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What are the building blocks of Object- Oriented Programming?

What are the Building blocks of object-oriented

programming -OOP- ?

IV. LESSON PROPER

Java is an object-oriented programming (OOP) language and adheres to few main concepts of OOP. In this
module, we will check out all the Object Oriented Concepts in Java explained with code and examples.

What is Object-Oriented Programming and Concepts?

Object-Oriented Programming is a method of programming where programmers define the type of data as
well the operations that the data can perform.

The core of any programming language is to have method. In C, a method is called function and in
Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL) it is a subroutine. All of them are collection of statements
that are grouped together to perform an operation or specific task. When you call the
System.out.println() method, for example, the system actually executes several statements in order to
display a message on the console.

Creating Method
Considering the following example to explain the syntax of a method −
Syntax
public static int methodName(int a, int b) {
// body
}
Here,
 public static − modifier
 int − return type
 methodName − name of the method
 a, b − formal parameters
 int a, int b − list of parameters
Method definition consists of a method header and a method body. The same is shown in the
following syntax −
Syntax
modifier returnType nameOfMethod (Parameter List) {
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// method body
}
The syntax shown above includes −
 modifier − It defines the access type of the method and it is optional to use.
 returnType − Method may return a value.

 nameOfMethod − This is the method name. The method signature consists of the method name
and the parameter list.
 Parameter List − The list of parameters, it is the type, order, and number of parameters of a
method. These are optional, method may contain zero parameters.
 method body − The method body defines what the method does with the statements.
Example
The method called minFunction(). This method takes two parameters num1 and num2 and returns the
maximum between the two −
/** the snippet returns the minimum between two numbers */

public static int minFunction(int n1, int n2) {

int min;
if (n1 > n2)
min = n2;
else
min = n1;

return min;
}

Method Calling
For using a method, it should be called. There are two ways in which a method is called i.e.,
method returns a value or returning nothing (no return value).
The process of method calling is simple. When a program invokes a method, the program control gets
transferred to the called method. This called method then returns control to the caller in two conditions,
when −

 the return statement is executed.

 it reaches the method ending closing brace.
The methods returning void is considered as call to a statement. Lets consider an example −
System.out.println("This is tutorialspoint.com!");
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The method returning value can be understood by the following example −

int result = sum(6, 9);

To demonstrate how to define a method and how to call it −

Example
public class ExampleMinNumber {

public static void main(String[] args) {

int a = 11;
int b = 6;
int c = minFunction(a, b);
System.out.println("Minimum Value = " + c);
}

/** returns the minimum of two numbers */

public static int minFunction(int n1, int n2) {
int min;
if (n1 > n2)
min = n2;
else
min = n1;

return min;
}
}
This will produce the following result −
Output
Minimum value = 6
The void Keyword
The void keyword allows us to create methods which do not return a value. Here, in the following
example we're considering a void method methodRankPoints. This method is a void method,
which does not return any value. Call to a void method must be a statement
i.e. methodRankPoints(255.7);. It is a Java statement which ends with a semicolon as shown in
the following example.
Example
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What are the building blocks of Object- Oriented Programming?

Live Demo
public class ExampleVoid {

public static void main(String[] args) {

methodRankPoints(255.7);
}

public static void methodRankPoints(double points) {

if (points >= 202.5) {
System.out.println("Rank:A1");
}else if (points >= 122.4) {
System.out.println("Rank:A2");
}else {
System.out.println("Rank:A3");
}
}
}
This will produce the following result −
Output
Rank:A1
Passing Parameters by Value
Passing Parameters by Value means calling a method with a parameter. Through this, the
argument value is passed to the parameter.
Example
The following program shows an example of passing parameter by value. The values of the
arguments remains the same even after the method invocation.
public class swappingExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {

int a = 30;
int b = 45;
System.out.println("Before swapping, a = " + a + " and b = " + b);

// Invoke the swap method

swapFunction(a, b);
System.out.println("\n**Now, Before and After swapping values will be same here**:");
System.out.println("After swapping, a = " + a + " and b is " + b);
}

public static void swapFunction(int a, int b) {

System.out.println("Before swapping(Inside), a = " + a + " b = " + b);
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// Swap n1 with n2
int c = a;
a = b;
b = c;
System.out.println("After swapping(Inside), a = " + a + " b = " + b);
}}
This will produce the following result −
Output
Before swapping, a = 30 and b = 45
Before swapping(Inside), a = 30 b = 45
After swapping(Inside), a = 45 b = 30

**Now, Before and After swapping values will be same here**:

After swapping, a = 30 and b is 45
Method Overloading
When a class has two or more methods by the same name but different parameters, it is known as
method overloading. It is different from overriding. In overriding, a method has the same method
name, type, number of parameters, etc.
Let’s consider the example discussed earlier for finding minimum numbers of integer type. If, let’s
say we want to find the minimum number of double type. Then the concept of overloading will be
introduced to create two or more methods with the same name but different parameters.
The following example explains the same −
Example
public class ExampleOverloading {

public static void main(String[] args) {

int a = 11;
int b = 6;
double c = 7.3;
double d = 9.4;
int result1 = minFunction(a, b);

// same function name with different parameters

double result2 = minFunction(c, d);
System.out.println("Minimum Value = " + result1);
System.out.println("Minimum Value = " + result2);
}

// for integer
public static int minFunction(int n1, int n2) {
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int min;
if (n1 > n2)
min = n2;
else
min = n1;

return min;
}
// for double
public static double minFunction(double n1, double n2) {
double min;
if (n1 > n2)
min = n2;
else
min = n1;

return min;
}}
This will produce the following result −
Output
Minimum Value = 6
Minimum Value = 7.3
Overloading methods makes program readable. Here, two methods are given by the same name
but with different parameters. The minimum number from integer and double types is the result.

Now, we can start discussing clearly Classes and Objects. Are you ready with Object-
oriented programming using Java?
Let do this now.

Classes and Objects.

 Object − Objects have states and behaviors. Example: A dog has states - color, name, breed as
well as behaviors – wagging the tail, barking, eating. An object is an instance of a class.
 Class − A class can be defined as a template/blueprint that describes the behavior/state that the
object of its type support.
Classes in Java
A class is a blueprint from which individual objects are created.
Following is a sample of a class.
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Example
public class Dog {
String breed;
int age;
String color;

void bark () {
}

void hungry() {
}

void sleep () {
}

A class can contain any of the following variable types.

 Local variables − Variables defined inside methods, constructors or blocks are called local
variables. The variable will be declared and initialized within the method and the variable will be
destroyed when the method has completed.
 Instance variables − Instance variables are variables within a class but outside any method. These
variables are initialized when the class is instantiated. Instance variables can be accessed from
inside any method, constructor or blocks of that particular class.
 Class variables − Class variables are variables declared within a class, outside any method, with
the static keyword.
A class can have any number of methods to access the value of various kinds of methods. In the
above example, bark(), hungry() and sleep() are methods.
Constructors
When discussing about classes, one of the most important sub topic would be constructors. Every
class has a constructor. If we do not explicitly write a constructor for a class, the Java compiler
builds a default constructor for that class.
Each time a new object is created, at least one constructor will be invoked. The main rule
of constructors is that they should have the same name as the class. A class can have
more than one constructor.
Following is an example of a constructor −
Example
public class Puppy {
public Puppy() {
}
public Puppy(String name) {
// This constructor has one parameter, name.
}
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Creating an Object
As mentioned previously, a class provides the blueprints for objects. So basically, an object is created
from a class. In Java, the new keyword is used to create new objects.
There are three steps when creating an object from a class −
 Declaration − A variable declaration with a variable name with an object type.
 Instantiation − The 'new' keyword is used to create the object.
 Initialization − The 'new' keyword is followed by a call to a constructor. This call initializes the new
object.
Following is an example of creating an object −
Example
public class Puppy {
public Puppy(String name) {
// This constructor has one parameter, name.
System.out.println("Passed Name is :" + name );
}
public static void main(String []args) {
// Following statement would create an object myPuppy
Puppy myPuppy = new Puppy( "tommy" );
}
}
If we compile and run the above program, then it will produce the following result −
Output
Passed Name is :tommy
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EXERCISE 1

A student is to create a simple Java program about student enrolment that will classify regular and
irregular students. The student type is either ‘R’ for regular and ‘I’ for Irregular. What could be the name
of the method besides the main() method in the program?

EXERCISE 2

Your school would like to create simple registration system to help students enrolled in the college.
What are the variables to be used in the program?