

al.add("C");
al.add("A");
al.add("E");
al.add("B");
al.add("D");
al.add("F");
al.add(1,"A2");//inserts "A2" into array at index 1

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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.print("size of al after " + al.size());

//display the array list

System.out.print("contents of al: " + al );
//Remove elements from the array list

al.remove("F");
al.remove(2);
System.out.print("size after deletions : " + al.size());
System.out.print("contents of al:" + al);
}
}
Predicted Output:
Initial size of al: 0
size of al after 7
contents of al: [C, A2, A, E, B, D, F]
size after deletions : 5
contents of al:[C, A2, E, B, D]
Sorting Collections using Comparable Interface (collection of methods):
Employee.java
public class Employee implements Comparable {
int EmpID;
String Ename;
double Sal;
static int i;
public Employee() {
EmpID = i++;
Ename = "dont know";
Sal = 0.0;
}
public Employee(String ename, double sal) {

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JAVA for Beginners
EmpID = i++;
Ename = ename;
Sal = sal;
}
public String toString() {

return "EmpID " + EmpID + "\n" + "Ename " + Ename + "\
n" + "Sal" + Sal;
}
public int compareTo(Object o1) {

if (this.Sal == ((Employee) o1).Sal)
return 0;
else if ((this.Sal) > ((Employee) o1).Sal)
return 1;
else
return -1;
}
}
ComparableDemo.java
import java.util.*;
public class ComparableDemo{
List ts1 = new ArrayList();

ts1.add(new Employee ("Tom",40000.00));
ts1.add(new Employee ("Harry",20000.00));
ts1.add(new Employee ("Maggie",50000.00));
ts1.add(new Employee ("Chris",70000.00));
Collections.sort(ts1);
Iterator itr = ts1.iterator();
while(itr.hasNext()){
Object element = itr.next();
System.out.println(element + "\n");
}
}

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JAVA for Beginners
Predicted Output:
EmpID 1
Ename Harry
Sal20000.0
EmpID 0
Ename Tom
Sal40000.0
EmpID 2
Ename Maggie
Sal50000.0
EmpID 3
Ename Chris
Sal70000.0
The following is another example of sorting. Please note that this code is being presented for
reference. The term package is used to group related pieces of a program together. All the related
classes will be stored in a sort of folder:
package test;
import java.util.*;
public class Farmer implements Comparable {
String name;
int age;
long income;
public Farmer(String name, int age) {

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JAVA for Beginners
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
public Farmer(String name, int age,long income)
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.income=income;
public String getName()
return name;
public int getAge()
return age;
public String toString()
return name + " : " + age;
// natural order for this class
public int compareTo(Object o)

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JAVA for Beginners
return getName().compareTo(((Farmer)o).getName());
static class AgeComparator implements Comparator
public int compare(Object o1, Object o2)
Farmer p1 = (Farmer)o1;
Farmer p2 = (Farmer)o2;
if(p1.getIncome()==0 && p2.getIncome()==0 )
return p1.getAge() - p2.getAge();
else
return (int)(p1.getIncome() -
p2.getIncome());
public static void main(String[] args)
List farmer = new ArrayList();
farmer.add( new Farmer("Joe", 34) );
farmer.add( new Farmer("Ali", 13) );
farmer.add( new Farmer("Mark", 25) );
farmer.add( new Farmer("Dana", 66) );
Collections.sort(farmer);

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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.println("Sort in Natural order");
System.out.println("t" + farmer);
Collections.sort(farmer,
Collections.reverseOrder());
System.out.println("Sort by reverse natural order");
List farmerIncome = new ArrayList();
farmerIncome.add( new Farmer("Joe", 34,33));
farmerIncome.add( new Farmer("Ali", 13,3));
farmerIncome.add( new Farmer("Mark", 25,666));
farmerIncome.add( new Farmer("Dana", 66,2));
Collections.sort(farmer, new AgeComparator());
System.out.println("Sort using Age Comparator");
Collections.sort(farmerIncome, new AgeComparator());
System.out.println("Sort using Age Comparator But

Income Wise");
System.out.println("t" + farmerIncome);
public long getIncome() {
return income;
}
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JAVA for Beginners
public void setIncome(long income) {
this.income = income;
public void setAge(int age) {
this.age = age;
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
Predicted Output:
Sort in Natural order
[Ali : 13, Dana : 66, Joe : 34, Mark : 25]
Sort by reverse natural order
[Mark : 25, Joe : 34, Dana : 66, Ali : 13]
Sort using Age Comparator
[Ali : 13, Mark : 25, Joe : 34, Dana : 66]
Sort using Age Comparator But Income Wise
[Joe : 34, Ali : 13, Mark : 25, Dana : 66]
The following simple example utilizes the Scanner4 for input:
//import package containing scanner
import java.util.*;
4
Scanner is part of the java.util package and can be used for input (keyboard/file)
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JAVA for Beginners
//read an integer and return it to user
public class Scan {
public static void main (String args[]){
//creating instance
Scanner kb = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println("Enter a number: ");
//read integer
int x = kb.nextInt();
System.out.println("Number: " + x);
Using the scanner to capture text (string variable) from keyboard:
import java.util.*;
public class Alphabetize {
//... Declare variables.
Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);
ArrayList<String> words = new ArrayList<String>();
//... Read input one word at a time.
System.out.println("Enter words. End with EOF (CTRL-Z

then Enter)");
//... Read input one word at a time, adding it to an

array list, hasNext to read more than one word
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JAVA for Beginners
while (in.hasNext()) {
words.add(in.next());
//... Sort the words.
Collections.sort(words);
//... Print the sorted list.
System.out.println("\n\nSorted words\n");
for (String word : words) {
System.out.println(word);
Using the Scanner is the most suggested method compared to the Keyboard Class or the
System.in.read . Remember that the Keyboard class was created by you (or given) and is not a
standard in Java.

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JAVA for Beginners
File Operations in Java
Through file handling, we can read data from and write data to files besides doing all sorts of other
operations. Java provides a number of methods for file handling through different classes which are
a part of the “java.io” package. The question can arise in the mind of a new programmer as to why
file-handling is required. The answer of this question would be in two parts, why do we need to read
data from the files and why do we need to save it (write it) to a file.
To answer the first part, Let us suppose that we have a very large amount of data which needs to be
input into a program, Something like a 1000 records, If we start inputting the data manually and
while we are in half-way through the process, there is a power-failure, then once power is restored,
the entire data has to be input again. This would mean a lot of extra work, an easier approach would
be to write all the records in a file and save the file after writing 10 or so records, in this case even if
there is a power-failure, only some records would be lost and once power is restored, there would
be only a few records that would need to be input again. Once all the records are saved in that file,
the file-name can be passed to the program, which can then read all the records from the file.
For the second part, consider a system which needs to record the time and name of any error that
occurs in the system, this can be achieved through saving the data into a file and the administrator
can view the file any time he/she wishes to view it.
Note that if you use a “/” in a path definition in Java in Windows, the path would still resolve
correctly and if you use the Windows conventional “\”, then you have to place two forward slashes
“\\” as a single “\” would be taken as an escape-sequence.
import java.io.*;
public class streams
public static void main(String []args)
File f1=new File("Folder/FILE");
File f2=new File("Folder/FILE1");
String s;
if(f1.exists())

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JAVA for Beginners
if(f1.isFile())
System.out.println("File Name is
"+f1.getName());
s=f1.getParent();
File f3=new File(s);
f1.renameTo(new File("Folder/abc"));
f2.delete();
if (f3.isDirectory())
System.out.println(f2.getPath());
else
System.out.println("Not a File");
The output of the program is:
File Name is FILE

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JAVA for Beginners
Folder
If successfully run , the ” FILE ” file inside the folder ” Folder ” will be renamed to ” abc ” and the ”
FILE1 ” file will be deleted.
Here is an example of a program that reads its own first six bytes, we have:
//0123
import java.io.*;
public class read
public static void main(String []args)
int s=6;
int b[]=new int[6];
char c[]=new char[6];
try
FileInputStream f = new
FileInputStream("read.java");
for (int i=0; i<6; i++)
b[i] = f.read();
c[i] = (char) b[i];
System.out.println("First 6 bytes of the file

are :");
for (int i=0;i<6;i++)

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JAVA for Beginners
System.out.print(b[i]+" ");
System.out.println("nnFirst 6 Bytes as
characters :");
for (int i=0;i<6;i++)
System.out.print(c[i]);
catch (Exception e)
System.out.println("Error");
Predicted Ouptut:
First 6 bytes of the file are :
47 47 48 49 50 51
First 6 Bytes as characters are :
//0123
Notice that the FileInputStream object is created inside a try-catch block since if the specified-file
does not exist, an exception is raised. In the same way to write data to a file byte-by-byte, we have:
import java.io.*;
public class writer
{
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JAVA for Beginners
public static void main(String []args) throws IOException
String s="Hello";
byte b[]=s.getBytes();
FileOutputStream f=new FileOutputStream("file.txt");
int i=0;
while(i < b.length)
f.write(b[i]);
i++;
If the file called file.txt does not exist, it is automatically created. If we place a true in the constructor
for the FileOutputStream, then the file would be opened in append mode.
Template to read data from disk
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
class _______________ {
throws FileNotFoundException {
Scanner diskScanner = new Scanner(new

File(“___________”));

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JAVA for Beginners
________ = diskScanner.nextInt();
________ = diskScanner.nextDouble();
________ = diskScanner.nextLine();
________ = diskScanner.findInLine(“.”).charAt(0);
// etc
The following program reads item from a file on disk. You have to create the file using a text editor
(MS Notepad), and save the file in the same location as your classes. You can use the following
examples for the riddles file (save the file as riddles.txt):
What is black and white and red all over?
An embarrassed zebra
What is black and white and read all over?
A newspaper
What other word can be made with the letters of ALGORITHM?
LOGARITHM
Program Code:
public class Riddle{
private String question;
private String answer;
public Riddle(String q, String a) {
question = q;
answer = a;
public String getQuestion() {

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JAVA for Beginners
return question;
public String getAnswer(){
return answer;
Main Program:
import java.io.*;
public class RiddleFileReader
{ private Scanner fileScan; // For file input
private Scanner kbScan; // For keyboard input
public RiddleFileReader(String fName)
{ kbScan = new Scanner(System.in);
try
{ File theFile = new File(fName);
fileScan = new Scanner(theFile);
fileScan = fileScan.useDelimiter("\r\n");
} catch (IOException e)
{ e.printStackTrace();
} // catch()
} // RiddleFileReader() constructor
public Riddle readRiddle()
{ String ques = null;
String ans = null;
Riddle theRiddle = null;

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JAVA for Beginners
if (fileScan.hasNext())
ques = fileScan.next();
if (fileScan.hasNext())
{ ans = fileScan.next();
theRiddle = new Riddle(ques, ans);
} // if
return theRiddle;
} // readRiddle()
public void displayRiddle(Riddle aRiddle)
{ System.out.println(aRiddle.getQuestion());
System.out.print("Input any letter to see answer:");
String str = kbScan .next(); // Ignore KB input
System.out.println(aRiddle.getAnswer());
} // displayRiddle()
public static void main(String[] args)
{ RiddleFileReader rfr =
new RiddleFileReader("riddles.txt");
Riddle riddle = rfr.readRiddle();
while (riddle != null)
{ rfr.displayRiddle(riddle);
riddle = rfr.readRiddle();

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JAVA for Beginners
Template to write (save) data to disk
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.PrintStream;
class _______________ {
throws FileNotFoundException {
PrintStream diskWriter =
new PrintStream(“___________”);
diskWriter.print(_____);
diskWriter.println(_____);
// Etc.

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JAVA for Beginners
Introduction to GUI using AWT/Swing
Java GUIs were built with components from the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) in package
java.awt. When a Java application with an AWT GUI executes on different Java platforms, the
application's GUI components display differently on each platform. Consider an application that
displays an object of type Button (package java.awt). On a computer running the Microsoft
Windows operating system, the Button will have the same appearance as the buttons in other
Windows applications. Similarly, on a computer running the Apple Mac OS X operating system, the
Button will have the same look and feel as the buttons in other Macintosh applications.
Swing GUI components allow you to specify a uniform look-and-feel for your application across all
platforms or to use each platform's custom look-and-feel. An application can even change the look-
and-feel during execution to enable users to choose their own preferred look-and-feel. Swing
components are implemented in Java, so they are more portable and flexible than the original Java
GUI components from package java.awt, which were based on the GUI components of the
underlying platform. For this reason, Swing GUI components are generally preferred.
Swing advantages:
 Swing is faster.
 Swing is more complete.
 Swing is being actively improved.
AWT advantages:
 AWT is supported on older, as well as newer, browsers so Applets written in AWT will run on
more browsers.
 The Java Micro-Edition, which is used for phones, TV set top boxes, PDAs, etc, uses AWT, not
Swing.
Using Swing to create a small Window

[Refer to the code on the next page]
1. First we have to import all classes in the javax.swing package, although we use only the
JFrame class in the following example. "Windows" are implemented by the JFrame class.
2. Make the application quit when the close box is clicked.
3. After the window has been constructed in memory, display it on the screen. The setVisible
call also starts a separate thread to monitor user interaction with the interface.
4. When we are finished setting up and displaying the window, don't call System.exit(0). We
don't want to stop the program. Although main returns, execution continues because the
call to setVisible(true) created another execution thread, A GUI program builds the user
interface, then just "goes to sleep" until the user does something.

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JAVA for Beginners
import javax.swing.*;
class FirstWindow {
JFrame window = new JFrame();
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setVisible(true);
The window created can be resized and dragged around. One can also minimize, maximize or close
the window. Now that we created a window we can set the text which appears in the title bar:
class MyWindow2 extends JFrame {
MyWindow2 window = new MyWindow2();
public MyWindow2() { //constructor
setTitle("My Window Title using JFrame Subclass");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
Inserting Text inside Window
import java.awt.*; // required for FlowLayout.

class MyWindow3 extends JFrame {

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JAVA for Beginners
MyWindow3 window = new MyWindow3();
public MyWindow3 () {
//Create content panel and set layout
JPanel content = new JPanel();
content.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
//... Add one label to the content pane.
JLabel greeting = new JLabel("Hello World.");
content.add(greeting);
//... Set window (JFrame) characteristics
setContentPane(content);
pack();
setTitle("MyWindow using JFrame Subclass");
setLocationRelativeTo(null); // Centre window.
Creating a simple application implementing JButton, JTextfield and JLabel
import java.awt.*;
class DogYears extends JFrame {
private JTextField _humanYearsTF = new JTextField(3);
private JTextField _dogYearsTF = new JTextField(3);

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JAVA for Beginners
public DogYears() {
JButton convertBtn = new JButton("Convert");

content.add(new JLabel("Dog Years"));
content.add(_dogYearsTF);
content.add(convertBtn);
content.add(new JLabel("Human Years"));
content.add(_humanYearsTF);
setContentPane(content); //window attributes
pack();
setTitle("Dog Year Converter");

setLocationRelativeTo(null);
public static void main(String[] args) { //main
DogYears window = new DogYears();
The final touch to our application is to set the action to perform while the user interacts with the
application:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*; // Needed for ActionListener
class DogYears2 extends JFrame {
private static final int DOG_YEARS_PER_HUMAN_YEAR = 7;
private JTextField _humanYearsTF = new JTextField(3);

private JTextField _dogYearsTF = new JTextField(3);
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JAVA for Beginners
public DogYears2() {
JButton convertBtn = new JButton("Convert");
convertBtn.addActionListener(new ConvertBtnListener());
_dogYearsTF.addActionListener(new ConvertBtnListener());
_humanYearsTF.setEditable(false);
content.add(new JLabel("Dog Years"));
content.add(_dogYearsTF);
content.add(convertBtn);
content.add(new JLabel("Human Years"));
content.add(_humanYearsTF);
setContentPane(content);
pack();
setTitle("Dog Year Converter");
setLocationRelativeTo(null); // Center window.
class ConvertBtnListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
String dyStr = _dogYearsTF.getText();
int dogYears = Integer.parseInt(dyStr);
int humanYears = dogYears *

DOG_YEARS_PER_HUMAN_YEAR;

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JAVA for Beginners
_humanYearsTF.setText("" + humanYears);
DogYears2 window = new DogYears2();
Predicted Final Output:

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2nd Edition

Riccardo Flask 2|Page

The for Loop.......................................................................................................................................................... 48

Riccardo Flask 3|Page

Constructor having parameters ....................................................................................................................... 89

Riccardo Flask 4|Page

OOP – Object Oriented Programming

Riccardo Flask 5|Page

Part 1 - Getting Started

My first Java program

public class Example1 {

public static void main (String args []) {

System.out.println ("My first Java program");

My first Java program

 javac.exe – compiles the program

Riccardo Flask 6|Page

 cd\ (change directory)

c:\[folder name]\javac Example1.java

To execute the program, we invoke the interpreter by typing:

c:\[folder name]\java Example1

The result will be displayed in the DOS window.

 BlueJ – www.bluej.org (freeware)

Riccardo Flask 7|Page

Variables and Data Types

public static void main(String args[]) {

int var1; // this declares a variable

int var2; // this declares another variable

var1 = 1024; // this assigns 1024 to var1

System.out.println("var1 contains " + var1);

System.out.print("var2 contains var1 / 2: ");

var2 contains var1 / 2: 512

 Test your skills – Example3

 You need only two variables of type integer

Riccardo Flask 8|Page

Operator Description Example – given a is 15 and b is 6

public static void main(String args[]) {

int iresult, irem;

double dresult, drem;

dresult = 10.0 / 3.0;

drem = 10.0 % 3.0;

System.out.println("Result and remainder of 10 / 3: " +

iresult + " " + irem);

System.out.println("Result and remainder of 10.0 / 3.0: "

Result and Remainder of 10/3: 3 1

Riccardo Flask 9|Page

public static void main(String args[]) {

System.out.println(d + " is a factor of " + n);

d = 0; // now, set d to zero

// Since d is zero, the second operand is not evaluated.

System.out.println(d + " is a factor of " + n);

/* Now, try same thing without short-circuit operator.

This will cause a divide-by-zero error.

System.out.println(d + " is a factor of " + n);

Character Escape Codes

public static void main(String args[]) {

System.out.println("First line\nSecond line");

 Test your skills – Example7

The following program can be used as a guide:

public static void main(String args[]) {