Chapter 4

Writing Classes

Java Software Solutions

Foundations of Program Design
9th Edition

John Lewis
William Loftus

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Writing Classes
• We've been using predefined classes from the Java
API. Now we will learn to write our own classes.
• Chapter 4 focuses on:
– class definitions
– instance data
– encapsulation and Java modifiers
– method declaration and parameter passing
– constructors

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Outline

Anatomy of a Class
Encapsulation
Anatomy of a Method

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Writing Classes
• The programs we’ve written in previous examples
have used classes defined in the Java API
• Now we will begin to design programs that rely on
classes that we write ourselves
• The class that contains the main method is just the
starting point of a program
• True object-oriented programming is based on
defining classes that represent objects with well-
defined characteristics and functionality

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Examples of Classes

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Classes and Objects
• Recall from our overview of objects in Chapter 1
that an object has state and behavior
• Consider a six-sided die (singular of dice)
– Its state can be defined as which face is showing
– Its primary behavior is that it can be rolled
• We represent a die by designing a class called
Die that models this state and behavior
– The class serves as the blueprint for a die object
• We can then instantiate as many die objects as we
need for any particular program

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Classes
• A class can contain data declarations and method
declarations

int size, weight; Data declarations

char category;

Method declarations

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Classes
• The values of the data define the state of an object
created from the class
• The functionality of the methods define the
behaviors of the object
• For our Die class, we might declare an integer
called faceValue that represents the current
value showing on the face
• One of the methods would “roll” the die by setting
faceValue to a random number between one
and six

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Classes
• We’ll want to design the Die class so that it is a
versatile and reusable resource
• Any given program will probably not use all
operations of a given class
• See RollingDice.java
• See Die.java

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//********************************************************************
// RollingDice.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the creation and use of a user-defined class.
//********************************************************************

public class RollingDice

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Creates two Die objects and rolls them several times.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Die die1, die2;
int sum;

die1 = new Die();

die2 = new Die();

die1.roll();
die2.roll();
System.out.println("Die One: " + die1 + ", Die Two: " + die2);

continue

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continue

die1.roll();
die2.setFaceValue(4);
System.out.println("Die One: " + die1 + ", Die Two: " + die2);

sum = die1.getFaceValue() + die2.getFaceValue();

System.out.println("Sum: " + sum);

sum = die1.roll() + die2.roll();

System.out.println("Die One: " + die1 + ", Die Two: " + die2);
System.out.println("New sum: " + sum);
}
}

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continue Sample Run
die1.roll(); Die One: 5, Die Two: 2
die2.setFaceValue(4);
Die One: 1, Die Two: 4
System.out.println("Die
Sum: 5 One: " + die1 + ", Die Two: " + die2);
Die One: 4, Die Two: 2
sum = die1.getFaceValue() + die2.getFaceValue();
New sum: 6
System.out.println("Sum: " + sum);

sum = die1.roll() + die2.roll();

System.out.println("Die One: " + die1 + ", Die Two: " + die2);
System.out.println("New sum: " + sum);
}
}

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//********************************************************************
// Die.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Represents one die (singular of dice) with faces showing values
// between 1 and 6.
//********************************************************************

public class Die

{
private final int MAX = 6; // maximum face value

private int faceValue; // current value showing on the die

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Constructor: Sets the initial face value.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public Die()
{
faceValue = 1;
}

continue

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continue

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Rolls the die and returns the result.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public int roll()
{
faceValue = (int)(Math.random() * MAX) + 1;
return faceValue;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Face value mutator.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public void setFaceValue(int value)
{
faceValue = value;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Face value accessor.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public int getFaceValue()
{
return faceValue;
}

continue

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continue

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Returns a string representation of this die.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public String toString()
{
String result = Integer.toString(faceValue);

return result;
}
}

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The Die Class
• The Die class contains two data values
– a constant MAX that represents the maximum face value
– an integer faceValue that represents the current face
value
• The roll method uses the random method of the
Math class to determine a new face value
• There are also methods to explicitly set and
retrieve the current face value at any time

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The toString Method
• It's good practice to define a toString method for
a class
• The toString method returns a character string
that represents the object in some way
• It is called automatically when an object is
concatenated to a string or when it is passed to the
println method
• It's also convenient for debugging problems

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Constructors
• As mentioned previously, a constructor is used to
set up an object when it is initially created
• A constructor has the same name as the class
• The Die constructor is used to set the initial face
value of each new die object to one
• We examine constructors in more detail later in this
chapter

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Data Scope
• The scope of data is the area in a program in which
that data can be referenced (used)
• Data declared at the class level can be referenced
by all methods in that class
• Data declared within a method can be used only in
that method
• Data declared within a method is called local data
• In the Die class, the variable result is declared
inside the toString method -- it is local to that
method and cannot be referenced anywhere else
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Instance Data
• A variable declared at the class level (such as
faceValue) is called instance data
• Each instance (object) has its own instance variable
• A class declares the type of the data, but it does not
reserve memory space for it
• Each time a Die object is created, a new
faceValue variable is created as well
• The objects of a class share the method definitions,
but each object has its own data space
• That's the only way two objects can have different
states
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Instance Data
• We can depict the two Die objects from the
RollingDice program as follows:

die1 faceValue 5

die2 faceValue 2

Each object maintains its own faceValue

variable, and thus its own state

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UML Diagrams
• UML stands for the Unified Modeling Language
• UML diagrams show relationships among classes
and objects
• A UML class diagram consists of one or more
classes, each with sections for the class name,
attributes (data), and operations (methods)
• Lines between classes represent associations
• A dotted arrow shows that one class uses the other
(calls its methods)

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 UML Class Diagrams
• A UML class diagram for the RollingDice
program:

RollingDice Die
faceValue : int
main (args : String[]) :
void roll() : int
setFaceValue (int value) :
void
getFaceValue() : int
toString() : String
Quick Check
What is the relationship between a class and an
object?

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Quick Check
What is the relationship between a class and an
object?

A class is the definition/pattern/blueprint of an

object. It defines the data that will be managed
by an object but doesn't reserve memory space
for it. Multiple objects can be created from a
class, and each object has its own copy of the
instance data.

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Quick Check
Where is instance data declared?

What is the scope of instance data?

What is local data?

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Quick Check
Where is instance data declared?
At the class level.
What is the scope of instance data?
It can be referenced in any method of the class.
What is local data?
Local data is declared within a method, and is
only accessible in that method.

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Outline

Anatomy of a Class
Encapsulation
Anatomy of a Method

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Encapsulation
• There are two views of an object:
– internal - the details of the variables and methods of the
class that defines it
– external - the services that an object provides and how
the object interacts with the rest of the system
• From the external view, an object is an
encapsulated entity, providing a set of specific
services
• These services define the interface to the object

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Encapsulation
• One object (called the client) may use another
object for the services it provides
• The client of an object may request its services
(call its methods), but it should not have to be
aware of how those services are accomplished
• Any changes to the object's state (its variables)
should be made by that object's methods
• We should make it difficult, if not impossible, for a
client to access an object’s variables directly
• That is, an object should be self-governing
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Encapsulation
• An encapsulated object can be thought of as a black
box -- its inner workings are hidden from the client
• The client invokes the interface methods and they
manage the instance data

Client Methods

Data

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Visibility Modifiers
• In Java, we accomplish encapsulation through the
appropriate use of visibility modifiers
• A modifier is a Java reserved word that specifies
particular characteristics of a method or data
• We've used the final modifier to define constants
• Java has three visibility modifiers: public,
protected, and private
• The protected modifier involves inheritance,
which we will discuss later

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Visibility Modifiers
• Members of a class that are declared with public
visibility can be referenced anywhere
• Members of a class that are declared with private
visibility can be referenced only within that class
• Members declared without a visibility modifier have
default visibility and can be referenced by any class
in the same package
• An overview of all Java modifiers is presented in
Appendix E

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Visibility Modifiers
• Public variables violate encapsulation because they
allow the client to modify the values directly
• Therefore instance variables should not be declared
with public visibility
• It is acceptable to give a constant public visibility,
which allows it to be used outside of the class
• Public constants do not violate encapsulation
because, although the client can access it, its value
cannot be changed

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Visibility Modifiers
• Methods that provide the object's services are
declared with public visibility so that they can be
invoked by clients
• Public methods are also called service methods
• A method created simply to assist a service method
is called a support method
• Since a support method is not intended to be called
by a client, it should not be declared with public
visibility

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Visibility Modifiers

public private

Variables
Violate Enforce
encapsulation encapsulation

Support other
Methods
Provide services
methods in the
to clients
class

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Accessors and Mutators
• Because instance data is private, a class usually
provides services to access and modify data values
• An accessor method returns the current value of a
variable
• A mutator method changes the value of a variable
• The names of accessor and mutator methods take
the form getX and setX, respectively, where X is
the name of the value
• They are sometimes called “getters” and “setters”

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Mutator Restrictions
• The use of mutators gives the class designer the
ability to restrict a client’s options to modify an
object’s state
• A mutator is often designed so that the values of
variables can be set only within particular limits
• For example, the setFaceValue mutator of the
Die class should restrict the value to the valid
range (1 to MAX)
• We’ve seen in Chapter 5 how such restrictions has
been implemented

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Quick Check
Why was the faceValue variable declared as
private in the Die class?

Why is it ok to declare MAX as public in the Die

class?

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Quick Check
Why was the faceValue variable declared as
private in the Die class?
By making it private, each Die object controls its
own data and allows it to be modified only by the
well-defined operations it provides.
Why is it ok to declare MAX as public in the Die
class?
MAX is a constant. Its value cannot be changed.
Therefore, there is no violation of encapsulation.

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Outline

Anatomy of a Class
Encapsulation
Anatomy of a Method

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Method Declarations
• Let’s now examine methods in more detail

• A method declaration specifies the code that will be

executed when the method is invoked (called)
• When a method is invoked, the flow of control
jumps to the method and executes its code
• When complete, the flow returns to the place where
the method was called and continues
• The invocation may or may not return a value,
depending on how the method is defined
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Method Control Flow
• If the called method is in the same class, only the
method name is needed

compute myMethod

myMethod();

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Method Control Flow
• The called method is often part of another class or
object

main doIt helpMe

obj.doIt(); helpMe();

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Method Header
• A method declaration begins with a method header

char calc(int num1, int num2, String message)

method
parameter list
name

return The parameter list specifies the type

type and name of each parameter

The name of a parameter in the method

declaration is called a formal parameter

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Method Body
• The method header is followed by the method body

char calc(int num1, int num2, String message)

{
int sum = num1 + num2;
char result = message.charAt(sum);

return result; sum and result

} are local data

They are created

The return expression each time the
must be consistent with method is called, and
the return type are destroyed when
it finishes executing

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The return Statement
• The return type of a method indicates the type of
value that the method sends back to the calling
location
• A method that does not return a value has a void
return type
• A return statement specifies the value that will be
returned
return expression;
• Its expression must conform to the return type

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Parameters
• When a method is called, the actual parameters in
the invocation are copied into the formal parameters
in the method header
ch = obj.calc(25, count, "Hello");

char calc(int num1, int num2, String message)

{
int sum = num1 + num2;
char result = message.charAt(sum);

return result;
}

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Local Data
• As we’ve seen, local variables can be declared
inside a method
• The formal parameters of a method create
automatic local variables when the method is
invoked
• When the method finishes, all local variables are
destroyed (including the formal parameters)
• Keep in mind that instance variables, declared at
the class level, exists as long as the object exists

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Bank Account Example
• Let’s look at another example that demonstrates
the implementation details of classes and methods
• We’ll represent a bank account by a class named
Account
• It’s state can include the account number, the
current balance, and the name of the owner
• An account’s behaviors (or services) include
deposits and withdrawals, and adding interest

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Driver Programs
• A driver program drives the use of other, more
interesting parts of a program
• Driver programs are often used to test other parts
of the software
• The Transactions class contains a main method
that drives the use of the Account class,
exercising its services
• See Transactions.java
• See Account.java

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//********************************************************************
// Transactions.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Demonstrates the creation and use of multiple Account objects.
//********************************************************************

public class Transactions

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Creates some bank accounts and requests various services.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Account acct1 = new Account("Ted Murphy", 72354, 102.56);
Account acct2 = new Account("Jane Smith", 69713, 40.00);
Account acct3 = new Account("Edward Demsey", 93757, 759.32);

acct1.deposit(25.85);

double smithBalance = acct2.deposit(500.00);

System.out.println("Smith balance after deposit: " +
smithBalance);

continue

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continue

System.out.println("Smith balance after withdrawal: " +

acct2.withdraw (430.75, 1.50));

acct1.addInterest();
acct2.addInterest();
acct3.addInterest();

System.out.println();
System.out.println(acct1);
System.out.println(acct2);
System.out.println(acct3);
}
}

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continue
Output
Smith balance after deposit: 540.0
System.out.println("Smith balance
Smith balance after after withdrawal:
withdrawal: 107.55 " +
acct2.withdraw (430.75, 1.50));

72354 Ted Murphy

acct1.addInterest(); $132.90
69713 Jane Smith
acct2.addInterest(); $111.52
93757 Edward Demsey
acct3.addInterest(); $785.90

System.out.println();
System.out.println(acct1);
System.out.println(acct2);
System.out.println(acct3);
}
}

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//********************************************************************
// Account.java Author: Lewis/Loftus
//
// Represents a bank account with basic services such as deposit
// and withdraw.
//********************************************************************

import java.text.NumberFormat;

public class Account

{
private final double RATE = 0.035; // interest rate of 3.5%

private long acctNumber;

private double balance;
private String name;

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Sets up the account by defining its owner, account number,
// and initial balance.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public Account(String owner, long account, double initial)
{
name = owner;
acctNumber = account;
balance = initial;
}

continue
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continue

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Deposits the specified amount into the account. Returns the
// new balance.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public double deposit(double amount)
{
balance = balance + amount;
return balance;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Withdraws the specified amount from the account and applies
// the fee. Returns the new balance.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public double withdraw(double amount, double fee)
{
balance = balance - amount - fee;
return balance;
}

continue

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continue

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Adds interest to the account and returns the new balance.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public double addInterest()
{
balance += (balance * RATE);
return balance;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Returns the current balance of the account.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public double getBalance()
{
return balance;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Returns a one-line description of the account as a string.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public String toString()
{
NumberFormat fmt = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance();
return (acctNumber + "\t" + name + "\t" + fmt.format(balance));
}
}

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Bank Account Example

acct1 acctNumber 72354

balance 102.56

name "Ted Murphy"

acct2 acctNumber 69713

balance 40.00

name "Jane Smith"

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Bank Account Example
• There are some improvements that can be made to
the Account class
• Formal getters and setters could have been defined
for all data
• The design of some methods could also be more
robust, such as verifying that the amount
parameter to the withdraw method is positive

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Constructors Revisited
• Note that a constructor has no return type specified
in the method header, not even void
• A common error is to put a return type on a
constructor, which makes it a “regular” method that
happens to have the same name as the class
• The programmer does not have to define a
constructor for a class
• Each class has a default constructor that accepts
no parameters

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Quick Check
How do we express which Account object's balance
is updated when a deposit is made?

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Quick Check
How do we express which Account object's balance
is updated when a deposit is made?
Each account is referenced by an object
reference variable:

Account myAcct = new Account(…);

and when a method is called, you call it through

a particular object:

myAcct.deposit(50);

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