OOPs (Object-Oriented Programming System)

Object means a real-world entity such as a pen, chair, table, computer, watch, etc. Object-Oriented
Programming is a methodology or paradigm to design a program using classes and objects. It simplifies
software development and maintenance by providing some concepts:

o Object
o Class
o Inheritance
o Polymorphism
o Abstraction
o Encapsulation
Apart from these concepts, there are some other terms which are used in Object-Oriented design:

o Coupling
o Cohesion
o Association
o Aggregation
o Composition

Object

Any entity that has state and behavior is known as an object. For example, a chair, pen, table, keyboard,
bike, etc. It can be physical or logical.

An Object can be defined as an instance of a class. An object contains an address and takes up some
space in memory. Objects can communicate without knowing the details of each other's data or code. The
only necessary thing is the type of message accepted and the type of response returned by the objects.

Example: A dog is an object because it has states like color, name, breed, etc. as well as behaviors like
wagging the tail, barking, eating, etc.

Class
Collection of objects is called class. It is a logical entity.

A class can also be defined as a blueprint from which you can create an individual object. Class doesn't
consume any space.
Inheritance
When one object acquires all the properties and behaviors of a parent object, it is known as inheritance. It
provides code reusability. It is used to achieve runtime polymorphism.

Polymorphism
If one task is performed in different ways, it is known as polymorphism. For example: to convince the
customer differently, to draw something, for example, shape, triangle, rectangle, etc.

In Java, we use method overloading and method overriding to achieve polymorphism.

Another example can be to speak something; for example, a cat speaks meow, dog barks woof, etc.

Abstraction
Hiding internal details and showing functionality is known as abstraction. For example phone call, we don't
know the internal processing.

In Java, we use abstract class and interface to achieve abstraction.

Encapsulation
Binding (or wrapping) code and data together into a single unit are known as encapsulation. For example,
a capsule, it is wrapped with different medicines.

A java class is the example of encapsulation. Java bean is the fully encapsulated class because all the
data members are private here.

Coupling
Coupling refers to the knowledge or information or dependency of another class. It arises when classes
are aware of each other. If a class has the details information of another class, there is strong coupling. In
Java, we use private, protected, and public modifiers to display the visibility level of a class, method, and
field. You can use interfaces for the weaker coupling because there is no concrete implementation.

Cohesion
Cohesion refers to the level of a component which performs a single well-defined task. A single well-
defined task is done by a highly cohesive method. The weakly cohesive method will split the task into
separate parts. The java.io package is a highly cohesive package because it has I/O related classes and
interface. However, the java.util package is a weakly cohesive package because it has unrelated classes
and interfaces.

Association
Association represents the relationship between the objects. Here, one object can be associated with one
object or many objects. There can be four types of association between the objects:

o One to One
o One to Many
o Many to One, and
o Many to Many
Let's understand the relationship with real-time examples. For example, One country can have one prime
minister (one to one), and a prime minister can have many ministers (one to many). Also, many MP's can
have one prime minister (many to one), and many ministers can have many departments (many to many).

Association can be undirectional or bidirectional.

Aggregation
Aggregation is a way to achieve Association. Aggregation represents the relationship where one object
contains other objects as a part of its state. It represents the weak relationship between objects. It is also
termed as a has-a relationship in Java. Like, inheritance represents the is-a relationship. It is another way
to reuse objects.

Composition
The composition is also a way to achieve Association. The composition represents the relationship where
one object contains other objects as a part of its state. There is a strong relationship between the
containing object and the dependent object. It is the state where containing objects do not have an
independent existence. If you delete the parent object, all the child objects will be deleted automatically.

What is an object in Java

An entity that has state and behavior is known as an object e.g., chair, bike, marker, pen, table, car, etc. It
can be physical or logical (tangible and intangible). The example of an intangible object is the banking
system.

o State: represents the data (value) of an object.

o Behavior: represents the behavior (functionality) of an object such as deposit, withdraw, etc.
o Identity: An object identity is typically implemented via a unique ID. The value of the ID is not
visible to the external user. However, it is used internally by the JVM to identify each object
uniquely.
 For Example, Pen is an object. Its name is Reynolds; color is white, known as its state. It is used to write,
so writing is its behavior.

An object is an instance of a class. A class is a template or blueprint from which objects are created.
So, an object is the instance(result) of a class.

Object Definitions:

o An object is a real-world entity.

o An object is a runtime entity.
o The object is an entity which has state and behavior.
o The object is an instance of a class.

What is a class in Java

A class is a group of objects which have common properties. It is a template or blueprint from which
objects are created. It is a logical entity. It can't be physical.

A class in Java can contain:

o Fields
o Methods
o Constructors
o Blocks
o Nested class and interface

Syntax to declare a class:

1. class <class_name>{
2. field;
3. method;
4. }

Instance variable in Java

A variable which is created inside the class but outside the method is known as an instance variable.
Instance variable doesn't get memory at compile time. It gets memory at runtime when an object or
instance is created. That is why it is known as an instance variable.

Method in Java
In Java, a method is like a function which is used to expose the behavior of an object.

Ways to initialize object

There are 3 ways to initialize object in Java.

1. By reference variable
2. By method
3. By constructor

1) Object and Class Example: Initialization through

reference
Initializing an object means storing data into the object. Let's see a simple example where we are going to
initialize the object through a reference variable.

File: TestStudent2.java

1. class Student{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. }
5. class TestStudent2{
6. public static void main(String args[]){
7. Student s1=new Student();
8. s1.id=101;
9. s1.name="Sonoo";
10. System.out.println(s1.id+" "+s1.name);//printing members with a white space
11. }
12. }
Test it Now
Output:

101 Sonoo

2) Object and Class Example: Initialization through method

In this example, we are creating the two objects of Student class and initializing the value to these objects
by invoking the insertRecord method. Here, we are displaying the state (data) of the objects by invoking
the displayInformation() method.

File: TestStudent4.java

1. class Student{
2. int rollno;
3. String name;
4. void insertRecord(int r, String n){
5. rollno=r;
6. name=n;
7. }
8. void displayInformation(){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name);}
9. }
10. class TestStudent4{
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Student s1=new Student();
13. Student s2=new Student();
14. s1.insertRecord(111,"Karan");
15. s2.insertRecord(222,"Aryan");
16. s1.displayInformation();
17. s2.displayInformation();
18. }
19. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan
222 Aryan

3) Object and Class Example: Initialization through a

constructor
We will learn about constructors in Java later.

Object and Class Example: Employee

Let's see an example where we are maintaining records of employees.

File: TestEmployee.java

1. class Employee{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. float salary;
5. void insert(int i, String n, float s) {
6. id=i;
7. name=n;
8. salary=s;
9. }
10. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name+" "+salary);}
11. }
12. public class TestEmployee {
13. public static void main(String[] args) {
14. Employee e1=new Employee();
15. Employee e2=new Employee();
16. Employee e3=new Employee();
17. e1.insert(101,"ajeet",45000);
18. e2.insert(102,"irfan",25000);
19. e3.insert(103,"nakul",55000);
20. e1.display();
21. e2.display();
22. e3.display();
23. }
24. }
Test it Now
Output:

101 ajeet 45000.0

 102 irfan 25000.0
103 nakul 55000.0

Object and Class Example: Rectangle

There is given another example that maintains the records of Rectangle class.

File: TestRectangle1.java

1. class Rectangle{
2. int length;
3. int width;
4. void insert(int l, int w){
5. length=l;
6. width=w;
7. }
8. void calculateArea(){System.out.println(length*width);}
9. }
10. class TestRectangle1{
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Rectangle r1=new Rectangle();
13. Rectangle r2=new Rectangle();
14. r1.insert(11,5);
15. r2.insert(3,15);
16. r1.calculateArea();
17. r2.calculateArea();
18. }
19. }
Test it Now
Output:

55
45

Method in Java
In general, a method is a way to perform some task. Similarly, the method in Java is a collection of
instructions that performs a specific task. It provides the reusability of code. We can also easily modify
code using methods. In this section, we will learn what is a method in Java, types of methods,
method declaration, and how to call a method in Java.

Method Declaration
The method declaration provides information about method attributes, such as visibility, return-type,
name, and arguments. It has six components that are known as method header, as we have shown in
the following figure.
 Method Signature: Every method has a method signature. It is a part of the method declaration. It
includes the method name and parameter list.

Access Specifier: Access specifier or modifier is the access type of the method. It specifies the visibility
of the method. Java provides four types of access specifier:

o Public: The method is accessible by all classes when we use public specifier in our
application.
o Private: When we use a private access specifier, the method is accessible only in the classes
in which it is defined.
o Protected: When we use protected access specifier, the method is accessible within the same
package or subclasses in a different package.
o Default: When we do not use any access specifier in the method declaration, Java uses
default access specifier by default. It is visible only from the same package only.
Return Type: Return type is a data type that the method returns. It may have a primitive data type, object,
collection, void, etc. If the method does not return anything, we use void keyword.

Method Name: It is a unique name that is used to define the name of a method. It must be corresponding
to the functionality of the method. Suppose, if we are creating a method for subtraction of two numbers,
the method name must be subtraction(). A method is invoked by its name.

Parameter List: It is the list of parameters separated by a comma and enclosed in the pair of
parentheses. It contains the data type and variable name. If the method has no parameter, left the
parentheses blank.

Method Body: It is a part of the method declaration. It contains all the actions to be performed. It is
enclosed within the pair of curly braces.

How to Call or Invoke a User-defined Method

Once we have defined a method, it should be called. The calling of a method in a program is simple.
When we call or invoke a user-defined method, the program control transfer to the called method.

EvenOdd.java

1. import java.util.Scanner;
2. public class EvenOdd
3. {
4. public static void main (String args[])
5. {
6. //creating Scanner class object
7. Scanner scan=new Scanner(System.in);
8. System.out.print("Enter the number: ");
9. //reading value from user
10. int num=scan.nextInt();
11. //method calling
12. findEvenOdd(num);
13. }
14. //user defined method
15. public static void findEvenOdd(int num)
16. {
17. //method body
18. if(num%2==0)
19. System.out.println(num+" is even");
20. else
21. System.out.println(num+" is odd");
22. }
23. }
Output 1:

Enter the number: 12

12 is even

Output 2:

Enter the number: 99

99 is odd

Addition.java

1. public class Addition

2. {
3. public static void main(String[] args)
4. {
5. int a = 19;
6. int b = 5;
7. //method calling
8. int c = add(a, b); //a and b are actual parameters
9. System.out.println("The sum of a and b is= " + c);
10. }
11. //user defined method
12. public static int add(int n1, int n2) //n1 and n2 are formal parameters
13. {
14. int s;
15. s=n1+n2;
16. return s; //returning the sum
17. }
18. }
Output:

The sum of a and b is= 24

Static Method
A method that has static keyword is known as static method. In other words, a method that belongs to a
class rather than an instance of a class is known as a static method. We can also create a static method
by using the keyword static before the method name.

The main advantage of a static method is that we can call it without creating an object. It can access static
data members and also change the value of it. It is used to create an instance method. It is invoked by
using the class name. The best example of a static method is the main() method.

Example of static method

Display.java

1. public class Display

2. {
3. public static void main(String[] args)
4. {
5. show();
6. }
7. static void show()
8. {
9. System.out.println("It is an example of static method.");
10. }
11. }
Output:

It is an example of a static method.

Instance Method
The method of the class is known as an instance method. It is a non-static method defined in the class.
Before calling or invoking the instance method, it is necessary to create an object of its class. Let's see an
example of an instance method.

InstanceMethodExample.java

1. public class InstanceMethodExample

2. {
3. public static void main(String [] args)
4. {
5. //Creating an object of the class
6. InstanceMethodExample obj = new InstanceMethodExample();
7. //invoking instance method
8. System.out.println("The sum is: "+obj.add(12, 13));
9. }
10. int s;
11. //user-defined method because we have not used static keyword
12. public int add(int a, int b)
13. {
14. s = a+b;
15. //returning the sum
16. return s;
17. }
18. }
Output:

The sum is: 25

There are two types of instance method:

o Accessor Method
o Mutator Method
Accessor Method: The method(s) that reads the instance variable(s) is known as the accessor method.
We can easily identify it because the method is prefixed with the word get. It is also known as getters. It
returns the value of the private field. It is used to get the value of the private field.

Example

1. public int getId()

2. {
3. return Id;
4. }
 Mutator Method: The method(s) read the instance variable(s) and also modify the values. We can easily
identify it because the method is prefixed with the word set. It is also known as setters or modifiers. It
does not return anything. It accepts a parameter of the same data type that depends on the field. It is used
to set the value of the private field.

Example

1. public void setRoll(int roll)

2. {
3. this.roll = roll;
4. }

Example of accessor and mutator method

Student.java

1. public class Student

2. {
3. private int roll;
4. private String name;
5. public int getRoll() //accessor method
6. {
7. return roll;
8. }
9. public void setRoll(int roll) //mutator method
10. {
11. this.roll = roll;
12. }
13. public String getName()
14. {
15. return name;
16. }
17. public void setName(String name)
18. {
19. this.name = name;
20. }
21. public void display()
22. {
23. System.out.println("Roll no.: "+roll);
24. System.out.println("Student name: "+name);
25. }
26. }

Abstract Method
The method that does not has method body is known as abstract method. In other words, without an
implementation is known as abstract method. It always declares in the abstract class. It means the class
itself must be abstract if it has abstract method. To create an abstract method, we use the
keyword abstract.

Syntax

1. abstract void method_name();

Example of abstract method

Demo.java

1. abstract class Demo //abstract class

2. {
3. //abstract method declaration
4. abstract void display();
5. }
6. public class MyClass extends Demo
7. {
8. //method impelmentation
9. void display()
10. {
11. System.out.println("Abstract method?");
12. }
13. public static void main(String args[])
14. {
15. //creating object of abstract class
16. Demo obj = new MyClass();
17. //invoking abstract method
18. obj.display();
19. }
20. }
Output:

Abstract method...

Factory method
It is a method that returns an object to the class to which it belongs. All static methods are factory
methods. For example, NumberFormat obj = NumberFormat.getNumberInstance();

Constructors in Java
In Java, a constructor is a block of codes similar to the method. It is called when an instance of
the class is created. At the time of calling constructor, memory for the object is allocated in the memory.

It is a special type of method which is used to initialize the object.

Every time an object is created using the new() keyword, at least one constructor is called.

It calls a default constructor if there is no constructor available in the class. In such case, Java compiler
provides a default constructor by default.

There are two types of constructors in Java: no-arg constructor, and parameterized constructor.

Note: It is called constructor because it constructs the values at the time of object creation. It is not
necessary to write a constructor for a class. It is because java compiler creates a default constructor if
your class doesn't have any.

Rules for creating Java constructor

There are two rules defined for the constructor.

1. Constructor name must be the same as its class name

2. A Constructor must have no explicit return type
3. A Java constructor cannot be abstract, static, final, and synchronized

Types of Java constructors

There are two types of constructors in Java:

1. Default constructor (no-arg constructor)

2. Parameterized constructor

Java Default Constructor

A constructor is called "Default Constructor" when it doesn't have any parameter.

Syntax of default constructor:

1. <class_name>(){}

Example of default constructor

In this example, we are creating the no-arg constructor in the Bike class. It will be invoked at the time of
object creation.
1. //Java Program to create and call a default constructor
2. class Bike1{
3. //creating a default constructor
4. Bike1(){System.out.println("Bike is created");}
5. //main method
6. public static void main(String args[]){
7. //calling a default constructor
8. Bike1 b=new Bike1();
9. }
10. }
Test it Now
Output:

Bike is created

) What is the purpose of a default constructor?

The default constructor is used to provide the default values to the object like 0, null, etc., depending on
the type.

Example of default constructor that displays the default

values
1. //Let us see another example of default constructor
2. //which displays the default values
3. class Student3{
4. int id;
5. String name;
6. //method to display the value of id and name
7. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
8.
9. public static void main(String args[]){
10. //creating objects
11. Student3 s1=new Student3();
12. Student3 s2=new Student3();
13. //displaying values of the object
14. s1.display();
15. s2.display();
16. }
17. }
Test it Now
Output:

0 null
0 null

Java Parameterized Constructor

A constructor which has a specific number of parameters is called a parameterized constructor.

Why use the parameterized constructor?

The parameterized constructor is used to provide different values to distinct objects. However, you can
provide the same values also.
 Example of parameterized constructor
In this example, we have created the constructor of Student class that have two parameters. We can have
any number of parameters in the constructor.

1. //Java Program to demonstrate the use of the parameterized constructor.

2. class Student4{
3. int id;
4. String name;
5. //creating a parameterized constructor
6. Student4(int i,String n){
7. id = i;
8. name = n;
9. }
10. //method to display the values
11. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
12.
13. public static void main(String args[]){
14. //creating objects and passing values
15. Student4 s1 = new Student4(111,"Karan");
16. Student4 s2 = new Student4(222,"Aryan");
17. //calling method to display the values of object
18. s1.display();
19. s2.display();
20. }
21. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan
222 Aryan

Constructor Overloading in Java

In Java, a constructor is just like a method but without return type. It can also be overloaded like Java
methods.

Constructor overloading in Java is a technique of having more than one constructor with different
parameter lists. They are arranged in a way that each constructor performs a different task. They are
differentiated by the compiler by the number of parameters in the list and their types.

Example of Constructor Overloading

1. //Java program to overload constructors
2. class Student5{
3. int id;
4. String name;
5. int age;
6. //creating two arg constructor
7. Student5(int i,String n){
8. id = i;
9. name = n;
10. }
11. //creating three arg constructor
12. Student5(int i,String n,int a){
13. id = i;
14. name = n;
15. age=a;
16. }
17. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name+" "+age);}
18.
19. public static void main(String args[]){
20. Student5 s1 = new Student5(111,"Karan");
21. Student5 s2 = new Student5(222,"Aryan",25);
22. s1.display();
23. s2.display();
24. }
25. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan 0
222 Aryan 25

Difference between constructor and method in Java

There are many differences between constructors and methods. They are given below.

Java Constructor Java Method

A constructor is used to initialize the state of an A method is used to expose the behavior of an
object. object.

A constructor must not have a return type. A method must have a return type.

The constructor is invoked implicitly. The method is invoked explicitly.

The Java compiler provides a default constructor The method is not provided by the compiler in
if you don't have any constructor in a class. any case.

The constructor name must be same as the class The method name may or may not be same as
name. the class name.

Java Copy Constructor

There is no copy constructor in Java. However, we can copy the values from one object to another like
copy constructor in C++.

There are many ways to copy the values of one object into another in Java. They are:

o By constructor
o By assigning the values of one object into another
o By clone() method of Object class
In this example, we are going to copy the values of one object into another using Java constructor.

1. //Java program to initialize the values from one object to another object.
2. class Student6{
3. int id;
4. String name;
5. //constructor to initialize integer and string
6. Student6(int i,String n){
7. id = i;
8. name = n;
9. }
10. //constructor to initialize another object
11. Student6(Student6 s){
12. id = s.id;
13. name =s.name;
14. }
15. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
16.
17. public static void main(String args[]){
18. Student6 s1 = new Student6(111,"Karan");
19. Student6 s2 = new Student6(s1);
20. s1.display();
21. s2.display();
22. }
23. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan
111 Karan

Copying values without constructor

We can copy the values of one object into another by assigning the objects values to another object. In
this case, there is no need to create the constructor.

1. class Student7{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. Student7(int i,String n){
5. id = i;
6. name = n;
7. }
8. Student7(){}
9. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name);}
10.
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Student7 s1 = new Student7(111,"Karan");
13. Student7 s2 = new Student7();
14. s2.id=s1.id;
15. s2.name=s1.name;
16. s1.display();
17. s2.display();
18. }
19. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan
111 Karan

Java static keyword

The static keyword in Java is used for memory management mainly. We can apply static keyword
with variables, methods, blocks and nested classes. The static keyword belongs to the class than an
instance of the class.

The static can be:

1. Variable (also known as a class variable)

2. Method (also known as a class method)
3. Block
4. Nested class

If you declare any variable as static, it is known as a static variable.

 o The static variable can be used to refer to the common property of all objects (which is not
unique for each object), for example, the company name of employees, college name of
students, etc.
o The static variable gets memory only once in the class area at the time of class loading.

Java static property is shared to all objects.

Example of static variable

1. //Java Program to demonstrate the use of static variable
2. class Student{
3. int rollno;//instance variable
4. String name;
5. static String college ="ITS";//static variable
6. //constructor
7. Student(int r, String n){
8. rollno = r;
9. name = n;
10. }
11. //method to display the values
12. void display (){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name+" "+college);}
13. }
14. //Test class to show the values of objects
15. public class TestStaticVariable1{
16. public static void main(String args[]){
17. Student s1 = new Student(111,"Karan");
18. Student s2 = new Student(222,"Aryan");
19. //we can change the college of all objects by the single line of code
20. //Student.college="BBDIT";
21. s1.display();
22. s2.display();
23. }
24. }
Test it Now
Output:

111 Karan ITS

222 Aryan ITS

2) Java static method

If you apply static keyword with any method, it is known as static method.

o A static method belongs to the class rather than the object of a class.
o A static method can be invoked without the need for creating an instance of a class.
o A static method can access static data member and can change the value of it.

Example of static method

1. //Java Program to demonstrate the use of a static method.
2. class Student{
3. int rollno;
4. String name;
5. static String college = "ITS";
6. //static method to change the value of static variable
7. static void change(){
8. college = "BBDIT";
9. }
10. //constructor to initialize the variable
11. Student(int r, String n){
12. rollno = r;
13. name = n;
14. }
15. //method to display values
16. void display(){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name+" "+college);}
17. }
18. //Test class to create and display the values of object
19. public class TestStaticMethod{
20. public static void main(String args[]){
21. Student.change();//calling change method
22. //creating objects
23. Student s1 = new Student(111,"Karan");
24. Student s2 = new Student(222,"Aryan");
25. Student s3 = new Student(333,"Sonoo");
26. //calling display method
27. s1.display();
28. s2.display();
29. s3.display();
30. }
31. }
Test it Now

Output:111 Karan BBDIT

222 Aryan BBDIT
333 Sonoo BBDIT

Another example of a static method that performs a

normal calculation
1. //Java Program to get the cube of a given number using the static method
2.
3. class Calculate{
4. static int cube(int x){
5. return x*x*x;
6. }
7.
8. public static void main(String args[]){
9. int result=Calculate.cube(5);
10. System.out.println(result);
11. }
12. }
Test it Now

Output:125

Restrictions for the static method

There are two main restrictions for the static method. They are:

1. The static method can not use non static data member or call non-static method directly.
2. this and super cannot be used in static context.

1. class A{
2. int a=40;//non static
3.
4. public static void main(String args[]){
5. System.out.println(a);
6. }
7. }
Test it Now

Output:Compile Time Error

this keyword in Java

 There can be a lot of usage of Java this keyword. In Java, this is a reference variable that refers to the
current object.

Usage of Java this keyword

Here is given the 6 usage of java this keyword.

1. this can be used to refer current class instance variable.

2. this can be used to invoke current class method (implicitly)
3. this() can be used to invoke current class constructor.
4. this can be passed as an argument in the method call.
5. this can be passed as argument in the constructor call.
6. this can be used to return the current class instance from the method.

Suggestion: If you are beginner to java, lookup only three usages of this keyword.

1) this: to refer current class instance variable

The this keyword can be used to refer current class instance variable. If there is ambiguity between the
instance variables and parameters, this keyword resolves the problem of ambiguity.

Understanding the problem without this keyword

Let's understand the problem if we don't use this keyword by the example given below:

1. class Student{
2. int rollno;
3. String name;
4. float fee;
5. Student(int rollno,String name,float fee){
6. rollno=rollno;
7. name=name;
8. fee=fee;
9. }
10. void display(){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name+" "+fee);}
11. }
12. class TestThis1{
13. public static void main(String args[]){
14. Student s1=new Student(111,"ankit",5000f);
15. Student s2=new Student(112,"sumit",6000f);
16. s1.display();
17. s2.display();
18. }}
Test it Now
Output:

0 null 0.0
0 null 0.0

In the above example, parameters (formal arguments) and instance variables are same. So, we are using
this keyword to distinguish local variable and instance variable.

Solution of the above problem by this keyword

1. class Student{
2. int rollno;
3. String name;
4. float fee;
5. Student(int rollno,String name,float fee){
6. this.rollno=rollno;
7. this.name=name;
8. this.fee=fee;
9. }
10. void display(){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name+" "+fee);}
11. }
12.
13. class TestThis2{
14. public static void main(String args[]){
15. Student s1=new Student(111,"ankit",5000f);
16. Student s2=new Student(112,"sumit",6000f);
17. s1.display();
18. s2.display();
19. }}
Test it Now
Output:

111 ankit 5000.0

112 sumit 6000.0

2) this: to invoke current class method

You may invoke the method of the current class by using the this keyword. If you don't use the this
keyword, compiler automatically adds this keyword while invoking the method. Let's see the example
1. class A{
2. void m(){System.out.println("hello m");}
3. void n(){
4. System.out.println("hello n");
5. //m();//same as this.m()
6. this.m();
7. }
8. }
9. class TestThis4{
10. public static void main(String args[]){
11. A a=new A();
12. a.n();
13. }}
Test it Now
Output:

hello n
hello m

3) this() : to invoke current class constructor

The this() constructor call can be used to invoke the current class constructor. It is used to reuse the
constructor. In other words, it is used for constructor chaining.

Calling default constructor from parameterized constructor:

1. class A{
2. A(){System.out.println("hello a");}
3. A(int x){
4. this();
5. System.out.println(x);
6. }
7. }
8. class TestThis5{
9. public static void main(String args[]){
10. A a=new A(10);
11. }}
Test it Now
Output:

hello a
10

Real usage of this() constructor call

 The this() constructor call should be used to reuse the constructor from the constructor. It maintains the
chain between the constructors i.e. it is used for constructor chaining. Let's see the example given below
that displays the actual use of this keyword.

1. class Student{
2. int rollno;
3. String name,course;
4. float fee;
5. Student(int rollno,String name,String course){
6. this.rollno=rollno;
7. this.name=name;
8. this.course=course;
9. }
10. Student(int rollno,String name,String course,float fee){
11. this(rollno,name,course);//reusing constructor
12. this.fee=fee;
13. }
14. void display(){System.out.println(rollno+" "+name+" "+course+" "+fee);}
15. }
16. class TestThis7{
17. public static void main(String args[]){
18. Student s1=new Student(111,"ankit","java");
19. Student s2=new Student(112,"sumit","java",6000f);
20. s1.display();
21. s2.display();
22. }}
Test it Now
Output:

111 ankit java 0.0

112 sumit java 6000.0

Rule: Call to this() must be the first statement in constructor.

4) this: to pass as an argument in the method

The this keyword can also be passed as an argument in the method. It is mainly used in the event
handling. Let's see the example:

1. class S2{
2. void m(S2 obj){
3. System.out.println("method is invoked");
4. }
5. void p(){
6. m(this);
7. }
8. public static void main(String args[]){
9. S2 s1 = new S2();
10. s1.p();
11. }
12. }
Test it Now
Output:

method is invoked

5) this: to pass as argument in the constructor call

We can pass the this keyword in the constructor also. It is useful if we have to use one object in multiple
classes. Let's see the example:
1. class B{
2. A4 obj;
3. B(A4 obj){
4. this.obj=obj;
5. }
6. void display(){
7. System.out.println(obj.data);//using data member of A4 class
8. }
9. }
10.
11. class A4{
12. int data=10;
13. A4(){
14. B b=new B(this);
15. b.display();
16. }
17. public static void main(String args[]){
18. A4 a=new A4();
19. }
20. }
Test it Now

Output:10

6) this keyword can be used to return current class instance

We can return this keyword as an statement from the method. In such case, return type of the method
must be the class type (non-primitive). Let's see the example:

Syntax of this that can be returned as a statement

1. return_type method_name(){
2. return this;
3. }

Example of this keyword that you return as a statement

from the method
1. class A{
2. A getA(){
3. return this;
4. }
5. void msg(){System.out.println("Hello java");}
6. }
7. class Test1{
8. public static void main(String args[]){
9. new A().getA().msg();
10. }
11. }
Test it Now
Output:

Hello java

Proving this keyword

Let's prove that this keyword refers to the current class instance variable. In this program, we are printing
the reference variable and this, output of both variables are same.

1. class A5{
2. void m(){
3. System.out.println(this);//prints same reference ID
4. }
5. public static void main(String args[]){
6. A5 obj=new A5();
7. System.out.println(obj);//prints the reference ID
8. obj.m();
9. }
10. }
Test it Now
Output:

A5@22b3ea59
A5@22b3ea59