Core Java Study Notes

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Core Java Study Notes

Disclaimers
No claims are made about the accuracy of this document and no responsibility is taken
for any errors. The exam objectives below are quoted, as is from Sun Microsystems
web site. This document can be used and distributed as long as the purpose is not
commercial.
This document has material collected from a lot of resources. Some resources are listed
here.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Java 1.1 Certification Study Guide by Simon Roberts and Philip Heller.
Java 2 Certification Study Guide by Simon Roberts, Philip Heller and Michael Ernst.
Java 2 Exam Cram by Bill Brogden
A Programmers guide to Java Certification by Khalid Azim Mughal and Rolf
Rasmussen
5. Java
Language
Specification
from
Sun
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/second_edition/html/j.title.doc.html
6. Java tutorial from Sun - http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/index.html
7. Java API documentation from Sun - http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/api/overviewsummary.html
8. Marcus Green - http://www.jchq.net
9. Java Ranch Discussions and Archives - http://www.javaranch.com/
10. Maha Annas Resource Page - http://www.javaranch.com/maha/
11. Jyothi's page - http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/3693/
12. Dylan Walshs exam revision page - http://indigo.ie/~dywalsh/certification/index.htm
13. Rose India Web Site
14. And an ever-increasing list of web sites regarding SCJP certification.

If you find any error or have some opinion or wanna share feedback, please e-mail
rajeevkumar.mohan@gmail.com

Please mention your opinion and let this document cover more topics , you can edit ,
add more material and can back to me so , I can distribute it further to you people .

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Core Java Study Notes

Exam Objectives
Section 1 Declarations and Access Control
Write code that declares, constructs, and initializes arrays of any base type using
any of the permitted forms both for declaration and for initialization.
Declare classes, inner classes, methods, instance variables, static variables, and
automatic (method local) variables making appropriate use of all permitted
modifiers (such as public, final, static , abstract, and so forth). State the
significance of each of these modifiers both singly and in combination, and state
the effect of package relationships on declared items qualified by these modifiers.
For a given class, determine if a default constructor will be created, and if so, state
the prototype of that constructor.
State the legal return types for any method given the declarations of all related
methods in this or parent classes.
Section 2 FLOW CONTROL AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
Write code using if and switch statements and identify legal argument types for
these statements.
Write code using all forms of loops including labeled and unlabeled use of break
and continue, and state the values taken by loop control variables during and after
loop execution.
Write code that makes proper use of exceptions and exception handling clauses
(try, catch, finally) and declares methods and overriding methods that throw
exceptions.
Section 3 Garbage Collection
State the behavior that is guaranteed by the garbage collection system, and write
code that explicitly makes objects eligible for collection.
Section 4 Language Fundamentals
Identify correctly constructed source files, package declarations, import
statements, class declarations (of all forms including inner classes), interface
declarations and implementations (for java.lang.Runnable or other interface
described in the test), method declarations (including the main method that is used
to start execution of a class), variable declarations and identifiers.
State the correspondence between index values in the argument array passed to a
main method and command line arguments. Identify all Java Programming
Language keywords and correctly constructed identifiers.
State the effect of using a variable or array element of any kind when no explicit
assignment has been made to it.
State the range of all primitive data types and declare literal values for String and
all primitive types using all permitted formats, bases, and representations.
Section 5 Operators and assignments
Determine the result of applying any operator, including assignment operators,
instanceof, and casts to operands of any type, class, scope, or accessibility, or any
combination of these.

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Core Java Study Notes

Determine the result of applying the boolean equals(Object) method to objects of

any combination of the classes java.lang.String, java.lang.Boolean, and
java.lang.Object.
In an expression involving the operators &, |, &&, ||, and variables of known
values state which operands are evaluated and the value of the expression.
Determine the effect upon objects and primitive values of passing variables into
methods and performing assignments or other modifying operations in that
method.
Section 6 Overloading, Overriding, Runtime Type, and Object Orientation
State the benefits of encapsulation in object oriented design and write code that
implements tightly encapsulated classes and the relationships "is a" and "has a".
Write code to invoke overridden or overloaded methods and parental or
overloaded constructors; and describe the effect of invoking these methods.
Write code to construct instances of any concrete class including normal top level
classes, inner classes, static inner classes, and anonymous inner classes.
Section 7 Threads
Write code to define, instantiate, and start new threads using both
java.lang.Thread and java.lang.Runnable.
Recognize conditions that might prevent a thread from executing.
Write code using synchronized, wait, notify, or notifyAll, to protect against
concurrent access problems and to communicate between threads. Define the
interaction between threads and between threads and object locks when executing
synchronized, wait, notify, or notifyAll.
Section 8 The java.awt PACKAGE
Write code using component, container, and LayoutManager classes of the
java.awt package to present a GUI with specified appearance and resize behavior,
and distinguish the responsibilities of layout managers from those of containers.
Write code to implement listener classes and methods, and in listener methods,
extract information from the event to determine the affected component, mouse
position, nature, and time of the event. State the event classname for any specified
event listener interface in the java.awt.event package.
Section 9 The java.lang PACKAGE
Write code using the following methods of the java.lang.Math class: abs, ceil,
floor, max, min, random, round, sin, cos, tan, sqrt.
Describe the significance of the immutability of String objects.
Section 10 The java.util PACKAGE
Make appropriate selection of collection classes/interfaces to suit specified
behavior requirements.
Section 11 The java.io PACKAGE
Write code that uses objects of the file class to navigate a file system.
Write code that uses objects of the classes InputStreamReader and
OutputStreamWriter to translate between Unicode and either platform default or
ISO 8859-1 character encoding and Distinguish between conditions under which
platform default encoding conversion should be used and conditions under which
a specific conversion should be used.
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Core Java Study Notes

Select valid constructor arguments for FilterInputStream and FilterOutputStream

subclasses from a list of classes in the java.io.package.
Write appropriate code to read, write and update files using FileInputStream,
FileOutputStream, and RandomAccessFile objects.
Describe the permanent effects on the file system of constructing and using
FileInputStream, FileOutputStream, and RandomAccessFile objects.

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Core Java Study Notes

What are the potential tips/traps in SCJP exam \ Interview ?

Two public classes in the same file.

Main method calling a non-static method.
Methods with the same name as the constructor(s).
Thread initiation with classes that dont have a run() method.
Local inner classes trying to access non-final vars.
Case statements with values out of permissible range.
Math class being an option for immutable classes !!
instanceOf is not same as instanceof
Private constructors
An assignment statement which looks like a comparison if ( a=true)...
System.exit() in try-catch-finally blocks.
Uninitialized variable references with no path of proper initialization.
Order of try-catch-finally blocks matters.
main() can be declared final.
-0.0 == 0.0 is true.
A class without abstract methods can still be declared abstract.
RandomAccessFile descends from Object and implements DataInput and DataOutput.
Map doesnot implement Collection.
Dictionary is a class, not an interface.
Collection is an Interface where as Collections is a helper class.
Class declarations can come in any order ( derived first, base next etc. ).
Forward references to variables gives compiler error.
Multi dimensional arrays can be sparce ie., if you imagine the array as a matrix, every
row need not have the same number of columns.
Arrays, whether local or class-level, are always initialized,
Strings are initialized to null, not empty string.
An empty string is NOT the same as a null string.
A declaration cannot be labelled.
continue must be in a loop( for, do , while ). It cannot appear in case constructs.
Primitive array types can never be assigned to each other, eventhough the primitives
themselves can be assigned. ie., ArrayofLongPrimitives = ArrayofIntegerPrimitives
gives compiler error eventhough longvar = intvar is perfectly valid.
A constructor can throw any exception.
Initilializer blocks are executed in the order of declaration.
Instance initializer(s) gets executed ONLY IF the objects are constructed.
All comparisons involving NaN and a non-Nan would always result false.
Default type of a numeric literal with a decimal point is double.
integer (and long ) operations / and % can throw ArithmeticException while float /
and % will never, even in case of division by zero.
== gives compiler error if the operands are cast-incompatible.
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Core Java Study Notes

You can never cast objects of sibling classes( sharing the same parent ), even with an
explicit cast.
.equals returns false if the object types are different.It does not raise a compiler error.
No inner class can have a static member.
File class has NO methods to deal with the contents of the file.
InputStream and OutputStream are abstract classes, while DataInput and DataOutput
are interfaces.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 1 Language Fundamentals
1. Source files elements (in order)
a. Package declaration
b. Import statements
c. Class definitions
2. Importing packages doesnt recursively import sub-packages.
3. Sub-packages are really different packages, happen to live within an enclosing
package. Classes in sub-packages cannot access classes in enclosing package with
default access.
4. Comments can appear anywhere. Cant be nested.(No matter what type of comments)
5. At most one public class definition per file. This class name should match the file
name. If there are more than one public class definitions, compiler will accept the
class with the files name and give an error at the line where the other class is defined.
6. Its not required having a public class definition in a file. Strange, but true. In this
case, the files name should be different from the names of classes and interfaces (not
public obviously).
7. Even an empty file is a valid source file.
8. An identifier must begin with a letter, dollar sign ($) , Pound sign , Euro sign or
underscore (_). Subsequent characters may be letters, $, _ or digits.
9. An identifier cannot have a name of a Java keyword. Embedded keywords are OK.
true, false and null are literals (not keywords), but they cant be used as identifiers as
well.
10. const and goto are reserved words, but not used.
11. Unicode characters can appear anywhere in the source code. The following code is
valid.
ch\u0061r a = 'a';
char \u0062 = 'b';
char c = '\u0063';
12. Java has 8 primitive data types.
Data
Type
boolean
byte
short
char
int
long
float
double

Size
(bits)
1
8
16
16
32
64
32
64

Initial
Value
false
0
0
\u0000
0
0L
0.0F
0.0

Min Value

Max Value

false
-128 (-27)
-215
\u0000 (0)
-231
-263
1.4E-45
4.9E-324

True
127 (27 1)
215 1
\uFFFF (216 1)
231 1
263 1
3.4028235E38
1.7976931348623157E308

13. All numeric data types are signed. char is the only unsigned integral type.
14. Object reference variables are initialized to null.
15. Octal literals begin with zero. Hex literals begin with 0X or 0x.
16. Char literals are single quoted characters or unicode values (begin with \u).
17. A number is by default an int literal, a decimal number is by default a double literal.
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18. 1E-5d is a valid double literal, E2d is not (since it starts with a letter, compiler thinks
that its an identifier)
19. Two types of variables.
1. Member variables [Instance as well as static Variables]
Accessible anywhere in the class.
Automatically initialized before invoking any constructor.
Static variables are initialized at class load time.
Can have the same name as the class.
2. Automatic variables(method local)
Must be initialized explicitly. (Or, compiler will catch it.) Object references
can be initialized to null to make the compiler happy. The following code
wont compile. Specify else part or initialize the local variable explicitly.
public String testMethod ( int a) {
String tmp;
if ( a > 0 ) tmp = Positive;
return tmp;
}
Can have the same name as a member variable, resolution is based on scope.
20. Arrays are Java objects. If you create an array of 5 Strings, there will be 6 objects
created.
21. Arrays should be
1. Declared. (int[] a; String b[]; Object []c; Size should not
be specified now)
2. Allocated (constructed). ( a = new int[10]; c = new
String[arraysize] )
3. Initialized. for (int i = 0; i < a.length; a[i++] = 0)
22. The above three can be done in one step.
int a[] = { 1, 2, 3 }; (or )
int a[] = new int[] { 1, 2, 3 }; But never specify the size with
the new statement.
23. Java arrays are static arrays. Size has to be specified at compile time. Array.length
returns arrays size. (Use Vectors for dynamic purposes).
24. Array size is never specified with the reference variable, it is always maintained with
the array object. It is maintained in array.length, which is a final instance variable.
25. Anonymous arrays can be created and used like this: new int[] {1,2,3} or new int[10]
26. Arrays with zero elements can be created. args array to the main method will be a
zero element array if no command parameters are specified. In this case args.length is
0.
27. Comma after the last initializer in array declaration is ignored.
int[] i = new int[2] { 5, 10}; // Wrong
int i[5] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
// Wrong
int[] i[] = {{}, new int[] {} }; // Correct
int i[][] = { {1,2}, new int[2] }; // Correct
int i[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, } ; // Correct
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28. Array indexes start with 0. Index is an int data type.
29. Square brackets can come after data type or before/after variable name. White spaces
are fine. Compiler just ignores them.
30. Arrays declared even as member variables also need to be allocated memory
explicitly.
static int a[];
static int b[] = {1,2,3};
public static void main(String s[]) {
System.out.println(a[0]);
//
Throws
a
null
pointer exception
System.out.println(b[0]); // This code runs fine
System.out.println(a); // Prints null
System.out.println(b); // Prints a string which
is returned by toString
}
31. Once declared and allocated (even for local arrays inside methods), array elements
are automatically initialized to the default values.
32. If only declared (not constructed), member array variables default to null, but local
array variables will not default to null.
33. Java doesnt support multidimensional arrays formally, but it supports arrays of
arrays. From the specification - The number of bracket pairs indicates the depth of
array nesting. So this can perform as a multidimensional array. (no limit to levels of
array nesting)
34. In order to be run by JVM, a class should have a main method with the following
signature.
public static void main(String args[])
static public void main(String[] s)
35. args arrays name is not important. args[0] is the first argument. args.length gives no.
of arguments.
36. main method can be overloaded.
37. main method can be final.
38. A class with a different main signature or w/o main method will compile. But throws
a runtime error.
39. A class without a main method can be run by JVM, if its ancestor class has a main
method. (main is just a method and is inherited)
40. Primitives are passed by value.
41. Objects (references) are passed by reference. The object reference itself is passed by
value. So, it cant be changed. But, the object can be changed via the reference.
42. Garbage collection is a mechanism for reclaiming memory from objects that are no
longer in use, and making the memory available for new objects.
43. An object being no longer in use means that it cant be referenced by any active part
of the program.
44. Garbage collection runs in a low priority thread. It may kick in when memory is too
low. No guarantee.
45. Its not possible to force garbage collection. Invoking System.gc may start garbage
collection process.
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46. The automatic garbage collection scheme guarantees that a reference to an object is
always valid while the object is in use, i.e. the object will not be deleted leaving the
reference dangling.
47. There are no guarantees that the objects no longer in use will be garbage collected
and their finalizers executed at all. gc might not even be run if the program execution
does not warrant it. Thus any memory allocated during program execution might
remain allocated after program termination, unless reclaimed by the OS or by other
means.
48. There are also no guarantees on the order in which the objects will be garbage
collected or on the order in which the finalizers are called. Therefore, the program
should not make any decisions based on these assumptions.
49. An object is only eligible for garbage collection, if the only references to the object
are from other objects that are also eligible for garbage collection. That is, an object
can become eligible for garbage collection even if there are references pointing to the
object, as long as the objects with the references are also eligible for garbage
collection.
50. Circular references do not prevent objects from being garbage collected.
51. We can set the reference variables to null, hinting the gc to garbage collect the objects
referred by the variables. Even if we do that, the object may not be gc-ed if its
attached to a listener. (Typical in case of AWT components) Remember to remove
the listener first.
52. All objects have a finalize method. It is inherited from the Object class.
53. finalize method is used to release system resources other than memory. (such as file
handles and network connections) The order in which finalize methods are called may
not reflect the order in which objects are created. Dont rely on it. This is the
signature of the finalize method.
protected void finalize() throws Throwable { }
In the descendents this method can be protected or public. Descendents can restrict
the exception list that can be thrown by this method.
54. finalize is called only once for an object. If any exception is thrown in finalize, the
object is still eligible for garbage collection (at the discretion of gc)
55. gc keeps track of unreachable objects and garbage-collects them, but an unreachable
object can become reachable again by letting know other objects of its existence from
its finalize method (when called by gc). This resurrection can be done only once,
since finalize is called only one for an object.
56. finalize can be called explicitly, but it does not garbage collect the object.
57. finalize can be overloaded, but only the method with original finalize signature will
be called by gc.
58. finalize is not implicitly chained. A finalize method in sub-class should call finalize in
super class explicitly as its last action for proper functioning. But compiler doesnt
enforce this check.
59. System.runFinalization can be used to run the finalizers (which have not been
executed before) for the objects eligible for garbage collection.
60. The following table specifies the color coding of javadoc standard.
Member

Color

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Core Java Study Notes

Instance method
Static method
Final variable
Constructor

Red
Green
Blue
Yellow

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 2 Operators and assignments
1. Unary operators.
1.1 Increment and Decrement operators ++ -We have postfix and prefix notation. In post-fix notation value of the
variable/expression is modified after the value is taken for the execution of
statement. In prefix notation, value of the variable/expression is modified
before the value is taken for the execution of statement.
x = 5; y = 0; y = x++; Result will be x = 6, y = 5
x = 5; y = 0; y = ++x; Result will be x = 6, y = 6
Implicit narrowing conversion is done, when applied to byte, short or char.
1.2 Unary minus and unary plus + + has no effect than to stress positivity.
- negates an expressions value. (2s complement for integral expressions)
1.3 Negation !
Inverts the value of a boolean expression.
1.4 Complement ~
Inverts the bit pattern of an integral expression. (1s complement 0s to 1s
and 1s to 0s)
Cannot be applied to non-integral types.
1.5 Cast ()
Persuades compiler to allow certain assignments. Extensive checking is done
at compile and runtime to ensure type-safety.
2. Arithmetic operators - *, /, %, +, Can be applied to all numeric types.
Can be applied to only the numeric types, except + it can be applied to Strings
as well.
All arithmetic operations are done at least with int. (If types are smaller,
promotion happens. Result will be of a type at least as wide as the wide type of
operands)
Accuracy is lost silently when arithmetic overflow/error occurs. Result is a
nonsense value.
Integer division by zero throws an exception.
% - reduce the magnitude of LHS by the magnitude of RHS. (continuous
subtraction)
% - sign of the result entirely determined by sign of LHS
5 % 0 throws an ArithmeticException.
Floating point calculations can produce NaN (square root of a negative no) or
Infinity ( division by zero). Float and Double wrapper classes have named
constants for NaN and infinities.
NaNs are non-ordinal for comparisons. x == Float.NaN wont work. Use
Float.IsNaN(x) But equals method on wrapper objects(Double or Float) with NaN
values compares Nans correctly.
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Core Java Study Notes

Infinities are ordinal. X == Double.POSITIVE_INFINITY will give expected

result.
+ also performs String concatenation (when any operand in an expression is a
String). The language itself overloads this operator. toString method of non-String
object operands are called to perform concatenation. In case of primitives, a
wrapper object is created with the primitive value and toString method of that
object is called. (Vel + 3 will work.)
Be aware of associativity when multiple operands are involved.
System.out.println( 1 + 2 + 3 ); // Prints 33
System.out.println( 1 + 2 + 3 ); // Prints 123
3. Shift operators - <<, >>, >>>
<< performs a signed left shift. 0 bits are brought in from the right. Sign bit
(MSB) is preserved. Value becomes old value * 2 ^ x where x is no of bits shifted.
>> performs a signed right shift. Sign bit is brought in from the left. (0 if positive,
1 if negative. Value becomes old value / 2 ^ x where x is no of bits shifted. Also
called arithmetic right shift.
>>> performs an unsigned logical right shift. 0 bits are brought in from the left.
This operator exists since Java doesnt provide an unsigned data type (except
char). >>> changes the sign of a negative number to be positive. So dont use it
with negative numbers, if you want to preserve the sign. Also dont use it with
types smaller than int. (Since types smaller than int are promoted to an int before
any shift operation and the result is cast down again, so the end result is
unpredictable.)
Shift operators can be applied to only integral types.
-1 >> 1 is 1, not 0. This differs from simple division by 2. We can think of it as
shift operation rounding down.
1 << 31 will become the minimum value that an int can represent. (Value
becomes negative, after this operation, if you do a signed right shift sign bit is
brought in from the left and the value remains negative.)
Negative numbers are represented in twos complement notation. (Take ones
complement and add 1 to get twos complement)
Shift operators never shift more than the number of bits the type of result can
have. ( i.e. int 32, long 64) RHS operand is reduced to RHS % x where x is no of
bits in type of result.
int x;
x = x >> 33; // Here actually what happens is x >> 1
4. Comparison operators all return boolean type.
4.1 Ordinal comparisons - <, <=, > , >=
Only operate on numeric types. Test the relative value of the numeric
operands.
Arithmetic promotions apply. char can be compared to float.
4.2 Object type comparison instanceof
Tests the class of an object at runtime. Checking is done at compile and
runtime same as the cast operator.
Returns true if the object denoted by LHS reference can be cast to RHS
type.
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Core Java Study Notes

LHS should be an object reference expression, variable or an array

reference.
RHS should be a class (abstract classes are fine), an interface or an array
type, castable to LHS object reference. Compiler error if LHS & RHS are
unrelated.
Cant use java.lang.Class or its String name as RHS.
Returns true if LHS is a class or subclass of RHS class
Returns true if LHS implements RHS interface.
Returns true if LHS is an array reference and of type RHS.
x instanceof Component[] legal.
x instanceof [] illegal. Cant test for any array of any type
Returns false if LHS is null, no exceptions are thrown.
If x instanceof Y is not allowed by compiler, then Y y = (Y) x is not a
valid cast expression. If x instanceof Y is allowed and returns false, the
above cast is valid but throws a ClassCastException at runtime. If x
instanceof Y returns true, the above cast is valid and runs fine.
4.3 Equality comparisons - ==, !=
For primitives its a straightforward value comparison. (promotions apply)
For object references, this doesnt make much sense. Use equals method
for meaningful comparisons. (Make sure that the class implements equals
in a meaningful way, like for X.equals(Y) to be true, Y instance of X must
be true as well)
For String literals, == will return true, this is because of compiler
optimization.
5. Bit-wise operators - &, ^, |
Operate on numeric and boolean operands.
& - AND operator, both bits must be 1 to produce 1.
| - OR operator, any one bit can be 1 to produce 1.
^ - XOR operator, any one bit can be 1, but not both, to produce 1.
In case of booleans true is 1, false is 0.
Cant cast any other type to boolean.
6. Short-circuit logical operators - &&, ||
Operate only on boolean types.
RHS might not be evaluated (hence the name short-circuit), if the result can be
determined only by looking at LHS.
false && X is always false.
true || X is always true.
RHS is evaluated only if the result is not certain from the LHS.
Thats why theres no logical XOR operator. Both bits need to be known to
calculate the result.
Short-circuiting doesnt change the result of the operation. But side effects might
be changed. (i.e. some statements in RHS might not be executed, if short-circuit
happens. Be careful)
7. Ternary operator
Format a = x ? b : c ;
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Core Java Study Notes

x should be a boolean expression.
Based on x, either b or c is evaluated. Both are never evaluated.
b will be assigned to a if x is true, else c is assigned to a.
b and c should be assignment compatible to a.
b and c are made identical during the operation according to promotions.
8. Assignment operators.
Simple assignment =.
op= calculate and assign operators(extended assignment operators)
*=, /=, %=, +=, -=
x += y means x = x + y. But x is evaluated only once. Be aware.
Assignment of reference variables copies the reference value, not the object body.
Assignment has value, value of LHS after assignment. So a = b = c = 0 is legal. c
= 0 is executed first, and the value of the assignment (0) assigned to b, then the
value of that assignment (again 0) is assigned to a.
Extended assignment operators do an implicit cast. (Useful when applied to byte,
short or char)
byte b = 10;
b = b + 10; // Wont compile, explicit cast
required since the expression evaluates to an int
b += 10; // OK, += does an implicit cast from int
to byte
9. General
In Java, No overflow or underflow of integers happens. i.e. The values wrap
around. Adding 1 to the maximum int value results in the minimum value.
Always keep in mind that operands are evaluated from left to right, and the
operations are executed in the order of precedence and associativity.
Unary Postfix operators and all binary operators (except assignment operators)
have left to right assoiciativity.
All unary operators (except postfix operators), assignment operators, ternary
operator, object creation and cast operators have right to left assoiciativity.
Inspect the following code.
public class Precedence {
final public static void main(String args[]) {
int i = 0;
i = i++;
i = i++;
i = i++;
System.out.println(i); // prints 0, since =
operator has the lowest precedence.
int array[] = new int[5];
int index = 0;
array[index] = index = 3; // 1st element gets
assigned to 3, not
the 4th element
for (int c = 0; c < array.length; c++)
System.out.println(array[c]);
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System.out.println("index is " + index); //
prints 3
}
}

Type of Operators
Postfix operators
Prefix Unary operators
Object creation and cast
Multiplication/Division/Modu
lus
Addition/Subtraction
Shift
Relational
Equality
Bit-wise/Boolean AND
Bit-wise/Boolean XOR
Bit-wise/Boolean OR
Logical AND (Short-circuit or
Conditional)
Logical OR (Short-circuit or
Conditional)
Ternary
Assignment

Operators [Presidence]
[] . (parameters) ++ -++ -- + - ~ !
new (type)
*/%

Associativity
Left to Right
Right to Left
Right to Left
Left to Right

+>> >>> <<

< <= > >= instanceof
== !=
&
^
|
&&

Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right
Left to Right

||

Left to Right

?:
Right to Left
= += -= *= /= %= <<= >>= >>>= &= Right to Left
^= |=

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Chapter 3 Modifiers
1. Modifiers are Java keywords that provide information to compiler about the nature of
the code, data and classes.
2. Access modifiers public, protected, private
Only applied to class level variables. Method variables are visible only inside the
method.
Can be applied to class itself (only to inner classes declared at class level, no such
thing as protected or private top level class)
Can be applied to methods and constructors.
If a class is accessible, it doesnt mean, the members are also accessible.
Members accessibility determines what is accessible and what is not. But if the
class is not accessible, the members are not accessible, even though they are
declared public.
If no access modifier is specified, then the accessibility is default package
visibility. All classes in the same package can access the feature. Its called as
friendly [package level or default ] access. But friendly is not a Java keyword.
Same directory is same package in Javas consideration.
private means only the class can access it, not even sub-classes. So, itll cause
access denial to a sub-classs own variable/method.
These modifiers dictate, which classes can access the features. An instance of a
class can access the private features of another instance of the same class.
protected means all classes in the same package (like default) and sub-classes in
any package can access the features. But a subclass in another package can access
the protected members in the super-class via only the references of subclass or its
subclasses. A subclass in the same package doesnt have this restriction. This
ensures that classes from other packages are accessing only the members that are
part of their inheritance hierarchy.
Methods cannot be overridden to be more private. Only the direction shown in
following figure is permitted from parent classes to sub-classes.
private friendly (default) protected public
Parent classes

Sub-classes

3. final
final features cannot be changed.
final classes cannot be sub-classed.
final variables cannot be changed. (Either a value has to be specified at
declaration or an assignment statement can appear only once).
final methods cannot be overridden.
Method arguments marked final are read-only. Compiler error, if trying to assign
values to final arguments inside the method.
Member variables marked final are not initialized by default. They have to be
explicitly assigned a value at declaration or in an initializer block. Static finals
must be assigned to a value in a static initializer block, instance finals must be
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assigned a value in an instance initializer or in every constructor. Otherwise the
compiler will complain.
Final variables that are not assigned a value at the declaration and method
arguments that are marked final are called blank final variables. They can be
assigned a value at most once.
Local variables can be declared final as well.
4. abstract
Can be applied to classes and methods.
For deferring implementation to sub-classes.
Opposite of final, final cant be sub-classed, abstract must be sub-classed.
A class should be declared abstract,
1. if it has any abstract methods.
2. if it doesnt provide implementation to any of the abstract methods it inherited
3. if it doesnt provide implementation to any of the methods in an interface that
it says implementing.
Just terminate the abstract method signature with a ;, curly braces will give a
compiler error.
A class can be abstract even if it doesnt have any abstract methods.
5. static
Can be applied to nested classes, methods, variables, free floating code-block
(static initializer)
Static variables are initialized at class load time. A class has only one copy of
these variables.
Static methods can access only static variables. (They have no this)
Access by class name is a recommended way to access static methods/variables.
Static initializer code is run at class load time.
Static methods may not be overridden to be non-static.
Non-static methods may not be overridden to be static.
Abstract methods may not be static.
Local variables cannot be declared as static.
Actually, static methods are not participating in the usual overriding mechanism
of invoking the methods based on the class of the object at runtime. Static method
binding is done at compile time, so the method to be invoked is determined by the
type of reference variable rather than the actual type of the object it holds at
runtime.
Lets say a sub-class has a static method which overrides a static method in a
parent class. If you have a reference variable of parent class type and you assign
a child class object to that variable and invoke the static method, the method
invoked will be the parent class method, not the child class method. The
following code explains this.
public class StaticOverridingTest {
public static void main(String s[]) {
Child c = new Child();
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c.doStuff();
Child.doStuff()

//

This

will

invoke

Parent p = new Parent();

p.doStuff();
//
This
Parent.doStuff()

will

invoke

p = c;
p.doStuff();
//
This
will
invoke
Parent.doStuff(), rather than Child.doStuff()
}
}
class Parent {
static int x = 100;
public static void doStuff() {
System.out.println("In Parent..doStuff");
System.out.println(x);
}
}
class Child extends Parent {
static int x = 200;
public static void doStuff() {
System.out.println("In Child..doStuff");
System.out.println(x);
}
}
6. native
Can be applied to methods only. (static methods also)
Written in a non-Java language, compiled for a single machine target type.
Java classes use lot of native methods for performance and for accessing hardware
Java is not aware of.
Native method signature should be terminated by a ;, curly braces will provide a
compiler error.
native doesnt affect access qualifiers. Native methods can be private.
Can pass/return Java objects from native methods.
System.loadLibrary is used in static initializer code to load native libraries. If the
library is not loaded when the static method is called, an UnsatisfiedLinkError is
thrown.
7. transient
Can be applied to class level variables only.(Local variables cannot be declared
transient)
Transient variables may not be final or static.(But compiler allows the declaration,
since it doesnt do any harm. Variables marked transient are never serialized.
Static variables are not serialized anyway.)
Not stored as part of objects persistent state, i.e. not written out during
serialization.
Can be used for security.
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8. synchronized
Can be applied to methods or parts of methods only.
Used to control access to critical code in multi-threaded programs.
9. volatile
Can be applied to variables only.
Can be applied to static variables.
Cannot be applied to final variables.
Declaring a variable volatile indicates that it might be modified asynchronously,
so that all threads will get the correct value of the variable.
Used in multi-processor environments.
Modifier

Cla
ss

Inner classes
(Except local
and
anonymous
classes)
Y
Y
Y (OK for all)

Varia
ble

Metho Constructor
d

Free floating
Code block

public
protected
No access
modifier
private
final

Y
N
Y

Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y

N
N
N

Y
Y

Y
Y

Y
N

N
N

Y
Y
(Except
anonymous
classes)
Y
(Except
anonymous
classes)
Y

abstract

static

native
transient
synchroniz
ed

N
N
N

N
N
N

N
Y
N

Y
N
Y

N
N
N

volatile

Y
(static
initializer)
N
N
Y (part of
method, also
need
to
specify
an
object
on
which a lock
should
be
obtained)
N

N
Y

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Chapter 4 Converting and Casting
Unary Numeric Promotion
Contexts:
Operand of the unary arithmetic operators + and
Operand of the unary integer bit-wise complement operator ~
During array creation, for example new int[x], where the dimension
expression x must evaluate to an int value.
Indexing array elements, for example table[a], where the index expression
must evaluate to an int value.
Individual operands of the shift operators.
Binary numeric promotion
Contexts:
Operands of arithmetic operators *, / , %, + and
Operands of relational operators <, <= , > and >=
Numeric Operands of equality operators == and !=
Integer Operands of bit-wise operators &, ^ and |
Conversion of Primitives
1. 3 types of conversion assignment conversion, method call conversion and
arithmetic promotion
2. boolean may not be converted to/from any non-boolean type.
3. Widening conversions accepted. Narrowing conversions rejected.
4. byte, short cant be converted to char and vice versa.
5. Arithmetic promotion
5.1 Unary operators
if the operand is byte, short or char {
convert it to int;
}
else {
do nothing; no conversion needed;
}
5.2 Binary operators
if one operand is double {
all double; convert the other operand to double;
}
else if one operand is float {
all float; convert the other operand to float;
}
else if one operand is long {
all long; convert the other operand to long;
}
else {
all int; convert all to int;
}
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6. When assigning a literal value to a variable, the range of the variables data type is
checked against the value of the literal and assignment is allowed or compiler will
produce an error.
char c = 3; // this will compile, even though a numeric literal is by default
an int since the range of char will accept the value
int a = 3;
char d = a; // this wont compile, since were assigning an int to char
char e = -1; // this also wont compile, since the value is not in the range of
char
float f = 1.3; // this wont compile, even though the value is within float
range. Here range is not important, but precision is. 1.3 is by default a double, so
a specific cast or f = 1.3f will work.
float f = 1/3; // this will compile, since RHS evaluates to an int.
Float f = 1.0 / 3.0; // this wont compile, since RHS evaluates to a double.
7. Also when assigning a final variable to a variable, even if the final variables data
type is wider than the variable, if the value is within the range of the variable an
implicit conversion is done.
byte b;
final int a = 10;
b = a; // Legal, since value of a is determinable and within range of b
final int x = a;
b = x; // Legal, since value of x is determinable and within range of b
int y;
final int z = y;
b = z; // Illegal, since value of z is not determinable
8. Method call conversions always look for the exact data type or a wider one in the
method signatures. They will not do narrowing conversions to resolve methods,
instead we will get a compile error.
Here is the figure of allowable primitive conversion.
byte short int long float double

char
Casting of Primitives
9. Needed with narrowing conversions. Use with care radical information loss. Also
can be used with widening conversions, to improve the clarity of the code.
10. Can cast any non-boolean type to another non-boolean type.
11. Cannot cast a boolean or to a boolean type.
Conversion of Object references
12. Three types of reference variables to denote objects - class, interface or array type.
13. Two kinds of objects can be created class or array.
14. Two types of conversion assignment and method call.
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15. Permitted if the direction of the conversion is up the inheritance hierarchy. Means
that types can be assigned/substituted to only super-types super-classes or
interfaces. Not the other way around, explicit casting is needed for that.
16. Interfaces can be used as types when declaring variables, so they participate in the
object reference conversion. But we cannot instantiate an interface, since it is abstract
and doesnt provide any implementation. These variables can be used to hold objects
of classes that implement the interface. The reason for having interfaces as types may
be, I think, several unrelated classes may implement the same interface and if theres
a need to deal with them collectively one way of treating them may be an array of the
interface type that they implement.
17. Primitive arrays can be converted to only the arrays of the same primitive type. They
cannot be converted to another type of primitive array. Only object reference arrays
can be converted / cast.
18. Primitive arrays can be converted to an Object reference, but not to an Object[]
reference. This is because all arrays (primitive arrays and Object[]) are extended from
Object.
Casting of Object references
19. Allows super-types to be assigned to subtypes. Extensive checks done both at
compile and runtime. At compile time, class of the object may not be known, so at
runtime if checks fail, a ClassCastException is thrown.
20. Cast operator, instanceof operator and the == operator behave the same way in
allowing references to be the operands of them. You cannot cast or apply instanceof
or compare unrelated references, sibling references or any incompatible references.

Compile-time Rules
When old and new types are classes, one class must be the sub-class of the
other.
When old and new types are arrays, both must contain reference types and it
must be legal to cast between those types (primitive arrays cannot be cast,
conversion possible only between same type of primitive arrays).
We can always cast between an interface and a non-final object.
Run-time rules
If new type is a class, the class of the expression being converted must be new
type or extend new type.
If new type is an interface, the class of the expression being converted must
implement the interface.
An Object reference can be converted to: (java.lang.Object)
an Object reference
a Cloneable interface reference, with casting, with runtime check
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any class reference, with casting, with runtime check

any array references , with casting, with runtime check
any interface reference, with casting, with runtime check

A Class type reference can be converted to:

any super-class type reference, (including Object)
any sub-class type reference, with casting, with runtime check
an interface reference, if the class implements that interface
any interface reference, with casting, with runtime check (except if the class is
final and doesnt implement the interface)
An Interface reference can be converted to:
an Object reference
a super-interface reference
any interface/class reference with casting, with runtime check (except if the
class is final and doesnt implement the interface)
A Primitive Array reference can be converted to:
an Object reference
a Cloneable interface reference
a primitive array reference of the same type
An Object Array reference can be converted to:
an Object reference
a Cloneable interface reference
a super-class Array reference, including an Object Array reference
any sub-class Array reference with casting, with runtime check

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 5 Flow Control and Exceptions

Unreachable statements produce a compile-time error.

while (false) { x = 3; } // wont compile
for (;false;) { x =3; } // wont compile
if (false) {x = 3; } // will compile, to provide the ability to
conditionally compile the code.
Local variables already declared in an enclosing block, therefore visible in a nested
block cannot be re-declared inside the nested block.
A local variable in a block may be re-declared in another local block, if the blocks are
disjoint.
Method parameters cannot be re-declared.

1. Loop constructs
3 constructs for, while, do
All loops are controlled by a boolean expression.
In while and for, the test occurs at the top, so if the test fails at the first time, body
of the loop might not be executed at all.
In do, test occurs at the bottom, so the body is executed at least once.
In for, we can declare multiple variables in the first part of the loop separated by
commas, also we can have multiple statements in the third part separated by
commas.
In the first section of for statement, we can have a list of declaration statements or
a list of expression statements, but not both. We cannot mix them.
All expressions in the third section of for statement will always execute, even if
the first expression makes the loop condition false. There is no short circuit here.
2. Selection Statements
if takes a boolean arguments. Parenthesis required. else part is optional. else if
structure provides multiple selective branching.
switch takes an argument of byte, short, char or int.(assignment compatible to int)
case value should be a constant expression that can be evaluated at compile time.
Compiler checks each case value against the range of the switch expressions data
type. The following code wont compile.
byte b;
switch (b) {
case 200: // 200 not in range of byte
default:
}
We need to place a break statement in each case block to prevent the execution to
fall through other case blocks. But this is not a part of switch statement and not
enforced by the compiler.
We can have multiple case statements execute the same code. Just list them one
by one.
default case can be placed anywhere. Itll be executed only if none of the case
values match.
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switch can be nested. Nested case labels are independent, dont clash with outer
case labels.
Empty switch construct is a valid construct. But any statement within the switch
block should come under a case label or the default case label.
3. Branching statements
break statement can be used with any kind of loop or a switch statement or just a
labeled block.
continue statement can be used with only a loop (any kind of loop).
Loops can have labels. We can use break and continue statements to branch out of
multiple levels of nested loops using labels.
Names of the labels follow the same rules as the name of the
variables.(Identifiers)
Labels can have the same name, as long as they dont enclose one another.
There is no restriction against using the same identifier as a label and as the name
of a package, class, interface, method, field, parameter, or local variable.
4. Exception Handling
An exception is an event that occurs during the execution of a program that
disrupts the normal flow of instructions.
There are 3 main advantages for exceptions:
1. Separates error handling code from regular code
2. Propagating errors up the call stack (without tedious programming)
3. Grouping error types and error differentiation
An exception causes a jump to the end of try block. If the exception occurred in a
method called from a try block, the called method is abandoned.
If theres a catch block for the occurred exception or a parent class of the
exception, the exception is now considered handled.
At least one catch block or one finally block must accompany a try
statement. If all 3 blocks are present, the order is important. (try/catch/finally)
finally and catch can come only with try, they cannot appear on their own.
Regardless of whether or not an exception occurred or whether or not it was
handled, if there is a finally block, itll be executed always. (Even if there is a
return statement in try block).
System.exit() and error conditions are the only exceptions where finally block is
not executed.
If there was no exception or the exception was handled, execution continues at the
statement after the try/catch/finally blocks.
If the exception is not handled, the process repeats looking for next enclosing try
block up the call hierarchy. If this search reaches the top level of the hierarchy
(the point at which the thread was created), then the thread is killed and message
stack trace is dumped to System.err.
Use throw new xxxException() to throw an exception. If the thrown object is null,
a NullPointerException will be thrown at the handler.
If an exception handler re-throws an exception (throw in a catch block), same
rules apply. Either you need to have a try/catch within the catch or specify the
entire method as throwing the exception thats being re-thrown in the catch block.
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Catch blocks at the same level will not handle the exceptions thrown in a catch
block it needs its own handlers.
The method fillInStackTrace() in Throwable class throws a Throwable object. It
will be useful when re-throwing an exception or error.
The Java language requires that methods either catch or specify all checked
exceptions that can be thrown within the scope of that method.
All objects of type java.lang.Exception are checked exceptions. (Except the
classes under java.lang.RuntimeException) If any method that contains lines of
code that might throw checked exceptions, compiler checks whether youve
handled the exceptions or youve declared the methods as throwing the
exceptions. Hence the name checked exceptions.
If theres no code in try block that may throw exceptions specified in the catch
blocks, compiler will produce an error. (This is not the case for super-class
Exception)
Java.lang.RuntimeException and java.lang.Error need not be handled or declared.
An overriding method may not throw a checked exception unless the overridden
method also throws that exception or a super-class of that exception. In other
words, an overriding method may not throw checked exceptions that are not
thrown by the overridden method. If we allow the overriding methods in subclasses to throw more general exceptions than the overridden method in the parent
class, then the compiler has no way of checking the exceptions the sub-class
might throw. (If we declared a parent class variable and at runtime it refers to subclass object) This violates the concept of checked exceptions and the sub-classes
would be able to by-pass the enforced checks done by the compiler for checked
exceptions. This should not be allowed.

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Here is the exception hierarchy.
Object
|
|
Throwable
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Error
|
|
Exception-->ClassNotFoundException,
ClassNotSupportedException,
IllegalAccessException,
InstantiationException,
IterruptedException,
NoSuchMethodException, RuntimeException, AWTException, IOException
RuntimeException-->EmptyStackException,
NoSuchElementException,
ArithmeticException,
ArrayStoreException,
ClassCastException,
IllegalArgumentException, IllegalMonitorStateException,
IndexOutOfBoundsException, NegativeArraySizeException, NullPointerException,
SecurityException.
IllegalArgumentException-->IllegalThreadStateException, NumberFormatException
IndexOutOfBoundsException-->ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException,
StringIndexOutOfBoundsException
IOException-->EOFException,
FileNotFoundException,
InterruptedIOException,
UTFDataFormatException,
MalformedURLException,
ProtocolException,
SockException, UnknownHostException, UnknownServiceException.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 6 Objects and Classes
Implementing OO relationships
is a relationship is implemented by inheritance (extends keyword)
has a relationship is implemented by providing the class with member
variables.
Overloading and Overriding

Overriding is an example of runtime polymorphism (inclusive)

A method can have the same name as another method in the same class,
provided it forms either a valid overload or override

Overloading
Overriding
Signature has to be different. Just a Signature has to be the same. (including the
difference in return type is not enough.
return type)
Accessibility may vary freely.
Overriding methods cannot be more private
than the overridden methods.
Exception list may vary freely.
Overriding methods may not throw more
checked exceptions than the overridden
methods.
Just the name is reused. Methods are Related directly to sub-classing. Overrides
independent methods. Resolved at the parent class method. Resolved at runcompile-time based on method signature. time based on type of the object.
Can call each other by providing Overriding method can call overridden
appropriate argument list.
method by super.methodName(), this can be
used only to access the immediate superclasss method. super.super wont work.
Also, a class outside the inheritance
hierarchy cant use this technique.
Methods can be static or non-static. Since static methods dont participate in overriding,
the methods are independent, it doesnt since they are resolved at compile time based
matter. But if two methods have the same on the type of reference variable. A static
signature, declaring one as static and method in a sub-class cant use super (for
another as non-static does not provide a the same reason that it cant use this for)
valid overload. Its a compile time error.
Remember that a static method cant be
overridden to be non-static and a non-static
method cant be overridden to be static. In
other words, a static method and a non-static
method cannot have the same name and
signature (if signatures are different, it would
have formed a valid overload)
Theres no limit on number of overloaded Each parent class method may be overridden
methods a class can have.
at most once in any sub-class. (That is, you
cannot have two identical methods in the
same class)
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Variables can also be overridden, its known as shadowing or hiding. But,

member variable references are resolved at compile-time. So at the runtime, if
the class of the object referred by a parent class reference variable, is in fact a
sub-class having a shadowing member variable, only the parent class variable
is accessed, since its already resolved at compile time based on the reference
variable type. Only methods are resolved at run-time.
public class Shadow {
public static void main(String s[]) {
S1 s1 = new S1();
S2 s2 = new S2();
System.out.println(s1.s); // prints S1
System.out.println(s1.getS()); // prints S1
System.out.println(s2.s); // prints S2
System.out.println(s2.getS()); // prints S2
s1 = s2;
System.out.println(s1.s); // prints S1, not S2 // since variable is resolved at compile time
System.out.println(s1.getS()); // prints S2 // since method is resolved at run time
}
}
class S1 {
public String s = "S1";
public String getS() {
return s;
}
}
class S2 extends S1{
public String s = "S2";
public String getS() {
return s;
}

}
In the above code, if we didnt have the overriding getS() method in the sub-class
and if we call the method from sub-class reference variable, the method will
return only the super-class member variable value. For explanation, see the
following point.

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Also, methods access variables only in context of the class of the object they
belong to. If a sub-class method calls explicitly a super class method, the
super class method always will access the super-class variable. Super class
methods will not access the shadowing variables declared in subclasses
because they dont know about them. (When an object is created, instances of
all its super-classes are also created.) But the method accessed will be again
subject to dynamic lookup. It is always decided at runtime which
implementation is called. (Only static methods are resolved at compile-time)
public class Shadow2 {
String s = "main";
public static void main(String s[]) {
S2 s2 = new S2();
s2.display(); // Produces an output S1, S2
S1 s1 = new S1();
System.out.println(s1.getS()); // prints S1
System.out.println(s2.getS()); // prints S1 since
super-class method
// always accesses super-class
variable
}
}
class S1 {
String s = "S1";
public String getS() {
return s;
}
void display() {
System.out.println(s);
}
}
class S2 extends S1{
String s = "S2";
void display() {
super.display();
// Prints S1
System.out.println(s); // prints S2
}
}

With OO languages, the class of the object may not be known at compile-time
(by virtue of inheritance). JVM from the start is designed to support OO. So,
the JVM insures that the method called will be from the real class of the
object (not with the variable type declared). This is accomplished by virtual
method invocation (late binding). Compiler will form the argument list and
produce one method invocation instruction its job is over. The job of
identifying and calling the proper target code is performed by JVM.
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JVM knows about the variables real type at any time since when it allocates
memory for an object, it also marks the type with it. Objects always know
who they are. This is the basis of instanceof operator.
Sub-classes can use super keyword to access the shadowed variables in superclasses. This technique allows for accessing only the immediate super-class.
super.super is not valid. But casting the this reference to classes up above
the hierarchy will do the trick. By this way, variables in super-classes above
any level can be accessed from a sub-class, since variables are resolved at
compile time, when we cast the this reference to a super-super-class, the
compiler binds the super-super-class variable. But this technique is not
possible with methods since methods are resolved always at runtime, and the
method gets called depends on the type of object, not the type of reference
variable. So it is not at all possible to access a method in a super-super-class
from a subclass.
public class ShadowTest {
public static void main(String s[]){
new STChild().demo();
}
}
class STGrandParent {
double wealth = 50000.00;
public double getWealth() {
System.out.println("GrandParent-"
+
wealth);
return wealth;
}
}
class STParent extends STGrandParent {
double wealth = 100000.00;
public double getWealth() {
System.out.println("Parent-" + wealth);
return wealth;
}
}
class STChild extends STParent {
double wealth = 200000.00;
public double getWealth() {
System.out.println("Child-" + wealth);
return wealth;
}
public void demo() {
getWealth(); // Calls Child method
super.getWealth();
//
Calls
Parent
method
// Compiler error, GrandParent method
cannot be accessed
//super.super.getWealth();
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// Calls Child method, due to dynamic
method lookup
((STParent)this).getWealth();
// Calls Child method, due to dynamic
method lookup
((STGrandParent)this).getWealth();
System.out.println(wealth); // Prints
Child wealth
System.out.println(super.wealth);
//
Prints Parent wealth
// Prints Parent wealth
System.out.println(((STParent)(this)).w
ealth);
// Prints GrandParent wealth
System.out.println(((STGrandParent)(this)).w
ealth);
}
}

An inherited method, which was not abstract on the super-class, can be

declared abstract in a sub-class (thereby making the sub-class abstract). There
is no restriction. In the same token, a subclass can be declared abstract
regardless of whether the super-class was abstract or not.
Private members are not inherited, but they do exist in the sub-classes. Since
the private methods are not inherited, they cannot be overridden. A method in
a subclass with the same signature as a private method in the super-class is
essentially a new method, independent from super-class, since the private
method in the super-class is not visible in the sub-class.
public class PrivateTest {
public static void main(String s[]){
new PTSuper().hi(); // Prints always Super
new PTSub().hi(); // Prints Super when subclass
doesn't have hi method
// Prints Sub when subclass has hi method
PTSuper sup;
sup = new PTSub();
sup.hi(); // Prints Super when subclass doesn't have hi
method
// Prints Sub when subclass has hi method
}
}
class PTSuper {
public void hi() { // Super-class implementation always
calls superclass hello
hello();
}
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private void hello() { // This method is not inherited by
subclasses, but exists in them.
// Commenting out both the methods in the subclass show this.
// The test will then print "hello-Super" for all three calls
// i.e. Always the super-class implementations are called
System.out.println("hello-Super");
}
}
class PTSub extends PTSuper {
public void hi() { // This method overrides super-class hi,
calls subclass hello
try {
hello();
}
catch(Exception e) {}
}
void hello() throws Exception { // This method is
independent from super-class hello
// Evident from, it's allowed to throw Exception
System.out.println("hello-Sub");
}
}

Private methods are not overridden, so calls to private methods are resolved at
compile time and not subject to dynamic method lookup. See the following
example.
public class Poly {
public static void main(String args[]) {
PolyA ref1 = new PolyC();
PolyB ref2 = (PolyB)ref1;
System.out.println(ref2.g()); // This prints 1
// If f() is not private in PolyB, then prints 2
}
}
class PolyA {
private int f() { return 0; }
public int g() { return 3; }
}
class PolyB extends PolyA {
private int f() { return 1; }
public int g() { return f(); }
}
class PolyC extends PolyB {
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Core Java Study Notes

public int f() { return 2; }
}
Constructors and Sub-classing
Constructors are not inherited as normal methods, they have to be defined in
the class itself.
If you define no constructors at all, then the compiler provides a default
constructor with no arguments. Even if, you define one constructor, this
default is not provided.
We cant compile a sub-class if the immediate super-class doesnt have a no
argument default constructor, and sub-class constructors are not calling super
or this explicitly (and expect the compiler to insert an implicit super() call )
A constructor can call other overloaded constructors by this (arguments). If
you use this, it must be the first statement in the constructor. This construct
can be used only from within a constructor.
A constructor cant call the same constructor from within. Compiler will say
recursive constructor invocation
A constructor can call the parent class constructor explicitly by using super
(arguments). If you do this, it must be first the statement in the constructor.
This construct can be used only from within a constructor.
Obviously, we cant use both this and super in the same constructor. If
compiler sees a this or super, it wont insert a default call to super().
Constructors cant have a return type. A method with a class name, but with a
return type is not considered a constructor, but just a method by compiler.
Expect trick questions using this.
Constructor body can have an empty return statement. Though void cannot be
specified with the constructor signature, empty return statement is acceptable.
Only modifiers that a constructor can have are the accessibility modifiers.
Constructors cannot be overridden, since they are not inherited.
Initializers are used in initialization of objects and classes and to define
constants in interfaces. These initializers are :
1. Static and Instance variable initializer expressions.
Literals and method calls to initialize variables. Static variables can be
initialized
only by static method calls.
Cannot pass on the checked exceptions. Must catch and handle them.
2. Static initializer blocks.
Used to initialize static variables and load native libraries.
Cannot pass on the checked exceptions. Must catch and handle them.
3. Instance initializer blocks.
Used to factor out code that is common to all the constructors.
Also useful with anonymous classes since they cannot have
constructors.
All constructors must declare the uncaught checked exceptions, if any.
Instance Initializers in anonymous classes can throw any exception.
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Core Java Study Notes

In all the initializers, forward referencing of variables is not allowed. Forward

referencing of methods is allowed.
Order of code execution (when creating an object) is a bit tricky.
1. static variables initialization.
2. static initializer block execution. (in the order of declaration, if multiple
blocks found)
3. constructor header ( super or this implicit or explicit )
4. instance variables initialization / instance initializer block(s) execution
5. rest of the code in the constructor

Interfaces
All methods in an interface are implicitly public, abstract, and never static.
All variables in an interface are implicitly static, public, final. They cannot be
transient or volatile. A class can shadow the variables it inherits from an
interface, with its own variables.
A top-level interface itself cannot be declared as static or final since it doesnt
make sense.
Declaring parameters to be final is at methods discretion, this is not part of
method signature.
Same case with final, synchronized, native. Classes can declare the methods to
be final, synchronized or native whereas in an interface they cannot be
specified like that. (These are implementation details, interface need not worry
about this)
But classes cannot implement an interface method with a static method.
If an interface specifies an exception list for a method, then the class
implementing the interface need not declare the method with the exception
list. (Overriding methods can specify sub-set of overridden methods
exceptions, here none is a sub-set). But if the interface didnt specify any
exception list for a method, then the class cannot throw any exceptions.
All interface methods should have public accessibility when implemented in
class.
Interfaces cannot be declared final, since they are implicitly abstract.
A class can implement two interfaces that have a method with the same
signature or variables with the same name.
Inner Classes
A class can be declared in any scope. Classes defined inside of other classes
are known as nested classes. There are four categories of nested classes.
1. Top-level nested classes / interfaces
Declared as a class member with static modifier.
Just like other static features of a class. Can be accessed / instantiated
without an instance of the outer class. Can access only static members of
outer class. Cant access instance variables or methods.
Very much like any-other package level class / interface. Provide an
extension to packaging by the modified naming scheme at the top level.
Classes can declare both static and non-static members.
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Core Java Study Notes

Any accessibility modifier can be specified.

Interfaces are implicitly static (static modifier also can be specified). They
can have any accessibility modifier. There are no non-static inner, local or
anonymous interfaces.
2. Non-static inner classes
Declared as a class member without static.
An instance of a non-static inner class can exist only with an instance of
its enclosing class. So it always has to be created within a context of an
outer instance.
Just like other non-static features of a class. Can access all the features
(even private) of the enclosing outer class. Have an implicit reference to
the enclosing instance.
Cannot have any static members.
Can have any access modifier.
3. Local classes
Defined inside a block (could be a method, a constructor, a local block, a
static initializer or an instance initializer). Cannot be specified with static
modifier.
Cannot have any access modifier (since they are effectively local to the
block)
Cannot declare any static members.(Even declared in a static context)
Can access all the features of the enclosing class (because they are defined
inside the method of the class) but can access only final variables defined
inside the method (including method arguments). This is because the class
can outlive the method, but the method local variables will go out of scope
in case of final variables, compiler makes a copy of those variables to be
used by the class. (New meaning for final)
Since the names of local classes are not visible outside the local context,
references of these classes cannot be declared outside. So their
functionality could be accessed only via super-class references (either
interfaces or classes). Objects of those class types are created inside
methods and returned as super-class type references to the outside world.
This is the reason that they can only access final variables within the local
block. That way, the value of the variable can be always made available to
the objects returned from the local context to outside world.
Cannot be specified with static modifier. But if they are declared inside a
static context such as a static method or a static initializer, they become
static classes. They can only access static members of the enclosing class
and local final variables. But this doesnt mean they cannot access any
non-static features inherited from super classes. These features are their
own, obtained via the inheritance hierarchy. They can be accessed
normally with this or super.
4. Anonymous classes
Anonymous classes are defined where they are constructed. They can be
created wherever a reference expression can be used.
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Core Java Study Notes

Anonymous classes cannot have explicit constructors. Instance initializers

can be used to achieve the functionality of a constructor.
Typically used for creating objects on the fly.
Anonymous classes can implement an interface (implicit extension of
Object) or explicitly extend a class. Cannot do both.
Syntax: new interface name() { } or new class name() { }
Keywords implements and extends are not used in anonymous classes.
Abstract classes can be specified in the creation of an anonymous class.
The new class is a concrete class, which automatically extends the abstract
class.
Discussion for local classes on static/non-static context, accessing
enclosing variables, and declaring static variables also holds good for
anonymous classes. In other words, anonymous classes cannot be
specified with static, but based on the context, they could become static
classes. In any case, anonymous classes are not allowed to declare static
members. Based on the context, non-static/static features of outer classes
are available to anonymous classes. Local final variables are always
available to them.
One enclosing class can have multiple instances of inner classes.
Inner classes can have synchronous methods. But calling those methods
obtains the lock for inner object only not the outer object. If you need to
synchronize an inner class method based on outer object, outer object lock
must be obtained explicitly. Locks on inner object and outer object are
independent.
Nested classes can extend any class or can implement any interface. No
restrictions.
All nested classes (except anonymous classes) can be abstract or final.
Classes can be nested to any depth. Top-level static classes can be nested only
within other static top-level classes or interfaces. Deeply nested classes also
have access to all variables of the outer-most enclosing class (as well the
immediate enclosing classs)
Member inner classes can be forward referenced. Local inner classes cannot
be.
An inner class variable can shadow an outer class variable. In this case, an
outer class variable can be referred as (outerclassname.this.variablename).
Outer class variables are accessible within the inner class, but they are not
inherited. They dont become members of the inner class. This is different
from inheritance. (Outer class cannot be referred using super, and outer class
variables cannot be accessed using this)
An inner class variable can shadow an outer class variable. If the inner class is
sub-classed within the same outer class, the variable has to be qualified
explicitly in the sub-class. To fully qualify the variable, use
classname.this.variablename. If we dont correctly qualify the variable, a
compiler error will occur. (Note that this does not happen in multiple levels of
inheritance where an upper-most super-classs variable is silently shadowed
by the most recent super-class variable or in multiple levels of nested inner
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Core Java Study Notes

classes where an inner-most classs variable silently shadows an outer-most

classs variable. Problem comes only when these two hierarchy chains
(inheritance and containment) clash.)
If the inner class is sub-classed outside of the outer class (only possible with
top-level nested classes) explicit qualification is not needed (it becomes
regular class inheritance)

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Core Java Study Notes

// Example 1
public class InnerInnerTest {
public static void main(String s[]) {
new
Outer().new
Inner().new
InnerInner().new
InnerInnerInner().doSomething();
new Outer().new InnerChild().doSomething();
new Outer2().new Inner2().new InnerInner2().doSomething();
new InnerChild2().doSomething();
}
}
class Outer {
String name = "Vel";
class Inner {
String name = "Sharmi";
class InnerInner {
class InnerInnerInner {
public void doSomething() {
// No problem in accessing without full qualification,
// inner-most class variable shadows the outer-most class variable
System.out.println(name); // Prints "Sharmi"
System.out.println(Outer.this.name); // Prints "Vel", explicit
reference to Outer
// error, variable is not inherited from the outer class, it can be just
accessible
//
System.out.println(this.name);
//
System.out.println(InnerInner.this.name);
//
System.out.println(InnerInnerInner.this.name);
// error, super cannot be used to access outer class.
// super will always refer the parent, in this case Object
//
System.out.println(super.name);
System.out.println(Inner.this.name);
Inner has declared 'name'
}
}
}

//

Prints

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"Sharmi",

Core Java Study Notes

}
/* This is an inner class extending an inner class in the same scope */
class InnerChild extends Inner {
public void doSomething() {
// compiler error, explicit qualifier needed
// 'name' is inherited from Inner, Outer's 'name' is also in scope
//
System.out.println(name);
System.out.println(Outer.this.name); // prints "Vel", explicit
reference to Outer
System.out.println(super.name); // prints "Sharmi", Inner has
declared 'name'
System.out.println(this.name); // prints "Sharmi", name is inherited
by InnerChild
}
}
}
class Outer2 {
static String name = "Vel";
static class Inner2 {
static String name = "Sharmi";
class InnerInner2 {
public void doSomething() {
System.out.println(name); // prints "Sharmi", inner-most hides
outer-most
System.out.println(Outer2.name); // prints "Vel", explicit reference
to Outer2's static variable
//
System.out.println(this.name); // error, 'name' is not inherited
//
System.out.println(super.name); // error, super refers to Object
}
}
}
}
/* This is a stand-alone class extending an inner class */
class InnerChild2 extends Outer2.Inner2 {
public void doSomething() {
System.out.println(name); // prints "Sharmi", Inner2's name is
inherited
System.out.println(Outer2.name); // prints "Vel", explicit reference
to Outer2's static variable
System.out.println(super.name); // prints "Sharmi", Inner2 has
declared 'name'
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Core Java Study Notes

System.out.println(this.name); // prints "Sharmi", name is inherited
by InnerChild2
}
}
// Example 2
public class InnerTest2 {
public static void main(String s[]) {
new OuterClass().doSomething(10, 20);
// This is legal
//
OuterClass.InnerClass
InnerClass();
//
ic.doSomething();

ic

new

OuterClass().new

// Compiler error, local inner classes cannot be accessed from

outside
//
OuterClass.LocalInnerClass lic = new OuterClass().new
LocalInnerClass();
//
lic.doSomething();
new OuterClass().doAnonymous();
}
}
class OuterClass {
final int a = 100;
private String secret = "Nothing serious";
public void doSomething(int arg, final int fa) {
final int x = 100;
int y = 200;
System.out.println(this.getClass() + " - in doSomething");
System.out.print("a = " + a + " secret = " + secret + " arg = "
+ arg + " fa = " + fa);
System.out.println(" x = " + x + " y = " + y);
// Compiler error, forward reference of local inner class
//
new LocalInnerClass().doSomething();
abstract class AncestorLocalInnerClass { } // inner class can
be abstract
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Core Java Study Notes

final
class
LocalInnerClass
extends
AncestorLocalInnerClass { // can be final
public void doSomething() {
System.out.println(this.getClass() + " - in doSomething");
System.out.print("a = " + a );
System.out.print(" secret = " + secret);
//
System.out.print(" arg = " + arg); // Compiler error,
accessing non-final argument
System.out.print(" fa = " + fa);
System.out.println(" x = " + x);
//
System.out.println(" y = " + y); // Compiler error, accessing
non-final variable
}
}
new InnerClass().doSomething(); // forward reference fine for
member inner class
new LocalInnerClass().doSomething();
}
abstract class AncestorInnerClass { }
interface InnerInterface { final int someConstant = 999;} // inner
interface
class InnerClass extends AncestorInnerClass implements
InnerInterface {
public void doSomething() {
System.out.println(this.getClass() + " - in doSomething");
System.out.println("a = " + a + " secret = " + secret + "
someConstant = " + someConstant);
}
}
public void doAnonymous() {
// Anonymous class implementing the inner interface
System.out.println((new InnerInterface() { }).someConstant);
// Anonymous class extending the inner class
( new InnerClass() {
public void doSomething() {
secret = "secret is changed";
super.doSomething();
}
} ).doSomething();
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Core Java Study Notes

}
}

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Core Java Study Notes

Entity

Declaration
Context

Accessibilit
y Modifiers

Package level
class
Top
level
nested class
(static)
Non
static
inner class

As package Public
member
default
As static class All
member
As non-static All
class member

Outer
instanc
e
or No
No

Yes

Local
class In block with None
(non-static)
non-static
context

Yes

Local
(static)

No

class In block with None

static context

Anonymous
In block with None
class
(non- non-static
static)
context

Yes

Anonymous
class (static)

No

In block with None

static context

Package level As package Public

interface
member
default

Top
level As static class All
nested
member
interface
(static)

or No

No

Direct Access
to
enclosing
context
N/A

Defines static or
non-static
members
Both static and
non-static
Static members Both static and
in
enclosing non-static
context
All members in Only non-static
enclosing
context
All members in Only non-static
enclosing
context + local
final variables
Static members Only non-static
in
enclosing
context + local
final variables
All members in Only non-static
enclosing
context + local
final variables
Static members Only non-static
in
enclosing
context + local
final variables
N/A
Static variables
and
non-static
method
prototypes
Static members Static variables
in
enclosing and
non-static
context
method
prototypes

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 7 Threads

Java is fundamentally multi-threaded.

Every thread corresponds to an instance of java.lang.Thread class or a sub-class.
A thread becomes eligible to run, when its start() method is called. Thread scheduler
co-ordinates between the threads and allows them to run.
When a thread begins execution, the scheduler calls its run method.
Signature of run method public void run()
When a thread returns from its run method (or stop method is called deprecated in
1.2), its dead. It cannot be restarted, but its methods can be called. (its just an object
no more in a running state)
If start is called again on a dead thread, IllegalThreadStateException is thrown.
When a thread is in running state, it may move out of that state for various reasons.
When it becomes eligible for execution again, thread scheduler allows it to run.
There are two ways to implement threads.
1. Extend Thread class
Create a new class, extending the Thread class.
Provide a public void run method, otherwise empty run in Thread class will be
executed.
Create an instance of the new class.
Call start method on the instance (dont call run it will be executed on the same
thread)
2. Implement Runnable interface
Create a new class implementing the Runnable interface.
Provide a public void run method.
Create an instance of this class.
Create a Thread, passing the instance as a target new Thread(object)
Target should implement Runnable, Thread class implements it, so it can be a
target itself.
Call the start method on the Thread.

JVM creates one user thread for running a program. This thread is called main thread.
The main method of the class is called from the main thread. It dies when the main
method ends. If other user threads have been spawned from the main thread, program
keeps running even if main thread dies. Basically a program runs until all the user
threads (non-daemon threads) are dead.
A thread can be designated as a daemon thread by calling setDaemon(boolean)
method. This method should be called before the thread is started, otherwise
IllegalThreadStateException will be thrown.
A thread spawned by a daemon thread is a daemon thread.
Threads have priorities. Thread class have constants MAX_PRIORITY (10),
MIN_PRIORITY (1), NORM_PRIORITY (5)
A newly created thread gets its priority from the creating thread. Normally itll be
NORM_PRIORITY.
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getPriority and setPriority are the methods to deal with priority of threads.
Java leaves the implementation of thread scheduling to JVM developers. Two types
of scheduling can be done.
1. Pre-emptive Scheduling.
Ways for a thread to leave running state It can cease to be ready to execute ( by calling a blocking i/o method)
It can get pre-empted by a high-priority thread, which becomes ready to execute.
It can explicitly call a thread-scheduling method such as wait or suspend.

Solaris JVMs are pre-emptive.

Windows JVMs were pre-emptive until Java 1.0.2

2. Time-sliced or Round Robin Scheduling

A thread is only allowed to execute for a certain amount of time. After that, it has
to contend for the CPU (virtual CPU, JVM) time with other threads.
This prevents a high-priority thread mono-policing the CPU.
The drawback with this scheduling is it creates a non-deterministic system at
any point in time, you cannot tell which thread is running and how long it may
continue to run.
Mactinosh JVMs
Windows JVMs after Java 1.0.2
Different states of a thread:
1. Yielding
Yield is a static method. Operates on current thread.
Moves the thread from running to ready state.
If there are no threads in ready state, the yielded thread may continue execution,
otherwise it may have to compete with the other threads to run.
Run the threads that are doing time-consuming operations with a low priority and
call yield periodically from those threads to avoid those threads locking up the
CPU.
2. Sleeping
Sleep is also a static method.
Sleeps for a certain amount of time. (passing time without doing anything and w/o
using CPU)
Two overloaded versions one with milliseconds, one with milliseconds and
nanoseconds.
Throws an InterruptedException.(must be caught)
After the time expires, the sleeping thread goes to ready state. It may not execute
immediately after the time expires. If there are other threads in ready state, it may
have to compete with those threads to run. The correct statement is the sleeping
thread would execute some time after the specified time period has elapsed.
If interrupt method is invoked on a sleeping thread, the thread moves to ready
state. The next time it begins running, it executes the InterruptedException
handler.
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Core Java Study Notes

3. Suspending
Suspend and resume are instance methods and are deprecated in 1.2
A thread that receives a suspend call, goes to suspended state and stays there until
it receives a resume call on it.
A thread can suspend it itself, or another thread can suspend it.
But, a thread can be resumed only by another thread.
Calling resume on a thread that is not suspended has no effect.
Compiler wont warn you if suspend and resume are successive statements,
although the thread may not be able to be restarted.
4. Blocking
Methods that are performing I/O have to wait for some occurrence in the outside
world to happen before they can proceed. This behavior is blocking.
If a method needs to wait an indeterminable amount of time until some I/O takes
place, then the thread should graciously step out of the CPU. All Java I/O
methods behave this way.
A thread can also become blocked, if it failed to acquire the lock of a monitor.
5. Waiting
wait, notify and notifyAll methods are not called on Thread, theyre called on
Object. Because the object is the one which controls the threads in this case. It
asks the threads to wait and then notifies when its state changes. Its called a
monitor.
Wait puts an executing thread into waiting state.(to the monitors waiting pool)
Notify moves one thread in the monitors waiting pool to ready state. We cannot
control which thread is being notified. notifyAll is recommended.
NotifyAll moves all threads in the monitors waiting pool to ready.
These methods can only be called from synchronized code, or an
IllegalMonitorStateException will be thrown. In other words, only the threads that
obtained the objects lock can call these methods.

Locks, Monitors and Synchronization

Every object has a lock (for every synchronized code block). At any moment, this
lock is controlled by at most one thread.
A thread that wants to execute an objects synchronized code must acquire the lock of
the object. If it cannot acquire the lock, the thread goes into blocked state and comes
to ready only when the objects lock is available.
When a thread, which owns a lock, finishes executing the synchronized code, it gives
up the lock.
Monitor (a.k.a Semaphore) is an object that can block and revive threads, an object
that controls client threads. Asks the client threads to wait and notifies them when the
time is right to continue, based on its state. In strict Java terminology, any object that
has some synchronized code is a monitor.
2 ways to synchronize:
1. Synchronize the entire method
Declare the method to be synchronized - very common practice.
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Core Java Study Notes

Thread should obtain the objects lock.
2. Synchronize part of the method
Have to pass an arbitrary object which lock is to be obtained to execute the
synchronized code block (part of a method).
We can specify this in place object, to obtain very brief locking not very
common.

wait points to remember

calling thread gives up CPU
calling thread gives up the lock
calling thread goes to monitors waiting pool
wait also has a version with timeout in milliseconds. Use this if youre not sure
when the current thread will get notified, this avoids the thread being stuck in wait
state forever.
notify points to remember
one thread gets moved out of monitors waiting pool to ready state
notifyAll moves all the threads to ready state
Thread gets to execute must re-acquire the lock of the monitor before it can
proceed.
Note the differences between blocked and waiting.

Blocked
Thread is waiting to get a lock on the
monitor.
(or waiting for a blocking i/o method)
Caused by the thread tried to execute
some synchronized code. (or a blocking
i/o method)
Can move to ready only when the lock
is available. ( or the i/o operation is
complete)

Waiting
Thread has been asked to wait. (by
means of wait method)
The thread already acquired the lock
and executed some synchronized code
before coming across a wait call.
Can move to ready only when it gets
notified (by means of notify or
notifyAll)

Points for complex models:

1. Always check monitors state in a while loop, rather than in an if statement.
2. Always call notifyAll, instead of notify.
Class locks control the static methods.
wait and sleep must be enclosed in a try/catch for InterruptedException.
A single thread can obtain multiple locks on multiple objects (or on the same object)
A thread owning the lock of an object can call other synchronous methods on the
same object. (this is another lock) Other threads cant do that. They should wait to get
the lock.
Non-synchronous methods can be called at any time by any thread.
Synchronous methods are re-entrant. So they can be called recursively.
Synchronized methods can be overrided to be non-synchronous. synchronized
behavior affects only the original class.
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Locks on inner/outer objects are independent. Getting a lock on outer object doesnt
mean getting the lock on an inner object as well, that lock should be obtained
separately.
wait and notify should be called from synchronized code. This ensures that while
calling these methods the thread always has the lock on the object. If you have
wait/notify in non-synchronized code compiler wont catch this. At runtime, if the
thread doesnt have the lock while calling these methods, an
IllegalMonitorStateException is thrown.
Deadlocks can occur easily. e.g, Thread A locked Object A and waiting to get a lock
on Object B, but Thread B locked Object B and waiting to get a lock on Object A.
Theyll be in this state forever.
Its the programmers responsibility to avoid the deadlock. Always get the locks in
the same order.
While suspended, the thread keeps the locks it obtained so suspend is deprecated
in 1.2
Use of stop is also deprecated, instead use a flag in run method. Compiler wont warn
you, if you have statements after a call to stop, even though they are not reachable.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 8 java.lang package

Object class is the ultimate ancestor of all classes. If there is no extends clause,
compiler inserts extends object. The following methods are defined in Object class.
All methods are public, if not specified otherwise.

Method
boolean equals(Object o)

Description
just does a == comparison, override in descendents to provide meaningful
comparison
Thread control. Two other versions of wait() accept timeout parameters and
may throw InterruptedException.

final native void wait()

final native void notify()
final
native
void
notifyAll()
native int hashcode()
Returns a hash code value for the object.
If two objects are equal according to the equals method, then calling the
hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce the same integer
result.
protected Object clone() Creates a new object of the same class as this object. It then initializes each
throws
of the new object's fields by assigning it the same value as the
CloneNotSupportedExcep corresponding field in this object. No constructor is called.
tion
The clone method of class Object will only clone an object whose class
indicates that it is willing for its instances to be cloned. A class indicates
CloneNotSupportedExcep that its instances can be cloned by declaring that it implements the
tion
is
a
checked Cloneable interface. Also the method has to be made public to be called
Exception
from outside the class.
Arrays have a public clone method.
int ia[ ][ ] = { { 1 , 2}, null };
int ja[ ][ ] = (int[ ] [ ])ia.clone();
A clone of a multidimensional array is shallow, which is to say that it
creates only a single new array. Subarrays are shared, so ia and ja are
different but ia[0] and ja[0] are same.
final
native
Class Returns the runtime class of an object.
getClass()
String toString
Returns the string representation of the object. Method in Object returns a
string consisting of the name of the class of which the object is an instance,
the at-sign character `@', and the unsigned hexadecimal representation of the
hash code of the object. Override to provide useful information.
protected void finalize() Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection
throws
determines that there are no more references to the object.
Throwable
Any exception thrown by the finalize method causes the finalization of this
object to be halted, but is otherwise ignored.
The finalize method in Object does nothing. A subclass overrides the
finalize method to dispose of system resources or to perform other cleanup.

Math class is final, cannot be sub-classed.

Math constructor is private, cannot be instantiated.
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All constants and methods are public and static, just access using class name.
Two constants PI and E are specified.
Methods that implement Trigonometry functions are native.
All Math trig functions take angle input in radians.
Angle degrees * PI / 180 = Angle radians
Order of floating/double values:
-Infinity --> Negative Numbers/Fractions --> -0.0 --> +0.0 --> Positive
Numbers/Fractions --> Infinity
abs int, long, float, double versions available
floor greatest integer smaller than this number (look below towards the floor)
ceil smallest integer greater than this number (look above towards the ceiling)
For floor and ceil functions, if the argument is NaN or infinity or positive zero or
negative zero or already a value equal to a mathematical integer, the result is the same
as the argument.
For ceil, if the argument is less than zero but greater than 1.0, then the result is a
negative zero
random returns a double between 0.0(including) and 1.0(excluding)
round returns a long for double, returns an int for float. (closest int or long value to
the argument)
The result is rounded to an integer by adding , taking the floor of the result, and
casting the result to type int / long.
(int)Math.floor(a + 0.5f)
(long)Math.floor(a + 0.5d)
double rint(double) returns closest double equivalent to a mathematical integer. If two
values are equal, it returns the even integer value. rint(2.7) is 3, rint(2.5) is 2.
Math.min(-0.0, +0.0) returns 0.0, Math.max(-0.0, +0.0) returns 0.0, -0.0 == +0.0
returns true.
For a NaN or a negative argument, sqrt returns a NaN.
Every primitive type has a wrapper class (some names are different Integer,
Boolean, Character)
Wrapper class objects are immutable.
All Wrapper classes are final.
All wrapper classes, except Character, have a constructor accepting string. A Boolean
object, created by passing a string, will have a value of false for any input other than
true (case doesnt matter).
Numeric wrapper constructors will throw a NumberFormatException, if the passed
string is not a valid number. (empty strings and null strings also throw this exception)
equals also tests the class of the object, so even if an Integer object and a Long object
are having the same value, equals will return false.
NaNs can be tested successfully with equals method.
Float f1 = new Float(Float.NaN);
Float f2 = new Float(Float.NaN);
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Core Java Study Notes

System.out.println( ""+ (f1 == f2)+" "+f1.equals(f2)+ " "+(Float.NaN ==

Float.NaN) );
The above code will print false true false.
Numeric wrappers have 6 methods to return the numeric value intValue(),
longValue(), etc.
valueOf method parses an input string (optionally accepts a radix in case of int and
long) and returns a new instance of wrapper class, on which it was invoked. Its a
static method. For empty/invalid/null strings it throws a NumberFormatException.
For null strings valueOf in Float and Double classes throw NullPointerException.
parseInt and parseLong return primitive int and long values respectively, parsing a
string (optionally a radix). Throw a NumberFormatException for invalid/empty/null
strings.
Numeric wrappers have overloaded toString methods, which accept corresponding
primitive values (also a radix in case of int,long) and return a string.
Void class represents void primitive type. Its not instantiable. Just a placeholder
class.

Strings are immutable.

They can be created from a literal, a byte array, a char array or a string buffer.
Literals are taken from pool (for optimization), so == will return true, if two strings
are pointing to the same literal.
Anonymous String objects (literals) may have been optimized even across classes.
A String created by new operator is always a different new object, even if its created
from a literal.
But a String can specify that its contents should be placed in a pool of unique strings
for possible reuse, by calling intern() method. In programs that do a lot of String
comparisons, ensuring that all Strings are in the pool, allows to use == comparison
rather than the equals() method, which is slower.
All string operations (concat, trim, replace, substring etc) construct and return new
strings.
toUpperCase and toLowerCase will return the same string if no case conversion was
needed.
equals takes an object (String class also has a version of equals that accepts a String),
equalsIgnoreCase takes a string.
Passing null to indexOf or lastIndexOf will throw NullPointerException, passing
empty string returns 0, passing a string thats not in the target string returns 1.
trim method removes all leading and trailing white-space from a String and returns a
new String. White-space means, all characters with value less than or equal to the
space character \u0020.
String class is final.
+ and += operators are overloaded for Strings.
reverse, append, insert are not String methods.

String Buffers are mutable strings.

StringBuffer is a final class.

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They can be created empty, from a string or with a capacity. An empty StringBuffer
is created with 16-character capacity. A StringBuffer created from a String has the
capacity of the length of String + 16. StringBuffers created with the specified capacity
has the exact capacity specified. Since they can grow dynamically in size without
bounds, capacity doesnt have much effect.
append, insert, setCharAt, reverse are used to manipulate the string buffer.
setLength changes the length, if the current content is larger than specified length, its
truncated. If it is smaller than the specified length, nulls are padded. This method
doesnt affect the capacity.
equals on StringBuffer does a shallow comparison. (same like ==) Will return true
only if the objects are same. Dont use it to test content equality
trim is not a StringBuffer method.
There is no relationship between String and StringBuffer. Both extend Object class.

String context means, + operator appearing with one String operand. String
concatenation cannot be applied to StringBuffers.
A new String buffer is created.
All operands are appended (by calling toString method, if needed)
Finally a string is returned by calling toString on the String Buffer.

String concatenation process will add a string with the value of null, if an object
reference is null and that object is appearing in a concatenation expression by itself.
But if we try to access its members or methods, a NullPointerException is thrown.
The same is true for arrays, array name is replaced with null, but trying to index it
when its null throws a NullPointerException.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 9 java.util package

A collection (a.k.a bag or multiset) allows a group of objects to be treated as a single

unit. Arbitrary objects can be stored, retrieved and manipulated as elements of these
collections.
Collections Framework presents a set of standard utility classes to manage such
collections.
1. It contains core interfaces which allow collections to be manipulated
independent of their implementations. These interfaces define the common
functionality exhibited by collections and facilitate data exchange between
collections.
2. A small set of implementations that are concrete implementations of the core
interfaces, providing data structures that a program can use.
3. An assortment of algorithms to perform various operations such as, sorting and
searching.
Collections framework is interface based, collections are implemented according to
their interface type, rather than by implementation types. By using the interfaces
whenever collections of objects need to be handled, interoperability and
interchangeability are achieved.
By convention each of the collection implementation classes provide a constructor to
create a collection based on the elements in the Collection object passed as argument.
By the same token, Map implementations provide a constructor that accepts a Map
argument. This allows the implementation of a collection (Collection/Map) to be
changed. But Collections and Maps are not interchangeable.
Interfaces and their implementations in Java 1.2
Collection
|
|__ Set (no dupes, null allowed based on implementation) HashSet
|
|
|
|__ SortedSet (Ordered Set) TreeSet
|
|__ List (ordered collection, dupes OK) Vector, ArrayList, LinkedList
Map (key-value pairs, null allowed based on implementation) HashTable,
HashMap
|
|__ SortedMap (Ordered Map) TreeMap

Interface

Description

Collection

A basic interface that defines the operations that all the classes that
maintain collections of objects typically implement.
Extends Collection, sets that maintain unique elements. Set interface
is defined in terms of the equals operation
Extends Set, maintain the elements in a sorted order

Set
SortedSet

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Core Java Study Notes

List
Map
SortedMap

Extends Collection, maintain elements in a sequential order,

duplicates allowed.
A basic interface that defines operations that classes that represent
mappings of keys to values typically implement
Extends Map for maps that maintain their mappings in key order.

Classes that implement the interfaces use different storage mechanisms.

1. Arrays
Indexed access is faster. Makes insertion, deletion and growing the store more
difficult.
2. Linked List
Supports insertion, deletion and growing the store. But indexed access is slower.
3. Tree
Supports insertion, deletion and growing the store. Indexed access is slower. But
searching is faster.
4. Hashing
Supports insertion, deletion and growing the store. Indexed access is slower. But
searching is faster.
However, requires the use of unique keys for storing data elements.
Interfaces
Data
Set
SortedS List
Map
SortedMa
Structures
et
p
used
to
implement
Hash Table
HashSet
HashMap (Nulls
(Nulls
OK)
OK)
HashTable
(No
Nulls)
Resizable Array
ArrayList (Nulls
OK)
Vector(Nulls OK)
Balanced Tree
TreeSet
TreeMap
Linked List

LinkedList (Nulls
OK)

Some of the operations in the collection interfaces are optional, meaning that the
implementing class may choose not to provide a proper implementation of such an
operation. In such a case, an UnsupportedOperationException is thrown when that
operation is invoked.

Interface

Methods

Description

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Core Java Study Notes

Basic
Operation
s

Bulk
Operation
s
Collecti
on
Array
Operation
s
Iterators

Set

List

int size();
boolean isEmpty();
boolean
contains(Object
element);
boolean add(Object element);
boolean
remove(Object
element);
boolean containsAll(Collection
c);
boolean addAll(Collection c);
boolean
removeAll(Collection
c);
boolean retainAll(Collection c);
void clear();
Object[] toArray();
Object[] toArray(Object a[]);

Used to query a collection about its

contents, and add/remove elements.
The add() and remove() methods return
true if the collection was modified as a
result of the operation. The contains()
method checks for membership.
Perform on a collection as a single unit.
Operations are equivalent of set logic
on arbitrary collections (not just sets).
The addAll(), removeAll(), clear() and
retainAll() methods are destructive.

These methods
combined with
Arrays.asList() method provide the
bridge between arrays and collections.
Iterator iterator();
Returns an iterator, to iterate the
Iterator is an interface which has collection.
these methods.
boolean hasNext();
The remove() method is the only
Object next();
recommended way to remove elements
void remove();
from a collection during the iteration.
The add() method returns false, if the
No new methods defined.
element is already in the Set. No
exceptions are thrown.
Object get(int index);
First index is 0, last index is size() 1.
Object set(int index, Object An
illegal
index
throws
element);
IndexOutOfBoundsException.
Element
void add(int index, Object
Access by
element);
Index
Object remove(int index);
boolean
addAll(int
index,
Collection c);
Element
int indexOf(Object o);
If the element is not found, return 1.
Search
int lastIndexOf(Object o);
ListIterator listIterator();
ListIterators additional methods:
ListIterator
listIterator(int
boolean hasPrevious();
List
index);
boolean previous();
Iterators
int nextIndex();
ListIterator extends Iterator. It
int prviousIndex();
allows
iteration
in
both
void set(Object o);
directions.
void add(Object o);

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Core Java Study Notes

Map

List subList(int fromIndex, int Returns a range of the list from

Open Range toIndex);
fromIndex (inclusive) to toIndex
View
(exclusive). Changes to view are
reflected in the list and vice versa.
Object put(Object key, Object The put method replaces the old value,
value);
if the map previously contained a
Object get(Object key);
mapping for that key.
Object remove(Object key);
The get method returns null, if the
Basic
boolean
containsKey(Object specified key couldnt be found in the
Operations
key);
map.
boolean containsValue(Object
value);
int size();
boolean isEmpty();
void putAll(Map t);
putAll() adds all the elements from the
Bulk
void clear();
specified map.
Operations
clear() removes all the elements from
the map.
Set keySet();
Provide different views on a Map.
Collection values();
Changes to views are reflected in the
Set entrySet();
map and vice versa.
Collection
Views

Sorted
Set

Sorted
Map

Note that the values () method, Each <key,value> pair is represented

returns a Collection, not a set. by an Object implementing Map.Entry
Reason is, multiple unique keys interface.
can map to the same value.
Object getKey();
Object getValue();
Object setValue(Object value);
SortedSet
headSet(Object fromElement is inclusive, toElement is
toElement);
exclusive. The views present the
SortedSet
tailSet(Object elements sorted in the same order as the
Range View
fromElement);
underlying sorted set.
Operations
SortedSet
subSet(Object
fromElement,
Object
toElement);
Min-Max
Object first();
Return the first (lowest) and last
Points
Object last();
(highest) elements.
Comparator comparator();
Returns the compartor associated with
Comparator
this SortedSet, or null if it uses natural
Access
ordering.
SortedMap
headMap(Object SortedMap is sorted with keys.
toKey);
fromKey is inclusive, toKey is
Range View SortedSet
tailMap(Object exclusive. The views present the
Operations
fromKey);
elements sorted in the same order as the
SortedSet
subMap(Object underlying sorted map.
fromKey, Object toKey);
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Min-Max
Points
Comparator
Access

Object firstKey();
Object lastKey();
Comparator comparator();

Return the first (lowest) and last

(highest) keys.
Returns the compartor associated with
this SortedMap, or null if it uses natural
ordering.

Sorting in SortedSets and SortedMaps can be implemented in two ways.

1. Objects can specify their natural order by implementing Comparable interface.
Many if the standard classes in Java API, such as wrapper classes, String, Date
and File implement this interface. This interface defines a single method:
int compareTo(Object o) returns negative, zero, positive if the current object
is less than, equal to or greater than the specified object.
In this case a natural comparator queries objects implementing Comparable about
their natural order. Objects implementing this interface can be used:
As elements in a sorted set.
As keys in sorted map.
In lists which can be sorted automatically by the Collections.sort()
method.
2. Objects can be sorted by specific comparators, which implement Comparator
interface. This interface defines the following method:
int compare(Object o1, Object o2) returns negative, zero, positive if the first
object is less than, equal to or greater than the second object. It is
recommended that its implementation doesnt contradict the semantics of the
equals() method.
Specific Comparators can be specified in the constructors of SortedSets and
SortedMaps.
All classes provide a constructor to create an empty collection (corresponding to the
class). HashSet, HashMap, HashTable can also be specified with an initial capacity as
well as a load factor (the ratio of number of elements stored to its current capacity).
Most of the time, default values provide acceptable performance.
A Vector, like an array, contains items that can be accessed using an integer index.
However, the size of a Vector can grow and shrink as needed to accommodate adding
and removing items after the Vector has been created.
Vector (5,10) means initial capacity 5, additional allocation (capacity increment) by
10.
Stack extends Vector and implements a LIFO stack. With the usual push() and pop()
methods, there is a peek() method to look at the object at the top of the stack without
removing it from the stack.
Dictionary is an obsolete class. HashTable extends dictionary. Elements are stored as
key-value pairs.
Vector and HashTable are the only classes that are thread-safe.
ArrayList (does what Vector does), HashMap(does what HashTable does),
LinkedList and TreeMap are new classes in Java 1.2
In Java 1.2, Iterator duplicates the functionality of Enumeration. New
implementations should consider Iterator.
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Core Java Study Notes

Collections is a class, Collection is an interface.

Collections class consists exclusively of static methods that operate on or return
collections.
Sorting and Searching algorithms in the Collections class.
static int binarySearch(List list, Object key)
static void fill(List list, Object o)
static void shuffle(List list, Object o)
static void sort(List list)
Factory methods to provide thread-safety and data immutability. These methods
return synchronized (thread-safe) / immutable collections from the specified
collections.
List safeList = Collections.synchronizedList(new LinkedList());
SortedMap fixedMap = Collections.unmodifiableSortedMap(new SortedMap());
Constants to denote immutable empty collections in the Collections class:
EMPTY_SET, EMPTY_LIST and EMPTY_MAP.
Collections class also has the following methods:

Method
public static Set singleton(Object
o)
public
static
List
singletonList(Object o)
public
static
Map
singletonMap(Object key, Object
value)
public static List nCopies (int n,
Object o)

Description
Returns an immutable set containing only the
specified object
Returns an immutable list containing only the
specified object
Returns an immutable map containing only the
specified key, value pair.
Returns an immutable list consisting of n copies of
the specified object. The newly allocated data
object is tiny (it contains a single reference to the
data object). This method is useful in combination
with the List.addAll method to grow lists.

The class Arrays, provides useful algorithms that operate on arrays. It also provides
the static asList() method, which can be used to create List views of arrays. Changes
to the List view affects the array and vice versa. The List size is the array size and
cannot be modified. The asList() method in the Arrays class and the toArray() method
in the Collection interface provide the bridge between arrays and collections.
Set mySet = new HashSet(Arrays.asList(myArray));
String[] strArray = (String[]) mySet.toArray();
All concrete implementations of the interfaces in java.util package are inherited from
abstract implementations of the interfaces. For example, HashSet extends
AbstractSet, which extends AbstractCollection. LinkedList extends AbstractList,
which extends AbstractCollection. These abstract implementations already provide
most of the heavy machinery by implementing relevant interfaces, so that customized
implementations of collections can be easily implemented using them.
BitSet class implements a vector of bits that grows as needed. Each component of the
bit set has a boolean value. The bits of a BitSet are indexed by nonnegative integers.
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Core Java Study Notes

Individual indexed bits can be examined, set, or cleared. One BitSet may be used to
modify the contents of another BitSet through logical AND, logical inclusive OR, and
logical exclusive OR operations.

By default, all bits in the set initially have the value false. A BitSet has a size of 64,
when created without specifying any size.
ConcurrentModificationException exception (extends RuntimeException) may be
thrown by methods that have detected concurrent modification of a backing object
when such modification is not permissible.
For example, it is not permissible for one thread to modify a Collection while another
thread is iterating over it. In general, the results of the iteration are undefined under
these circumstances. Some Iterator implementations (including those of all the
collection implementations provided by the JDK) may choose to throw this exception
if this behavior is detected. Iterators that do this are known as fail-fast iterates, as they
fail quickly and cleanly, rather that risking arbitrary, non-deterministic behavior at an
undetermined time in the future.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 10 Components
Javas building blocks for creating GUIs.
All non-menu related components inherit from java.awt.Component, that provides
basic support for event handling, controlling component size, color, font and drawing
of components and their contents.
Component class implements ImageObserver, MenuContainer and Serializable
interfaces. So all AWT components can be serialized and can host pop-up menus.
Component methods:
Controls
Size

Methods / Description
Dimension getSize()
void setSize(int width, int height)
void setSize(Dimension d)
Location
Point getLocation()
void setLocation(int x, int y)
void setLocation(Point p)
Size
and Rectangle getBounds()
Location
void setBounds (int x, int y, int width, int height)
void setBounds (Rectangle r)
Color
void setForeground(Color c)
void setBackground(Color c)
Font
void setFont(Font f)
void setFont(Font f)
Visibility
void setEnabled(boolean b)
and
void setVisible(boolean b)
Enabling

Container class extends Component. This class defines methods for nesting
components in a container.
Component add(Component comp)
Component add(Component comp, int index)
void add(Component comp, Object constraints)
void add(Component comp, Object constraints, int index)
void remove(int index)
void remove(Component comp)
void removeAll()
The following are the containers:
Contain
er
Panel

Description

Provides intermediate level of spatial organization and containment.

Not a top-level window
Does not have title, border or menubar.
Can be recursively nested.

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Core Java Study Notes

Applet

Window

Frame

Dialog

ScrollPa
ne

Default layout is Flow layout.

Specialized Panel, run inside other applications (typically browsers)

Changing the size of an applet is allowed or forbidden depending on the
browser.
Default layout is Flow layout.
Top-level window without a title, border or menus.
Seldom used directly. Subclasses (Frame and Dialog) are used.
Defines these methods:
void pack() Initiates layout management, window size might be changed
as a result
void show() Makes the window visible, also brings it to front
void dispose() When a window is no longer needed, call this to free
resources.
Top-level window (optionally user-resizable and movable) with a title-bar, an
icon and menus.
Typically the starting point of a GUI application.
Default layout is Border layout.
Top-level window (optionally user-resizable and movable) with a title-bar.
Doesnt have icons or menus.
Can be made modal.
A parent frame needs to be specified to create a Dialog.
Default layout is Border layout.
Can contain a single component. If the component is larger than the scrollpane,
it acquires vertical / horizontal scrollbars as specified in the constructor.
SCROLLBARS_AS_NEEDED default, if nothing specified
SCROLLBARS_ALWAYS
SCROLLBARS_NEVER

Top-level containers (Window, Frame and Dialog) cannot be nested. They can
contain other containers and other components.
GUI components:

Component
Button

Description
A button with a textual label.

Constructors
new Button(Apply)

Canvas

No default appearance.
Can be sub-classed to create
custom drawing areas.

Checkbox

Checkbox(String label)
Toggling check box.
Default initial state is false.
getState(), setState(boolean state) - Checkbox(String label,

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Events
Action event.
Mouse,
MouseMotio
n,
Key
events.
Item event

Core Java Study Notes

Choice

FileDialog

Label

List

methods
Can
be
grouped
with
a
CheckboxGroup to provide radio
behavior.
Checkboxgroup is not a subclass
of Component.
Checkboxgroup provides these
methods:
getSelectedCheckbox
and
setSelectedCheckbox(Checkbox
new)
A pull-down list
Can be populated by repeatedly
calling
addItem(String
item)
method.
Only the current choice is visible.
Subclass of Dialog
Open or Save file dialog, modal
Dialog automatically removed,
after user selects the file or hits
cancel.
getFile(), getDirectory() methods
can be used to get information
about the selected file.
Displays a single line of read-only
non-selectable text
Alignment can be
Label.LEFT,
Label.RIGHT
or
Label.CENTER
Scrollable vertical list of text
items.
No of visible rows can be
specified, if not specified layout
manager determines this.
Acquires a vertical scrollbar if
needed.
List class methods:
addItem(String),
addItem(String, int index)
getItem(int
index),
getItemCount()
getRows() no of visible rows
int getSelectedIndex()
int[] getSelectedIndexes()
String getSelectedItem()

boolean initialstate)
Checkbox(String label,
CheckBoxGroup
group)

Item event

FileDialog(Frame
parent, String title, int
mode)
Mode
can
be
FileDialog.LOAD or
FileDialog.SAVE
Label()
None
Label(String label)
Label(String label, int
align)
List()
List(int nVisibleRows)
List(int nVisibleRows,
boolean
multiSelectOK)

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Item event
selecting or
deselecting
Action event

double
clicking

Core Java Study Notes

Scrollbar

TextField

TextArea

String[] getSelectedItems()

With the last form of constructor,

calculate the spread as maxvalue
minvalue. Then the slider width is
slidersize / spread times of
scrollbar width.

Scrollbar() a vertical Adjustment

scrollbar.
event
Scrollbar(int
orientation)
Scrollbar(int
orientation,
int
initialvalue,
int
slidersize, int minvalue,
int maxvalue)

Orientation can be
Scrollbar.HORIZONT
AL
Scrollbar.VERTICAL
TextField() empty
Extends TextComponent
Single line of edit / display of text. field
TextField(int ncols)
Scrolled using arrow keys.
Depending on the font, number of size
TextField(String text)
displayable characters can vary.
But, never changes size once initial text
TextField(String text,
created.
int ncols) initial text
Methods from TextComponent:
and size
String getSelectedText()
String getText()
void
setEditable(boolean
editable)
void setText(String text)
TextArea() empty
Extends TextComponent
Multiple lines of edit/display of area
TextArea(int nrows, int
text.
ncols) size
Scrolled using arrow keys.
Can use the TextComponent TextArea(String text)
initial text
methods specified above.
Scroll parameter in last constructor TextArea(String text,
int nrows, int ncols)
form could be
initial text and size
TextArea.SCROLLBARS_BOT
TextArea(String text,
H,
int nrows, int ncols, int

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Text event
Action event
Enter key is
pressed.

Text event

Core Java Study Notes

TextArea.SCROLLBARS_NON scroll)
E,
TextArea.SCROLLBARS_HORI
ZONTAL_ONLY
TextArea.SCROLLBARS_VERT
ICAL_ONLY

Pull-down menus are accessed via a menu bar, which can appear only on Frames.
All menu related components inherit from java.awt.MenuComponent
Steps to create and use a menu
Create an instance of MenuBar class
Attach it to the frame using setMenubar() method of Frame
Create an instance of Menu and populate it by adding MenuItems,
CheckboxMenuItems, separators and Menus. Use addSeparator() method to add
separators. Use add() method to add other items.
Attach the Menu to the MenuBar. Use add() method of Menubar to add a menu to
it. Use setHelpMenu to set a particular menu to appear always as right-most
menu.
Menu(String label) creates a Menu instance. Label is what displayed on the
Menubar. If this menu is used as a pull-down sub-menu, label is the menu items
label.
MenuItems generate Action Events.
CheckboxMenuItems generate Item Events.

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 11 Layout Managers
Precise layout functionality is often performed and a repetitive task. By the principles
of OOP, it should be done by classes dedicated to it. These classes are layout
managers.
Platform independence requires that we delegate the positioning and painting to
layout managers. Even then, Java does not guarantee a button will look the same in
different platforms.(w/o using Swing)
Components are added to a container using add method. A layout manager is
associated with the container to handle the positioning and appearance of the
components.
add method is overloaded. Constraints are used differently by different layout
managers. Index can be used to add the component at a particular place. Default is 1
( i.e. at the end)
Component add(Component comp)
Component add(Component comp, int index)
void add(Component comp, Object constraints)
void add(Component comp, Object constraints, int index)
setLayout is used to associate a layout manager to a container. Panel class has a
constructor that takes a layout manager. getLayout returns the associated layout
manager.
It is recommended that the layout manager be associated with the container before
any component is added. If we associate the layout manager after the components are
added and the container is already made visible, the components appear as if they
have been added by the previous layout manager (if none was associated before, then
the default). Only subsequent operations (such as resizing) on the container use the
new layout manager. But if the container was not made visible before the new layout
is added, the components are re-laid out by the new layout manager.
Positioning can be done manually by passing null to setLayout.
Flow Layout Manager
Honors components preferred size.(Doesnt constraint height or width)
Arranges components in horizontal rows, if theres not enough space, it creates
another row.
If the container is not big enough to show all the components, Flow Layout
Manager does not resize the component, it just displays whatever can be
displayed in the space the container has.
Justification (LEFT, RIGHT or CENTER) can be specified in the constructor of
layout manager.
Default for applets and panels.
Grid Layout Manager
Never honors the components preferred size
Arranges the components in no of rows/columns specified in the constructor.
Divides the space the container has into equal size cells that form a matrix of
rows/columns.
Each component will take up a cell in the order in which it is added (left to right,
row by row)
Each component will be of the same size (as the cell)
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Core Java Study Notes

If a component is added when the grid is full, a new column is created and the
entire container is re-laid out.
Border Layout Manager
Divides the container into 5 regions NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST and
CENTER
When adding a component, specify which region to add. If nothing is specified,
CENTER is assumed by default.
Regions can be specified by the constant strings defined in BorderLayout (all
upper case) or using Strings (Title case, like North, South etc)
NORTH and SOUTH components height honored, but made as wide as the
container. Used for toolbars and status bars.
EAST and WEST components width honored, but made as tall as the container
(after the space taken by NORTH, SOUTH components). Used for scrollbars.
CENTER takes up the left over space. If there are no other components, it gets all
the space.
If no component is added to CENTER, containers background color is painted in
that space.
Each region can display only one component. If another component is added, it
hides the earlier component.
Card Layout Manager
Draws in time rather than space. Only one component displayed at a time.
Like a tabbed panel without tabs. (Can be used for wizards interface, i.e. by
clicking next, displays the next component)
Components added are given a name and methods on the CardLayout manager
can be invoked to show the component using this name. Also the manager
contains methods to iterate through the components. For all methods, the parent
container should be specified.
first(Container parent)
next(Container parent)
previous(Container parent)
last(Container parent)
show(Container parent, String name)
Component shown occupies the entire container. If it is smaller it is resized to fit
the entire size of the container. No visual clue is given about the container has
other components.
Gridbag Layout Manager
Like the GridLayout manger uses a rectangular grid.
Flexible. Components can occupy multiple cells. Also the width and height of the
cells need not be uniform. i.e A component may span multiple rows and columns
but the region it occupies is always rectangular. Components can have different
sizes (which is not the case with Grid layout)
Requires lot of constraints to be set for each component that is added.
GridBagConstraints class is used to specify the constraints.
Same GridBagConstraints object can be re-used by all the components.
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Core Java Study Notes

Specify
Location

Name
of
constraints
int gridx
int gridy

Dimension int gridwidth

int gridheight

Growth
Factor

double weigthx
double weigthy

Anchoring

int anchor

Filling

int fill

Padding

int ipadx
int ipady

Insets

Insets insets

Layout
Manager

Description

the Description
Column and row positions of the
upper left corner of the component in
the grid. Added relative to the
previous component if specified
GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE
Number of cells occupied by the
component horizontally and vertically
in the grid.
GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER
- specify this for last component
GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE
- specify this for next-to-last
component
How to use the extra space if
available.

Default
GridBagConstraints.RELA
TIVE in both directions

One cell in both directions

0 for both, meaning that the

area allocated for the
component will not grow
beyond the preferred size.
Where a component should be placed GridBagConstraints.CENT
within its display area.
ER
Constants
defined
in
GridBagConstraints:
CENTER, NORTH, NORTHEAST,
EAST,
SOUTHEAST,
SOUTH,
SOUTHWEST,
WEST,
NORTHWEST
How the component is to stretch and GridBagConstraints.NONE
fill its display area.
Constants
defined
in
GridBagConstraints:
NONE, BOTH, HORIZONTAL,
VERTICAL
Internal padding added to each side of 0 pixels in either direction
the component. Dimension of the
component will grow to (width + 2 *
ipadx) and (height + 2 * ipady)
External padding (border) around the (0,0,0,0) (top, left, bottom,
component.
right)

Constructors

Constant Default For

s

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Core Java Study Notes

FlowLayout

GridLayout

BorderLayo
ut

CardLayout

GridbagLay
out

Lays
out
the
components in rowmajor order. Rows
growing from left to
right, top to bottom.

FlowLayout() - center aligned, 5

pixels gap both horizontally and
vertically
FlowLayout(int alignment)
FlowLayout(int alignment, int hgap,
int vgap)
Lays
out
the GridLayout()

equivalent
to
components in a GridLayout(1,0)
specified rectangular GridLayout(int rows, int columns)
grid, from left to right
in each row and
filling rows from top
to bottom.
Up to 5 components BorderLayout()
can be placed in BorderLayout(int hgap, int vgap)
particular locations:
north, south, east,
west and center.
Components
are CardLayout()
handled as a stack of CardLayout(int hgap, int vgap)
indexed cards. Shows
only one at a time.
Customizable
and GridbagLayout()
flexible
layout
manager that lays out
the components in a
rectangular grid.

LEFT
Panel and
CENTER its
RIGHT
subclasses
(Applet)

N/A

None

NORTH
SOUTH
EAST
WEST
CENTER
N/A

Window
and
its
subclasses
(Dialog and
Frame)
None

Defined
None
in
GridBag
Constrain
ts class.
See the
above
table

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 12 Events
Java 1.0s original outward rippling event model had shortcomings.
- An event could only be handled by the component that originated the event or
one of its containers.
- No way to disable processing of irrelevant events.
Java 1.1 introduced new event delegation model.
- A component may be told which objects should be notified when the
component generates a particular kind of event.
- If a component is not interested in an event type, those events wont be
propagated.
Both models are supported in Java 2, but the old model will eventually disappear.
Both models should not be mixed in a single program. If we do that, the program is
most likely to fail.
Event delegation models main concepts: Event classes, Event listeners, Explicit
event enabling and Event adapter classes.
Event Classes
Events are Java objects. All the pertinent information is encapsulated in that object.
The super class of all events is java.util.EventObject.
This java.util.EventObject class defines a method that returns the object that
generated the event:
Object getSource()
All events related to AWT are in java.awt.event package. AWTEvent is the abstract
super class of all AWT events. This class defines a method that returns the ID of the
event. All events define constants to represent the type of event.
int getID() returns an int in the form of an integer value that identifies the type
of event.
It is useful to divide the event classes into Semantic events and Low-level events.
Semantic Events
These classes are used for high-level semantic events, to represent user interaction
with GUI. ActionEvent, AdjustmentEvent, ItemEvent, TextEvent
Event Class
ActionEvent
AdjustmentEv
ent

ItemEvent

Source
Button when clicked
List when doubleclicked
MenuItem when clicked
TextField when Enter key is pressed
Scrollbar when adjustments are made

Event Types
ACTION_PERFORMED

ADJUSTMENT_VALUE_CHANG
ED
or ITEM_STATE_CHANGED

CheckBox when selected

deselected
CheckboxMenuItem same as
checkbox
Choice when an item is selected or
deselected
List - when an item is selected or
deselected

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Core Java Study Notes

TextEvent

TextField
TextArea

TEXT_VALUE_CHANGED

Methods defined in the events to get the information about them.

Event Class
Method
Description
String
Returns the command name associated with this action
getActionCommand
int getModifiers
Returns the sum of modifier constants corresponding to
ActionEvent
the keyboard modifiers held down during this action.
SHIFT_MASK,
ALT_MASK,
CTRL_MASK,
META_MASK
AdjustmentEv int getvalue
Returns the current value designated by the adjustable
ent
component
Object getItem
Returns the object that was selected or deselected
Label of the checkbox
ItemEvent
int getStateChange
Returned value indicates whether it was a selection or a
SELECTED
de-selection that took place, given by the two constants
DESELECTED
in ItemEvent.
Low-level Events
These classes are used to represent low-level input or window operations. Several
low-level events can constitute a single semantic event.
ComponentEvent, ContainerEvent, FocusEvent, KeyEvent, MouseEvent,
PaintEvent, WindowEvent
Event Class

Source

ComponentEv
ent

All
components

ContainerEve
nt

All containers

FocusEvent

All
components

InputEvent
KeyEvent
MouseEvent

All
components
All
components
All
components

Event Types
COMPONENT_SHOWN,
COMPONENT_HIDDEN,
COMPONENT_MOVED, COMPONENT_RESIZED
AWT handles this event automatically. Programs should not
handle this event.
COMPONENT_ADDED, COMPONENT_REMOVED
AWT handles this event automatically. Programs should not
handle this event.
FOCUS_GAINED, FOCUS_LOST
Receiving focus means the component will receive all the
keystrokes.
This is an abstract class. Parent of KeyEvent and MouseEvent.
Constants for key and mouse masks are defined in this class.
KEYPRESSED, KEYRELEASED, KEYTYPED (when a
character is typed)
MOUSE_PRESSED,
MOUSE_RELEASED,
MOUSE_CLICKED, MOUSE_DRAGGED, MOUSE_MOVED,
MOUSE_ENTERED, MOUSE_EXITED

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Core Java Study Notes

PaintEvent

All
components

WindowEvent

All windows

This event occurs when a component should have its

paint()/update() methods invoked. AWT handles this event
automatically. Programs should not handle this event. This event
is not supposed to be handled by the event listener model.
Components should override paint/update methods to get
rendered.
This event is generated when an important operation is performed
on a window.
WINDOW_OPENED,
WINDOW_CLOSING,
WINDOW_CLOSED,
WINDOW_ICONIFIED,
WINDOW_DEICONIFIED,
WINDOW_ACTIVATED,
WINDOW_DEACTIVATED

Methods defined in the events to get the information about them.

Event Class
Method
Description
ComponentEv Component
Returns a reference to the same object as getSource, but
ent
getComponent
the returned reference is of type Component.
Container
Returns the container where this event originated.
ContainerEve getContainer
nt
Component getChild
Returns the child component that was added or removed
in this event
FocusEvent
boolean isTemporary
Determines whether the loss of focus is permanent or
temporary
long getWhen
Returns the time the event has taken place.
int getModifiers
Returns the modifiers flag for this event.
InputEvent
void consume
Consumes this event so that it will not be processed in
the default manner by the source that originated it.
int getKeyCode
For KEY_PRESSED or KEY_RELEASED events, this
method can be used to get the integer key-code
associated with the key. Key-codes are defined as
KeyEvent
constants is KeyEvent class.
char getKeyChar
For KEY_TYPED events, this method returns the
Unicode character that was generated by the keystroke.
int getX
Return the position of the mouse within the originated
int getY
component at the time the event took place
MouseEvent
Point getPoint
int getClickCount
Returns the number of mouse clicks.
WindowEvent Window getWindow
Returns a reference to the Window object that caused the
event to be generated.
Event Listeners
Each listener interface extends java.util.EventListener interface.
There are 11 listener interfaces corresponding to particular events. Any class that
wants to handle an event should implement the corresponding interface. Listener
interface methods are passed the event object that has all the information about the
event occurred.
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Core Java Study Notes

Then the listener classes should be registered with the component that is the
source/originator of the event by calling the addXXXListener method on the
component. Listeners are unregistered by calling removeXXXListener method on the
component.
A component may have multiple listeners for any event type.
A component can be its own listener if it implements the necessary interface. Or it
can handle its events by implementing the processEvent method. (This is discussed in
explicit event enabling section)
All registered listeners with the component are notified (by invoking the methods
passing the event object). But the order of notification is not guaranteed (even if the
same component is registered as its own listener). Also the notification is not
guaranteed to occur on the same thread. Listeners should take cautions not to corrupt
the shared data. Access to any data shared between the listeners should be
synchronized.
Same listener object can implement multiple listener interfaces.
Event listeners are usually implemented as anonymous classes.

Event Type

Event Source

ActionEvent

Button
List
MenuItem
TextField
Scrollbar

AdjustmentEvent
ItemEvent

ComponentEvent

Choice
List
Checkbox
CheckboxMe
nuItem
TextField
TextArea
Component

ContainerEvent

Container

FocusEvent

Component

KeyEvent

Component

TextEvent

MouseEvent

Component

Listener Registration and Event Listener Interface

removal methods provided implemented by a listener
by the source
addActionListener
ActionListener
removeActionListner

addAdjustmentListener
removeAdjustmentListner
addItemListener
removeItemListner

AdjustmentListener

addTextListener
removeTextListner
add ComponentListener
remove ComponentListner
addContainerListener
removeContainerListner
addFocusListener
removeFocusListner
addKeyListener
removeKeyListner
addMouseListener
removeMouseListner
addMouseMotionListener
removeMouseMotionListner

TextListener

ItemListener

ComponentListener
ContainerListener
FocusListener
KeyListener
MouseListener
MouseMotionListener

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Core Java Study Notes

WindowEvent

Window

addWindowListener
removeWindowListner

WindowListener

Event Listener interfaces and their methods:

Event
Listener Event Listener Methods
Interface
ActionListener
void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt)
AdjustmentListener

void adjustmentValueChanged(AdjustmentEvent evt)

ItemListener

void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent evt)

TextListener

void textValueChanged(TextEvent evt)

ComponentListener

void componentHidden(ComponentEvent evt)

void componentShown(ComponentEvent evt)
void componentMoved(ComponentEvent evt)
void componentResized(ComponentEvent evt)
void componentAdded(ContainerEvent evt)
void componentRemoved(ContainerEvent evt)
void focusGained(FocusEvent evt)
void focusLost(FocusEvent evt)
void keyPressed(KeyEvent evt)
void keyReleased(KeyEvent evt)
void keyTyped(KeyEvent evt)
void mouseClicked(MouseEvent evt)
void mouseReleased(MouseEvent evt)
void mousePressed(MouseEvent evt)
void mouseEntered(MouseEvent evt)
void mouseExited(MouseEvent evt)
void mouseDragged(MouseEvent evt)
void mouseMoved(MouseEvent evt)
void windowActivated(WindowEvent evt)
void windowDeactivated(WindowEvent evt)
void windowIconified(WindowEvent evt)
void windowDeiconified(WindowEvent evt)
void windowClosing(WindowEvent evt)
void windowClosed(WindowEvent evt)
void windowOpened(WindowEvent evt)

ContainerListener
FocusListener
KeyListener

MouseListener

MouseMotionListene
r
WindowListener

Event Adapters
Event Adapters are convenient classes implementing the event listener interfaces.
They provide empty bodies for the listener interface methods, so we can implement
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Core Java Study Notes

only the methods of interest without providing empty implementation. They are
useful when implementing low-level event listeners.
There are 7 event adapter classes, one each for one low-level event listener interface.
Obviously, in semantic event listener interfaces, there is only one method, so there is
no need for event adapters.
Event adapters are usually implemented as anonymous classes.

Explicit Event Enabling

How events are produced and handled?
OS dispatches events to JVM. How much low-level processing is done by OS or JVM
depends on the type of the component. In case of Swing components JVM handles
the low-level events.
JVM creates event objects and passes them to the components.
If the event is enabled for that component, processEvent method in that component
(inherited from java.awt.Component) is called. Default behavior of this method is to
delegate the processing to more specific processXXXEvent method. Then this
processXXXEvent method invokes appropriate methods in all registered listeners of
this event.
All the registered listeners of the event for the component are notified. But the order
is not guaranteed.
This delegation model works well for pre-defined components. If the component is
customized by sub-classing another component, then it has the opportunity to handle
its own events by implementing appropriate processXXXEvent methods or the
processEvent method itself.
To handle its own events, the subclass component must explicitly enable all events of
interest. This is done by calling enableEvents method with appropriate event masks in
the constructor. Enabling more than one event requires ORing corresponding event
masks. These event masks are defined as constants in java.awt.AWTEvent.
If the component wants to also notify the registered listeners for the event, then the
overriding methods should call the parent version of the methods explicitly.
Component class has a method processMouseMotionEvent, even though there is no
event called MouseMotionEvent.
Steps for handling events using listeners or by the same component

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Delegating to listeners
1. Create a listener class, either by
implementing an event listener interface
or extending an event adapter class.
2. Create an instance of the component
3. Create an instance of the listener class
4. Call addXXXListener on the component
passing the listener object. (This step
automatically enables the processing of
this type of event. Default behavior of
processEvent method in the component
is to delegate the processing to
processXXXEvent and that method will
invoke appropriate listener class
methods.)

Handling own events (explicit enabling)

1. Create a subclass of a component
2. Call
enableEvents(XXX_EVENT_MASK) in
the constructor.
3. Provide
processXXXEvent
and/or
processEvent in the subclass component.
If also want to notify the listeners, call
parent method.
4. Create an instance of the subclass
component

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Core Java Study Notes

Chapter 13 Painting
Some objects have default appearance. When they are created, OS decorates with a
pre-defined appearance.
Some components dont have any intrinsic appearance. These are Applet, Panel,
Frame and Canvas. For these objects paint() method is used to render them.
public void paint(Graphics g)
The paint() method provides a graphics context (an instance of Graphics class) for
drawing. This is passed as a method argument.
A Graphics object encapsulates state information needed for the basic rendering
operations that Java supports. This state information includes the following
properties:
The Component object on which to draw.
A translation origin for rendering and clipping coordinates.
The current clip.
The current color.
The current font.
The current logical pixel operation function (XOR or Paint).
The current XOR alternation color.
We can use this Graphics object to achieve the following functionality:
1. Selecting a color g.setColor(Color)
There are 13 predefined colors in Color class. Or create a new color using
Color(R,G,B)
2. Selecting a Font g.setFont(Font)
A Font is created by Font(String name, int style, int size)
3. Drawing and Filling Various draw, fill methods
4. Clipping g.setClip(Shape) or g.setClip(x, y, width, height)
Graphics class is an abstract class. It cannot be created. But an instance can be
obtained in 2 ways.
1. Every component has an associated graphics context. Get this using
getGraphics method.
2. Given an existing Graphics object, call create() on that object to create a new
one.
In both cases, after its use call dispose method on Graphics, to free the resources. We
shouldnt call dispose on the graphics context passed into paint() method, since its
just temporarily made available.
JVM calls paint() spontaneously under 4 circumstances
1. After exposure
2. After de-iconification
3. Shortly after init returns (Applets only)
4. Browser returns to a page contains the Applet (Applets only)
In all cases, clip region is set appropriately. If only a small portion is exposed, no
time is wasted in drawing already drawn pixels.
Programs can also call paint(). But normally they achieve this by calling repaint().
Repaint() schedules a call to update() method (every 100 ms in most platforms). This
is to ensure that JVM is never overwhelmed with the events.
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update() restores the components background color and calls paint(). If you dont
want to erase the previously drawn content, override update() and just call paint()
from it. (A common practice).
Event handlers that need to modify the screen according to input events, usually store
the state information in instance variables and call repaint().
Images can be created from empty (using createImage(int width, int height) method)
or loaded from external image files (using getImage() method in Toolkit class). Then
they can be modified using the graphics context associated with the image. They can
be drawn on the component using the drawImage method of the Graphics context of
the component.

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Chapter 14 Applets and HTML

<APPLET> tag specifies applet information in a HTML page

It must be enclosed between <BODY> and </BODY>
</APPLET> tag is mandatory to close the <APPLET> tag
CODE, WIDTH and HEIGHT are mandatory attributes within <APPLET> tag. Their
order is not significant. Instead of the class file, applet can specified via a serialized
file using OBJECT attribute. If we specify OBJECT attribute CODE attribute is not
specified and vice versa.
In HTML 4.0, OBJECT tag can be specified instead of APPLET tag. With OBJECT
tag, we specify the applet with CLASSID attribute.
The following are other optional tags
Tag Name
Purpose
CODEBASE
Directory for the applets class
ALT
Alternate text for browsers with no support for applets but
can understand <APPLET> tag
HSPACE
Left/Right boundaries b/w other HTML elements on a
page
VSPACE
Top/Bottom boundaries b/w other HTML elements on a
page
ALIGN
Alignment with respect to other HTML elements
NAME
Name of the applet for inter-applet communication
ARCHIVE
Name of the JAR file (Lot of files can be downloaded in a
single download to reduce the time needed) Even multiple
jar files can be specified, separated by commas.
OBJECT
Specified if CODE attribute is not present and vice versa.
Applet is read in from the specified serialized file.

Between <APPLET> and </APPLET>, PARAM tags can be specified. These are
used to pass parameters from HTML page to the applet.
<PARAM NAME = name VALUE = value>
Applets call getParameter(name) to get the parameter. The name is not case sensitive
here.
The value returned by getParameter is case sensitive, it is returned as defined in the
HTML page.
If not defined, getParameter returns null.
Text specified between <APPLET> and </APPLET> is displayed by completely
applet ignorant browsers, who cannot understand even the <APPLET> tag.
If the applet class has only non-default constructors, applet viewer throws runtime
errors while loading the applet since the default constructor is not provided by the
JVM. But IE doesnt have this problem. But with applets always do the initialization
in the init method. Thats the normal practice.
Methods involved in applets lifecycle.
Method
Description
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void init()

void start()
void stop()

void destroy()

void paint(Graphics g)

This method is called only once by the applet context to inform the
applet that it has been loaded into the system. Always followed by calls
to start() and paint() methods. Same purpose as a constructor. Use this
method to perform any initialization.
Applet context calls this method for the first time after calling init(), and
thereafter every time the applet page is made visible.
Applet context calls this method when it wants the applet to stop the
execution. This method is called when the applet page is no longer
visible.
This method is called to inform the applet that it should relinquish any
system resources that it had allocated. Stop() method is called prior to
this method.
Applets normally put all the rendering operations in this method.

Limitations for Applets:

Reading, writing or deleting files on local host is not allowed.
Running other applications from within the applet is prohibited.
Calling System.exit() to terminate the applet is not allowed.
Accessing user, file and system information, other than locale-specific
information like Java version, OS name and version, text-encoding standard, filepath and line separators, is prohibited.
Connecting to hosts other than the one from which the applet was loaded is not
permitted.
Top-level windows that an applet creates have a warning message for applets
loaded over the net.
Some other methods of Applet class
Method
Description
URL getDocumentBase() Returns the document URL, i.e. the URL of the HTML file in which the
applet is embedded.
URL getCodeBase()
Returns the base URL, i.e. the URL of the applet class file that contains
the applet.
void
showStatus(String Applet can request the applet context to display messages in its status
msg)
window.

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Chapter 15 I/O

Inside JVM, text is represented in 16 bit Unicode. For I/O, UTF (UCS (Universal
Character set) Transformation Format) is used. UTF uses as many bits as needed to
encode a character.
Often programs need to bring in information from an external source or send out
information to an external destination. The information can be anywhere: in a file, on
disk, somewhere on the network, in memory, or in another program. Also, it can be of
any type: objects, characters, images, or sounds.
To bring in information, a program opens a stream on an information source (a file,
memory or a socket) and reads the information serially. Similarly, a program can send
information to an external destination by opening a stream to a destination and
writing the information out serially.
No matter where the information is coming from or going to and no matter what type
of data is being read or written, the algorithms for reading and writing data is pretty
much always the same.
Reading
open a stream
while more information
read information
close the stream

Writing
open a stream
while more information
write information
close the stream

For this kind of general I/O Stream/Reader/Writer model is used. These classes are in
java.io package. They view the input/output as an ordered sequence of
bytes/characters.
We can create I/O chains of arbitrary length by chaining these classes.
These classes are divided into two class hierarchies based on the data type (either
characters or bytes) on which they operate. Streams operate on bytes while
Readers/Writers operate on chars.
However, it's often more convenient to group the classes based on their purpose
rather than on the data type they read and write. Thus, we can cross-group the streams
by whether they read from and write to data "sinks" (Low level streams) or process
the information as its being read or written (High level filter streams).

Low Level Streams / Data sink streams

Low Level Streams/Data sink streams read from or write to specialized data sinks
such as strings, files, or pipes. Typically, for each reader or input stream intended to
read from a specific kind of input source, java.io contains a parallel writer or output
stream that can create it. The following table gives java.io's data sink streams.

Sink
Type

Character
Streams

Byte Streams

Purpose

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CharArrayRead
er,
CharArrayWrit
er
Memor
y
StringReader,
StringWriter

Pipe

PipedReader,
PipedWriter

File

FileReader,
FileWriter

ByteArrayInputStre
am,
ByteArrayOutputStr
eam

Use these streams to read from and write to

memory. You create these streams on an
existing array and then use the read and write
methods to read from or write to the array.
Use StringReader to read characters from a
String as it lives in memory. Use StringWriter
to write to a String. StringWriter collects the
StringBufferInputStr characters written to it in a StringBuffer,
eam
which can then be converted to a String.
StringBufferInputStream is similar to
StringReader, except that it reads bytes from
a StringBuffer.
Implement the input and output components
PipedInputStream,
of a pipe. Pipes are used to channel the output
PipedOutputStream from one program (or thread) into the input of
another.
Collectively called file streams, these streams
FileInputStream,
are used to read from or write to a file on the
FileOutputStream
native file system.

High Level Filter Streams / Processing streams

Processing streams perform some sort of operation, such as buffering or character

encoding, as they read and write. Like the data sink streams, java.io often contains
pairs of streams: one that performs a particular operation during reading and another
that performs the same operation (or reverses it) during writing. This table gives
java.io's processing streams.

Process

Character
Streams

Byte Streams

Purpose

Buffer data while reading or writing,

thereby reducing the number of
BufferedInputStream,
BufferedReader,
accesses required on the original data
Buffering
BufferedOutputStrea
BufferedWriter
source. Buffered streams are typically
m
more
efficient
than
similar
nonbuffered streams.
Abstract classes, like their parents.
FilterReader,
FilterInputStream,
They define the interface for filter
Filtering
FilterWriter
FilterOutputStream
streams, which filter data as it's being
read or written.
A reader and writer pair that forms the
Converting
InputStreamRea
bridge between byte streams and
between
der,
N/A
character
streams.
An
Bytes
and OutputStreamW
InputStreamReader reads bytes from
Characters
riter
an InputStream and converts them to
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Concatenatio
n
Object
Serialization
Data
Conversion
Counting

Peeking
Ahead

Printing

N/A
N/A

SequenceInputStrea
m
ObjectInputStream,
ObjectOutputStream

characters using either the default

character-encoding or a characterencoding
specified
by
name.
Similarly, an OutputStreamWriter
converts characters to bytes using
either the default character-encoding
or a character-encoding specified by
name and then writes those bytes to an
OutputStream.
Concatenates multiple input streams
into one input stream.
Used to serialize objects.

Read or write primitive Java data

types in a machine-independent
N/A
format.
Implement
DataInput/DataOutput interfaces.
LineNumberRea LineNumberInputStr Keeps track of line numbers while
der
eam
reading.
Two input streams each with a 1character (or byte) pushback buffer.
Sometimes, when reading data from a
stream, you will find it useful to peek
at the next item in the stream in order
PushbackInputStrea
PushbackReader
to decide what to do next. However, if
m
you do peek ahead, you'll need to put
the item back so that it can be read
again and processed normally. Certain
kinds
of
parsers
need
this
functionality.
Contain convenient printing methods.
These are the easiest streams to write
PrintWriter
PrintStream
to, so you will often see other writable
streams wrapped in one of these.
DataInputStream,
DataOutputStream

Reader and InputStream define similar APIs but for different data types. For example,
Reader contains these methods for reading characters and arrays of characters:
int read() throws IOException
int read(char cbuf[]) throws IOException
abstract int read(char cbuf[], int offset, int length) throws IOException
InputStream defines the same methods but for reading bytes and arrays of bytes:
abstract int read() throws IOException
int read(byte cbuf[]) throws IOException
int read(byte cbuf[], int offset, int length) throws IOException
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Also, both Reader and InputStream provide methods for marking a location in the
stream, skipping input, and resetting the current position.
Both Reader and InputStream are abstract. Subclasses should provide implementation
for the read() method.

Writer and OutputStream are similarly parallel. Writer defines these methods for
writing characters and arrays of characters:
int write(int c) throws IOException
abstract int write(char cbuf[])throws IOException
int write(char cbuf[], int offset, int length) throws IOException
And OutputStream defines the same methods but for bytes:
abstract int write(int c) throws IOException
int write(byte cbuf[]) throws IOException
int write(byte cbuf[], int offset, int length) throws IOException
Writer defines extra methods to write strings.
void write(String str) throws IOException
void write(String str, int offset, int length) throws IOException
Both Writer and OutputStream are abstract. Subclasses should provide
implementation for the write() method.
Constructors for some common streams, reader and writers:
FileInputStream(String name) throws FileNotFoundException
FileInputStream(File file) throws FileNotFoundException
FileInputStream(FileDescriptor fdObj)
FileOutputStream(String name) throws FileNotFoundException
FileOutputStream(String name, boolean append) throws FileNotFoundException
FileOutputStream (File file) throws FileNotFoundException
FileOutputStream (FileDescriptor fdObj)
DataInputStream(InputStream in)
DataOutputStream(OutputStream out)
BufferedInputStream(InputStream in)
BufferedInputStream(InputStream in, int size)
BufferedOutputStream(OutputStream out)
BufferedOutputStream(OutputStream out, int size)
FileReader(File file) throws FileNotFoundException
FileReader (FileDescriptor fdObj)
FileReader (String name) throws FileNotFoundException

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FileWriter(File file) throws IOException
FileWriter(String name) throws IOException
FileWriter(String name, boolean append) throws IOException
FileWriter(FileDescriptor fdObj)
InputStreamReader(InputStream in)
InputStreamReader(InputStream
in,
UnsupportedEncodingException

String

OutputStreamWriter(OutputStream out)
OutputStreamWriter (OutputStream out,
UnsupportedEncodingException

String

encodingName)

encodingName)

throws

throws

PrintWriter(Writer out)
PrintWriter(Writer out, boolean autoflush)
PrintWriter(OutputStream out)
PrintWriter(OutputStream out, boolean autoflush)
BufferedReader(Reader in)
BufferedReader(Reader in, int size)
BufferedWriter(Writer out)
BufferedWriter (Writer out, int size)

Encoding Name
8859_1
8859_2
8859_3
8859_4
UTF8

Character Set Name

ISO Latin-1 (subsumes ASCII)
ISO Latin-2
ISO Latin-3
ISO Latin / Cyrillic
Standard UTF-8 (subsumes ASCII)

OutputStreamWriter and InputStreamReader are the only ones where you can specify
an encoding scheme apart from the default encoding scheme of the host system.
getEncoding method can be used to obtain the encoding scheme used.
With UTF-8 Normal ASCII characters are given 1 byte. All Java characters can be
encoded with at most 3 bytes, never more.
All of the streams--readers, writers, input streams, and output streams--are
automatically opened when created. You can close any stream explicitly by calling its
close method. Or the garbage collector can implicitly close it, which occurs when the
object is no longer referenced.
Closing the streams automatically flushes them. You can also call flush method.
New FileWriter(filename) or FileOutputStream(filename) will overwrite if
filename is existing or create a new file, if not existing. But we can specify the
append mode in the second argument.
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Print writers provide the ability to write textual representations of Java primitive
values. They have to be chained to the low-level streams or writers. Methods in this
class never throw an IOException.
PrintStream and PrintWriter classes can be created with autoflush feature, so that
each println method will automatically be written to the next available stream.
PrintStream is deprecated.(though System.out and System.err are still of this type)
System.in is of InputStream type.
System.in, System.out, System.err are automatically created for a program, by JVM.
Use buffered streams for improving performance.BufferedReader provides readLine
method.
User defined classes must implement Serializable or Externalizable interfaces to be
serialized.
Serializable is a marker interface with no methods. Externalizable has two methods to
be implemented readExternal(ObjectInput) and writeExternal(ObjectOutput).
ObjectOutputStream can write both Java Primitives and Object hierarchies. When a
compound object is serialized all its constituent objects that are serializable are also
serialized.
ObjectOutputStream implements ObjectOutput, which inherits from DataOutput.
All AWT components implement Serializable (Since Component class implements
it), so by default we can just use an ObjectOutputStream to serialize any AWT
component.

File class is used to navigate the file system.

Constructing a File instance (or Garbage-Collecting it) never affects the file system.
File class doesnt have a method to change the current working directory.
File constructors
Constructor
File(File dir, String
name)
File(String path)
File(String
String name)

Description
Creates a File instance that represents the file with the specified
name in the specified directory
Creates a File instance that represents the file whose pathname is
the given path argument.
path, Creates a File instance whose pathname is the pathname of the
specified directory, followed by the separator character, followed
by the name argument.

File methods
Method
boolean canRead()
boolean canWrite()
boolean delete()
boolean exists()

Description
Tests if the application can read from the specified file.
Tests if the application can write to this file.
Deletes the file specified by this object.
Tests if this File exists.

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String
getAbsolutePath()
String
getCanonicalPath()
String getName()
String getParent()
String getPath()
boolean isAbsolute()
boolean isDirectory()
boolean isFile()
long lastModified()
long length()
String[] list()
String[]
list(FilenameFilter)

boolean mkdir()
boolean mkdirs()
boolean
renameTo(File)

Returns the absolute pathname of the file represented by this

object.
Returns the canonical form of this File object's pathname.
.. and . are resolved.
Returns the name of the file represented by this object.
Returns the parent part of the pathname of this File object, or
null if the name has no parent part.
Returns the pathname of the file represented by this object.
Tests if the file represented by this File object is an absolute
pathname.
Tests if the file represented by this File object is a directory.
Tests if the file represented by this File object is a "normal" file.
Returns the time that the file represented by this File object was
last modified.
Returns the length of the file (in bytes) represented by this File
object.
Returns a list of the files in the directory specified by this File
object.
Returns a list of the files in the directory specified by this File
that satisfy the specified filter.
FileNameFilter is an interface that has a method accept().
This list method will call accept for each entry in the list of files
and only returns the files for which accept returns true.
Creates a directory whose pathname is specified by this File
object.
Creates a directory whose pathname is specified by this File
object, including any necessary parent directories.
Renames the file specified by this File object to have the
pathname given by the File argument.

Instances of the file descriptor class serve as an opaque handle to the underlying
machine-specific structure representing an open file or an open socket.
Applications should not create their own file descriptors
RandomAccessFile lets you read/write at arbitrary places within files.
RAF provides methods to read/write bytes.
RAF also provides methods to read/write Java primitives and UTF strings. (RAF
implements the interfaces DataInput and DataOutput)
File and RAF instances should be closed when no longer needed.
All reading/writing operations throw an IOException. Need to catch or declare our
methods to be throwing that exception.
Read/Write methods throw a SecurityException if the application doesnt have rights
for the file.
RAF cannot be chained with streams/readers/writers.
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RAF Constructors

Constructor
RandomAccessFile(File file, String
mode)
throws FileNotFoundException,
IllegalArgumentException,
SecurityException
RandomAccessFile(String
name,
String
mode)
throws
FileNotFoundException,
IllegalArgumentException,
SecurityException

Description
Creates a random access file stream to read from,
and optionally to write to, the file specified by the
File argument.

Creates a random access file stream to read from,

and optionally to write to, a file with the specified
name.

The mode argument must either be equal to "r" or "rw", indicating either to open the
file for input or for both input and output.

Some RAF methods

Method
long getFilePointer()
throws IOException
void seek(long pos)
throws IOException

Description
Returns the offset from the beginning of the file, in bytes, at which
the next read or write occurs.
Sets the file-pointer offset, measured from the beginning of this
file, at which the next read or write occurs. The offset may be set
beyond the end of the file. Setting the offset beyond the end of the
file does not change the file length. The file length will change
only by writing after the offset has been set beyond the end of the
file.
long length() throws Returns the length of this file, measured in bytes.
IOException

JDBC - Java Database Connectivity Tutorials

Java Database Connectivity or in short JDBC is a technology that enables the java
program to manipulate data stored into the database. Here is the complete tutorial on
JDBC technology.
1.

What is JDBC?
JDBC is Java application programming interface that allows the Java programmers to access
database management system from Java code. It was developed by JavaSoft, a subsidiary of Sun
Microsystems.

2.

Product Components of JDBC

JDBC is consists of four Components: The JDBC API, JDBC Driver Manager, The JDBC Test
Suite and JDBC-ODBC Bridge.
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3.

Understanding JDBC Architecture

JDBC is an API specification developed by Sun Microsystems that defines a uniform interface for
accessing various relational databases. JDBC is a core part of the Java platform and is included in
the standard JDK distribution.

4.

JDBC Driver and Its Types

The JDBC DriverManager class defines objects which can connect Java applications to a JDBC
driver. DriverManager has traditionally been the backbone of the JDBC architecture. It is quite
small and simple.

5.

JDBC Versions From First To Latest

6.

Relational Database Concepts

7.

Understanding Common SQL Statements

This section describes SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements.

8.

Important JDBC Concepts

This section introduces you with Transactions, logging, isolation and concurrency concepts.

9.

Introduction to the java.sql Package

10. Understanding Driver Manager

11. Understanding Data Source
12. Understanding the Connection Object

JDBC is Java application programming interface that allows the Java programmers to
access database management system from Java code. It was developed by JavaSoft, a
subsidiary of Sun Microsystems.
Definition
Java Database Connectivity in short called as JDBC. It is a java API which enables the
java programs to execute SQL statements. It is an application programming interface that
defines how a java programmer can access the database in tabular format from Java
code using a set of standard interfaces and classes written in the Java programming
language.
JDBC has been developed under the Java Community Process that allows multiple
implementations to exist and be used by the
same application. JDBC provides methods for querying and updating the data in
Relational Database Management system such as SQL, Oracle etc.
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The Java application programming interface provides a mechanism for dynamically
loading the correct Java packages and drivers and registering them with the JDBC
Driver Manager that is used as a connection factory for creating JDBC connections
which supports creating and executing statements such as SQL INSERT, UPDATE and
DELETE. Driver Manager is the backbone of the jdbc architecture.
Generally all Relational Database Management System supports SQL and we all know
that Java is platform independent, so JDBC makes it possible to write a single database
application that can run on different platforms and interact with different Database
Management Systems.
Java Database Connectivity is similar to Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) which is
used for accessing and managing database, but the difference is that JDBC is designed
specifically for Java programs, whereas ODBC is not depended upon any language.
In short JDBC helps the programmers to write java applications that manage these three
programming activities:
1. It helps us to connect to a data source, like a database.
2. It helps us in sending queries and updating statements to the database and
3. Retrieving and processing the results received from the database in terms of answering
to your query.
JDBC has four Components:
1. The JDBC API.
2. The JDBC Driver Manager.
3. The JDBC Test Suite.
4. The JDBC-ODBC Bridge.
1. The JDBC API.
The JDBC application programming interface provides the facility for accessing the
relational database from the Java programming language. The API technology provides
the industrial standard for independently connecting Java programming language and a
wide range of databases. The user not only execute the SQL statements, retrieve results,
and update the data but can also access it anywhere within a network because of it's
"Write Once, Run Anywhere" (WORA) capabilities.
Due to JDBC API technology, user can also access other tabular data sources like
spreadsheets or flat files even in the a heterogeneous environment. JDBC application
programmming interface is a part of the Java platform that have included Java Standard
Edition (Java SE ) and the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) in itself.
The JDBC API has four main interface:
The latest version of JDBC 4.0 application programming interface is divided into two
packages
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i-) java.sql
ii-) javax.sql.
Java SE and Java EE platforms are included in both the packages.
2. The JDBC Driver Manager.
The JDBC Driver Manager is a very important class that defines objects which connect
Java applications to a JDBC driver. Usually Driver Manager is the backbone of the
JDBC architecture. It's very simple and small that is used to provide a means of
managing the different types of JDBC database driver running on an application. The
main responsibility of JDBC database driver is to load all the drivers found in the system
properly as well as to select the most appropriate driver from opening a connection to a
database. The Driver Manager also helps to select the most appropriate driver from the
previously loaded drivers when a new open database is connected.
3. The JDBC Test Suite.
The function of JDBC driver test suite is to make ensure that the JDBC drivers will run
user's program or not . The test suite of JDBC application program interface is very
useful for testing a driver based on JDBC technology during testing period. It ensures
the requirement of Java Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE).
4. The JDBC-ODBC Bridge.
The JDBC-ODBC bridge, also known as JDBC type 1 driver is a database driver that
utilize the ODBC driver to connect the database. This driver translates JDBC method
calls into ODBC function calls. The Bridge implements Jdbc for any database for which
an Odbc driver is available. The Bridge is always implemented as the sun.jdbc.odbc Java
package and it contains a native library used to access ODBC.
Now we can conclude this topic: This first two component of JDBC, the JDBC API and
the JDBC Driver Manager manages to connect to the database and then build a java
program that utilizes SQL commands to communicate with any RDBMS. On the other
hand, the last two components are used to communicate with ODBC or to test web
application in the specialized environment.
JDBC is an API specification developed by Sun Microsystems that defines a uniform
interface for accessing various relational databases. JDBC is a core part of the Java
platform and is included in the standard JDK distribution.
The primary function of the JDBC API is to provide a means for the developer to issue
SQL statements and process the results in a consistent, database-independent manner.
JDBC provides rich, object-oriented access to databases by defining classes and
interfaces that represent objects such as:
1.

Database connections
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2.

SQL statements

3.

Result Set

4.

Database metadata

5.

Prepared statements

6.

Binary Large Objects (BLOBs)

7.

Character Large Objects (CLOBs)

8.

Callable statements

9.

Database drivers

10. Driver manager

The JDBC API uses a Driver Manager and database-specific drivers to provide
transparent connectivity to heterogeneous databases. The JDBC driver manager ensures
that the correct driver is used to access each data source. The Driver Manager is capable
of supporting multiple concurrent drivers connected to multiple heterogeneous databases.
The location of the driver manager with respect to the JDBC drivers and the servlet is
shown in Figure 1.
Layers of the JDBC Architecture

A JDBC driver translates standard JDBC calls into a network or database protocol or into
a database library API call that facilitates communication with the database. This
translation layer provides JDBC applications with database independence. If the back-end
database changes, only the JDBC driver need be replaced with few code modifications
required. There are four distinct types of JDBC drivers.
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Type 1 JDBC-ODBC Bridge. Type 1 drivers act as a "bridge" between JDBC and
another database connectivity mechanism such as ODBC. The JDBC- ODBC bridge
provides JDBC access using most standard ODBC drivers. This driver is included in the
Java 2 SDK within the sun.jdbc.odbc package. In this driver the java statements are
converted to a jdbc statements. JDBC statements calls the ODBC by using the JDBCODBC Bridge. And finally the query is executed by the database. This driver has serious
limitation for many applications.
Type 1 JDBC Architecture

Type 2 Java to Native API. Type 2 drivers use the Java Native Interface (JNI) to
make calls to a local database library API. This driver converts the JDBC calls into a
database specific call for databases such as SQL, ORACLE etc. This driver
communicates directly with the database server. It requires some native code to connect
to the database. Type 2 drivers are usually faster than Type 1 drivers. Like Type 1
drivers, Type 2 drivers require native database client libraries to be installed and
configured on the client machine.
Type 2 JDBC Architecture

Type 3 Java to Network Protocol Or All- Java Driver. Type 3 drivers are pure Java
drivers that use a proprietary network protocol to communicate with JDBC middleware
on the server. The middleware then translates the network protocol to database-specific
function calls. Type 3 drivers are the most flexible JDBC solution because they do not
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require native database libraries on the client and can connect to many different databases
on the back end. Type 3 drivers can be deployed over the Internet without client
installation. (See Figure 4.)
Java-------> JDBC statements------> SQL statements ------> databases.
Type 3 JDBC Architecture

Type 4 Java to Database Protocol. Type 4 drivers are pure Java drivers that implement
a proprietary database protocol (like Oracle's SQL*Net) to communicate directly with the
database. Like Type 3 drivers, they do not require native database libraries and can be
deployed over the Internet without client installation. One drawback to Type 4 drivers is
that they are database specific. Unlike Type 3 drivers, if your back-end database changes,
you may save to purchase and deploy a new Type 4 driver (some Type 4 drivers are
available free of charge from the database manufacturer). However, because Type drivers
communicate directly with the database engine rather than through middleware or a
native library, they are usually the fastest JDBC drivers available. This driver directly
converts the java statements to SQL statements.
(See Figure 5.)
Type 4 JDBC Architecture

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So, you may be asking yourself, "Which is the right type of driver for your application?"
Well, that depends on the requirements of your particular project. If you do not have the
opportunity or inclination to install and configure software on each client, you can rule
out Type 1 and Type 2 drivers.
However, if the cost of Type 3 or Type 4 drivers is prohibitive, Type 1 and type 2 drivers
may become more attractive because they are usually available free of charge. Price
aside, the debate will often boil down to whether to use Type 3 or Type 4 driver for a
particular application. In this case, you may need to weigh the benefits of flexibility and
interoperability against performance. Type 3 drivers offer your application the ability to
transparently access different types of databases, while Type 4 drivers usually exhibit
better performance and, like Type 1 and Type 2 drivers, may be available free if charge
from the database manufacturer.

JDBC Driver Manager

The JDBC DriverManager class defines objects which can connect Java applications to
a JDBC driver. DriverManager has traditionally been the backbone of the JDBC
architecture. It is quite small and simple.
This is a very important class. Its main purpose is to provide a means of managing the
different types of JDBC database driver. On running an application, it is the
DriverManager's responsibility to load all the drivers found in the system property jdbc.
drivers. For example, this is where the driver for the Oracle database may be defined.
This is not to say that a new driver cannot be explicitly stated in a program at runtime
which is not included in jdbc.drivers. When opening a connection to a database it is the
DriverManager' s role to choose the most appropriate driver from the previously
loaded drivers.
The JDBC API defines the Java interfaces and classes that programmers use to connect to
databases and send queries. A JDBC driver implements these interfaces and classes for a
particular DBMS vendor.
A Java program that uses the JDBC API loads the specified driver for a particular DBMS
before it actually connects to a database. The JDBC DriverManager class then sends all
JDBC API calls to the loaded driver.
JDBC Driver
This topic defines the Java(TM) Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver types. Driver types
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are used to categorize the technology used to connect to the database. A JDBC driver
vendor uses these types to describe how their product operates. Some JDBC driver types
are better suited for some applications than others.
Types of JDBC drivers
This topic defines the Java(TM) Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver types. Driver types
are used to categorize the technology used to connect to the database. A JDBC driver
vendor uses these types to describe how their product operates. Some JDBC driver types
are better suited for some applications than others.
There are four types of JDBC drivers known as:

JDBC-ODBC bridge plus ODBC driver, also called Type 1.

Native-API, partly Java driver, also called Type 2.

JDBC-Net, pure Java driver, also called Type 3.

Native-protocol, pure Java driver, also called Type 4.Thin(Mutithreaded)

Type 1 Driver- the JDBC-ODBC bridge

The JDBC type 1 driver, also known as the JDBC-ODBC bridge is a database driver
implementation that employs the ODBC driver to connect to the database. The driver
converts JDBC method calls into ODBC function calls. The bridge is usually used
when there is no pure-Java driver available for a particular database.
The driver is implemented in the sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver class and comes with the
Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition. The driver is platform-dependent as it makes use of
ODBC which in turn depends on native libraries of the operating system. Also, using this
driver has got other dependencies such as ODBC must be installed on the computer
having the driver and the database which is being connected to must support an ODBC
driver. Hence the use of this driver is discouraged if the alternative of a pure-Java driver
is available.
Type 1 is the simplest of all but platform specific i.e only to Microsoft platform.
A JDBC-ODBC bridge provides JDBC API access via one or more ODBC drivers. Note
that some ODBC native code and in many cases native database client code must be
loaded on each client machine that uses this type of driver. Hence, this kind of driver is
generally most appropriate when automatic installation and downloading of a Java
technology application is not important. For information on the JDBC-ODBC bridge
driver provided by Sun, see JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver.
Type 1 drivers are "bridge" drivers. They use another technology such as Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC) to communicate with a database. This is an advantage because
ODBC drivers exist for many Relational Database Management System
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(RDBMS) platforms. The Java Native Interface (JNI) is used to call ODBC functions
from the JDBC driver.
A Type 1 driver needs to have the bridge driver installed and configured before JDBC
can be used with it. This can be a serious drawback for a production application. Type 1
drivers cannot be used in an applet since applets cannot load native code.
Functions:
1.

Translates query obtained by JDBC into corresponding ODBC query, which is then handled by
the ODBC driver.

2.

Sun provides a JDBC-ODBC Bridge driver. sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver. This driver is native

code and not Java, and is closed
source.

3.

Client -> JDBC Driver -> ODBC Driver -> Database

4.

There is some overhead associated with the translation work to go from JDBC to ODBC.

Advantages:
Almost any database for which ODBC driver is installed, can be accessed.
Disadvantages:
1.

Performance overhead since the calls have to go through the JDBC overhead bridge to the ODBC
driver, then to the native database connectivity interface.

2.

The ODBC driver needs to be installed on the client machine.

3.

Considering the client-side software needed, this might not be suitable for applets.

Type 2 Driver - the Native-API Driver

The JDBC type 2 driver, also known as the Native-API driver is a database driver
implementation that uses the client-side libraries of the database. The driver converts
JDBC method calls into native calls of the database API.
The type 2 driver is not written entirely in Java as it interfaces with non-Java code that
makes the final database calls.
The driver is compiled for use with the particular operating system. For platform
interoperability, the Type 4 driver, being
a full-Java implementation, is preferred over this driver.
A native-API partly Java technology-enabled driver converts JDBC calls into calls on the
client API for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, DB2, or other DBMS. Note that, like the bridge
driver, this style of driver requires that some binary code be loaded on each client
machine.
However the type 2 driver provides more functionality and performance than the type 1
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driver as it does not have the overhead of the additional ODBC function calls.
Type 2 drivers use a native API to communicate with a database system. Java native
methods are used to invoke the API functions that perform database operations. Type 2
drivers are generally faster than Type 1 drivers.
Type 2 drivers need native binary code installed and configured to work. A Type 2 driver
also uses the JNI. You cannot use a Type 2 driver in an applet since applets cannot load
native code. A Type 2 JDBC driver may require some Database Management System
(DBMS) networking software to be installed.
The Developer Kit for Java JDBC driver is a Type 2 JDBC driver.
Functions:
1.

This type of driver converts JDBC calls into calls to the client API for that database.

2.

Client -> JDBC Driver -> Vendor Client DB Library -> Database

Advantage
Better performance than Type 1 since no jdbc to odbc translation is needed.
Disadvantages
1.

The vendor client library needs to be installed on the client machine.

2.

Cannot be used in internet due the client side software needed.

3.

Not all databases give the client side library.

Type 3 driver - the Network-Protocol Driver

The JDBC type 3 driver, also known as the network-protocol driver is a database driver
implementation which makes use of a middle-tier between the calling program and the
database. The middle-tier (application server) converts JDBC calls directly or indirectly
into the vendor-specific database protocol.
This differs from the type 4 driver in that the protocol conversion logic resides not at the
client, but in the middle-tier. However, like type 4 drivers, the type 3 driver is written
entirely in Java.
The same driver can be used for multiple databases. It depends on the number of
databases the middleware has been configured to support. The type 3 driver is platformindependent as the platform-related differences are taken care by the middleware. Also,
making use of the middleware provides additional advantages of security and firewall
access.
A net-protocol fully Java technology-enabled driver translates JDBC API calls into a
DBMS-independent net protocol which is then translated to a DBMS protocol by a
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server. This net server middleware is able to connect all of its Java technology-based
clients to many different databases. The specific protocol used depends on the vendor. In
general, this is the most flexible JDBC API alternative. It is likely that all vendors of this
solution will provide products suitable for Intranet use. In order for these products to also
support Internet access they must handle the additional requirements for security, access
through firewalls, etc., that the Web imposes. Several vendors are adding JDBC
technology-based drivers to their existing database middleware products.
These drivers use a networking protocol and middleware to communicate with a server.
The server then translates the protocol to DBMS function calls specific to DBMS.
Type 3 JDBC drivers are the most flexible JDBC solution because they do not require
any native binary code on the client. A Type 3 driver does not need any client
installation.
Functions:
1.

Follows a three tier communication approach.

2.

Can interface to multiple databases - Not vendor specific.

3.

The JDBC Client driver written in java, communicates with a middleware-net-server using a
database independent protocol, and then this net server translates this request into database
commands for that database.

4.

Thus the client driver to middleware communication is database independent.

5.

Client -> JDBC Driver -> Middleware-Net Server -> Any Database

Advantages
1.

Since the communication between client and the middleware server is database independent, there
is no need for the vendor db library on the client machine. Also the client to middleware need'nt be
changed for a new database.

2.

The Middleware Server (Can be a full fledged J2EE Application server) can provide typical
middleware services like caching (connections, query results, and so on), load balancing, logging,
auditing etc..

3.

eg. for the above include jdbc driver features in Weblogic.

4.

Can be used in internet since there is no client side software needed.

5.

At client side a single driver can handle any database.(It works provided the middlware supports
that database!!)

Disadvantages
1.

Requires database-specific coding to be done in the middle tier.

2.

An extra layer added may result in a time-bottleneck. But typically this is overcome by providing
efficient middleware
services described above.

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Type 4 - the Native-Protocol Driver
The JDBC type 4 driver, also known as the native-protocol driver is a database driver
implementation that converts JDBC calls directly into the vendor-specific database
protocol.
The type 4 driver is written completely in Java and is hence platform independent. It is
installed inside the Java Virtual Machine of the client. It provides better performance
over the type 1 and 2 drivers as it does not have the overhead of conversion of calls into
ODBC or database API calls. Unlike the type 1 and 2 drivers, it does not need associated
software to work.
A native-protocol fully Java technology-enabled driver converts JDBC technology calls
into the network protocol used by DBMSs directly. This allows a direct call from the
client machine to the DBMS server and is a practical solution for Intranet access. Since
many of these protocols are proprietary the database vendors themselves will be the
primary source for this style of driver. Several database vendors have these in progress.
As the database protocol is vendor-specific, separate drivers, usually vendor-supplied,
need to be used to connect to the database.
A Type 4 driver uses Java to implement a DBMS vendor networking protocol. Since the
protocols are usually proprietary, DBMS vendors are generally the only companies
providing a Type 4 JDBC driver.
Type 4 drivers are all Java drivers. This means that there is no client installation or
configuration. However, a Type 4 driver may not be suitable for some applications if the
underlying protocol does not handle issues such as security and network connectivity
well.
The IBM Toolbox for Java JDBC driver is a Type 4 JDBC driver, indicating that the API
is a pure Java networking protocol driver.
Functions
1.

Type 4 drivers are entirely written in Java that communicate directly with a vendor's database
through socket connections. No translation or middleware layers, are required, improving
performance.

2.

The driver converts JDBC calls into the vendor-specific database protocol so that client
applications can communicate directly with the database server.

3.

Completely implemented in Java to achieve platform independence.

4.

e.g include the widely used Oracle thin driver - oracle.jdbc.driver. OracleDriver which connect to
jdbc:oracle:thin URL format.

5.

Client Machine -> Native protocol JDBC Driver -> Database server

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Advantages
These drivers don't translate the requests into db request to ODBC or pass it to client api
for the db, nor do they need a middleware layer for request indirection. Thus the
performance is considerably improved.
Disadvantage

At client side, a separate driver is needed for each database.

The JDBC Driver Manager
The JDBC Driver Manager is a very important class that defines objects which connect
Java applications to a JDBC driver. Usually Driver Manager is the backbone of the
JDBC architecture. It's very simple and small that is used to provide a means of
managing the different types of JDBC database driver running on an application. The
main responsibility of JDBC database driver is to load all the drivers found in the system
properly as well as to select the most appropriate driver from opening a connection to a
database. The Driver Manager also helps to select the most appropriate driver from the
previously loaded drivers when a new open database is connected.
The DriverManager class works between the user and the drivers. The task of the
DriverManager class is to keep track of the drivers that are available and handles
establishing a connection between a database and the appropriate driver. It even keeps
track of the driver login time limits and printing of log and tracing messages. This class is
mainly useful for the simple application, the most frequently used method of this class is
DriverManager.getConnetion(). We can know by the name of the method that this
method establishes a connection to a database.
The DriverManager class maintains the list of the Driver classes. Each driver has to be
get registered in the DriverManager class by calling the method
DriverManager.registerDriver().
By calling the Class.forName() method the driver class get automatically loaded. The
driver is loaded by calling the Class.forName() method. JDBC drivers are designed to tell
the DriverManager about themselves automatically when their driver implementation
class get loads.
This class has many methods. Some of the commonly used methods are given below:
1. deregisterDriver(Driver driver) : It drops the driver from the list of drivers registered
in the DriverManager class.
2. registerDriver(Driver driver) : It registers the driver with the DriverManager class.
3. getConnection(String url) : It tries to establish the connection to a given database
URL.
4. getConnection(String url, Sting user, String password) : It tries to establish the
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connection to a given database URL.
5. getConnection(String url, Properties info) : It tries to establish the connection to a
given database URL.
6. getDriver(String url) : It attempts to locate the driver by the given string.
7. getDrivers() : It retrieves the enumeration of the drivers which has been registered
with the DriverManager class.
The JDBC API provides the DataSource interface as an alternative to the DriverManager
for establishing the connection. A DataSource object is the representation of database or
the data source in the Java programming language. DataSouce object is mostly preferred
over the DriverManager for establishing a connection to the database.
DataSource object can be thought as a factory for making connections to the particular
database that the DataSource instance represents.
DataSource has a set of properties that identify and describe the real world data source
that it represents. The properties include information about the location of the database
server, the network protocol use to communicate with the server the name of the database
and so on.
DataSource object works with JNDI (Java Naming and Directory interface) naming
service so application can use the JNDI API to access the DataSource object.
In short we can say that the DataSource interface is implemented to provide three kinds
of connections:
1). Basic DataSource class
This class is provided by the driver vendor. It is used for portability and easy maintence.
2). To provide connection pooling.
It is provided by the application server vendor or driver vendor. It works with
ConnectionPoolDataSource class provided by a driver vendor. Its advantage is
portability, easy maintenence and increased performance.
3). To provide distributed transactions
This class works with an XADataSource class, which is provided by the driver vendor.
Its advantages are easy maintenence, portability and ability to participate in distributed
transactions.
A Connection object represents a connection with a database. When we connect to a
database by using connection method, we create a Connection Object, which represents
the connection to the database. An application may have one or more than one
connections with a single database or many connections with the different databases also.
We can use the Connection object for the following things:

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1). It creates the Statement, PreparedStatement and CallableStatement objects for
executing the SQL statements.
2). It helps us to Commit or roll back a jdbc transactionn.
3). If you want to know about the database or data source to which you are connected
then the Connection object gathers information about the database or data source by the
use of DatabaseMetaData.
4). It helps us to close the data source. The Connection.isClosed() method returns true
only if the Connection.close() has been called. This method is used to close all the
connection.
Firstly we need to to establish the connection with the database. This is done by using the
method DriverManager.getConnection(). This method takes a string containing a URL.
The DriverManager class, attempts to locate a driver that can connect to the database
represented by the string URL. Whenever the getConnection() method is called the
DriverManager class checks the list of all registered Driver classes that can connect to
the database specified in the URL.
Syntax:
String url = "jdbc: odbc: makeConnection";
Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection(url, "userID", "password");

This section gives you brief description of JDBC Steps for making connection with the
database, executing the query and showing the data to the user. In this application we
have connected to the MySQL database and retrieved the employee names from the
database. Here are the JDBC Steps to be followed while writing JDBC program:

Loading Driver

Establishing Connection

Executing Statements

Getting Results

Closing Database Connection

Before explaining you the JDBC Steps for making connection to the database and
retrieving the employee from the tables, we will provide you the structure of the database
and sample data.
/*
Import JDBC core packages.
Following statement imports the java.sql package, which contains the
JDBC core API.
*/
import java.sql.*;
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public class RetriveAllEmployees{
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Getting All Rows from employee table!");
Connection con = null;
String url = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/";
String db = "jdbc";
String driver = "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver";
String user = "root";
String pass = "root";
try{
Class.forName(driver);
con = DriverManager.getConnection(url+db, user, pass);
Statement st = con.createStatement();
ResultSet res = st.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM employee");
System.out.println("Employee Name: " );
while (res.next()) {
String employeeName = res.getString("employee_name");
System.out.println(employeeName );
}
con.close();
}
catch (ClassNotFoundException e){
System.err.println("Could not load JDBC driver");
System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch(SQLException ex){
System.err.println("SQLException information");
while(ex!=null) {
System.err.println ("Error msg: " + ex.getMessage());
System.err.println ("SQLSTATE: " + ex.getSQLState());
System.err.println ("Error code: " + ex.getErrorCode());
ex.printStackTrace();
ex = ex.getNextException(); // For drivers that support chained
exceptions
}
}
}
}

Explanation of JDBC Steps:

Loading Driver
Loading Database driver is very first step towards making JDBC connectivity with the
database. It is necessary to load the JDBC drivers before attempting to connect to the
database. The JDBC drivers automatically register themselves with the JDBC system when
loaded. Here is the code for loading the JDBC driver:
Class.forName(driver).newInstance();

Establishing Connection
In the above step we have loaded the database driver to be used. Now its time to make the
connection with the database server. In the Establishing Connection step we will logon to the
database with user name and password. Following code we have used to make the connection with
the database:
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con = DriverManager.getConnection(url+db, user, pass);

Executing Statements
In the previous step we established the connection with the database, now its time to execute
query against database. You can run any type of query against database to perform
database operations. In this example we will select all the rows from employee table. Here is
the code that actually execute the statements against database:
ResultSet res = st.executeQuery( "SELECT * FROM employee" );

Getting Results
In this step we receives the result of execute statement. In this case we will fetch the
employees records from the recordset object and show on the console. Here is the code:
while (res.next()) {
String employeeName = res.getInt( " employee_name " );
System.out.println( employeeName );
}

Closing Database Connection

Finally it is necessary to disconnect from the database and release resources being used. If
you dont close the connection then in the production environment your application will fail
due to hanging database connections. Here is the code for disconnecting the application from
database:
con.close();

Creating a jdbc Statement object,

Once a connection is obtained we can interact with the database. Connection interface defines methods
for interacting with the database via the established connection. To execute SQL statements, you need to
instantiate a Statement object from your connection object by using the createStatement() method.
Statement statement = dbConnection.createStatement();
A statement object is used to send and execute SQL statements to a database.
Three kinds of Statements
Statement: Execute simple sql queries without parameters.
Statement createStatement()
Creates an SQL Statement object.
Prepared Statement: Execute precompiled sql queries with or without parameters.
PreparedStatement prepareStatement(String sql)
returns a new PreparedStatement object. PreparedStatement objects are precompiled SQL statements.
Callable Statement: Execute a call to a database stored procedure.
CallableStatement prepareCall(String sql)
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Core Java Study Notes

returns a new CallableStatement object. CallableStatement objects are SQL stored procedure call
statements.

4. Executing a SQL statement with the Statement object, and returning a java ResultSet.
Statement interface defines methods that are used to interact with database via the execution of SQL
statements. The Statement class has three methods for executing statements: executeQuery(),
executeUpdate(), and execute(). For a SELECT statement, the method to use is executeQuery . For
statements that create or modify tables, the method to use is executeUpdate. Note: Statements that create a
table, alter a table, or drop a table are all examples of DDL statements and are executed with the method
executeUpdate. execute() executes an SQL statement that is written as String object.
ResultSet provides access to a table of data generated by executing a Statement. The table rows are
retrieved in sequence. A ResultSet maintains a cursor pointing to its current row of data. The next() method
is used to successively step through the rows of the tabular results.
ResultSetMetaData Interface holds information on the types and properties of the columns in a
ResultSet. It is constructed from the Connection object.
Test JDBC Driver Installation
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class TestJDBCDriverInstallation_Oracle {
public static void main(String[] args) {
StringBuffer output = new StringBuffer();
output.append("Testing oracle jdbc driver installation
\n");
try {
String className =
"sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver";
Class driverObject =
Class.forName(className);
output.append("Driver :
"+driverObject+"\n");
output.append("JDBC Driver Installation
Successful");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,
output);
} catch (Exception e) {
output = new StringBuffer();
output.append("JDBC Driver Installation
FAILED\n");
// JDBC Driver installation Failed
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, output);
System.out.println("Failed: JDBC Driver Error: " +
e.getMessage());
}
}
}

Test JDBC Connection, JDBC Driver Name and

Version
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DatabaseMetaData;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
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Core Java Study Notes

import java.sql.SQLException;
public class JDBCDriverInformation {
static String userid="scott", password = "tiger";
static String url = "jdbc:odbc:bob";
static Connection con = null;
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Connection con = getOracleJDBCConnection();
if(con!= null){
System.out.println("Got Connection.");
DatabaseMetaData meta = con.getMetaData();
System.out.println("Driver Name :
"+meta.getDriverName());
System.out.println("Driver Version :
"+meta.getDriverVersion());
}else{
System.out.println("Could not Get Connection");
}
}
public static Connection getOracleJDBCConnection(){
try {
Class.forName("sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver");
} catch(java.lang.ClassNotFoundException e) {
System.err.print("ClassNotFoundException: ");
System.err.println(e.getMessage());
}
try {
con = DriverManager.getConnection(url, userid,
password);
} catch(SQLException ex) {
System.err.println("SQLException: " +
ex.getMessage());
}
return con;
}
}
Que .Connection con =DriverManager.getConnection();Doesnt this
statement instantiate connection?
Ans. No it instantiates an object of a class which implements
Connection.The class is determined in getConnection() using the url.

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.