Chapter 3 – Using Classes and Objects

Java Foundations:
Introduction to Programming and Data Structures

by John Lewis,
Peter DePasquale and Joseph Chase

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley

 Using Classes and Objects

• We can create more interesting programs using 
predefined classes and related objects
• Chapter 3 focuses on
– object creation and object references
– the String class and its methods
– the Java standard class library
– the Random and Math classes
– formatting output
– enumerated types
– wrapper classes and autoboxing

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley 1-2

 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.1 – Creating Objects
• A variable holds either a primitive type or a reference to 
an object
• A class name can be used as a type to declare an object 
reference variable
String title;

• No object is created with this declaration
• An object reference variable holds the address of an 
object
• The object itself must be created separately
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 3.1 – Creating Objects

• Generally, we use the new operator to create an object
title = new String ("Java Software Solutions");

This calls the String constructor, which is

a special method that sets up the object

• Creating an object is called instantiation
• An object is an instance of a particular class

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 3.1 – Invoking Methods

• We've seen that once an object has been instantiated, we 
can use the dot operator to invoke its methods

count = title.length()

• A method may return a value, which can be used in an 
assignment or expression

• A method invocation can be thought of as asking an 
object to perform a service

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 3.1 – References

• Note that a primitive variable contains the value itself, 
but an object variable contains the address of the object
• An object reference can be thought of as a pointer to the 
location of the object
• Rather than dealing with arbitrary addresses, we often 
depict a reference graphically
num1 38

name1 "Steve Jobs"

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 3.1 – Assignment Revisited

• The act of assignment takes a copy of a value and stores it 
in a variable
• For primitive types
num1 38
Before:
num2 96

num2 = num1;

num1 38
After:
num2 38

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 3.1 – Reference Assignment

• For object references, assignment copies the address
name1 "Steve Jobs"
Before:
name2 "Steve Wozniak"

name2 = name1;

name1 "Steve Jobs"

After:
name2

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 3.1 – Aliases

• Two or more references that refer to the same object are 
called aliases of each other

• That creates an interesting situation: one object can be 
accessed using multiple reference variables

• Aliases can be useful, but should be managed carefully

• Changing an object through one reference changes it for 
all of its aliases, because there is really only one object

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 3.1 – Garbage Collection

• When an object no longer has any valid references to it, it 
can no longer be accessed by the program

• The object is useless, and therefore is called garbage

• Java performs automatic garbage collection periodically, 
returning an object's memory to the system for future use

• In other languages, the programmer is responsible for 
performing garbage collection

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley 1-12

 3.2 – The String Class

• Because strings are so common, we don't have to use the 
new operator to create a String object
title = "Java Software Solutions";

• This is special syntax that works only for strings

• Each string literal (enclosed in double quotes) represents a 
String object

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 3.2 – String Methods

• Once a String object has been created, neither its value 
nor its length can be changed

• Thus we say that an object of the String class is 
immutable

• However, several methods of the String class return new 
String objects that are modified versions of the original

• A list of String methods can be found in this chapter

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 3.2 – String Indexes

• It is occasionally helpful to refer to a particular character 
within a string

• This can be done by specifying the character's numeric 
index

• The indexes begin at zero in each string

• In the string "Hello", the character 'H' is at index 0 
and the 'o' is at index 4

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 3.2 – StringMutation.java
//********************************************************************
// StringMutation.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the use of the String class and its methods.
//********************************************************************

public class StringMutation

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Prints a string and various mutations of it.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
String phrase = "Change is inevitable";
String mutation1, mutation2, mutation3, mutation4;

System.out.println ("Original string: \"" + phrase + "\"");

System.out.println ("Length of string: " + phrase.length());

mutation1 = phrase.concat (", except from vending machines.");

mutation2 = mutation1.toUpperCase();
mutation3 = mutation2.replace ('E', 'X');
mutation4 = mutation3.substring (3, 30);

(more…)

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 3.2 – StringMutation.java
// Print each mutated string
System.out.println ("Mutation #1: " + mutation1);
System.out.println ("Mutation #2: " + mutation2);
System.out.println ("Mutation #3: " + mutation3);
System.out.println ("Mutation #4: " + mutation4);

System.out.println ("Mutated length: " + mutation4.length());

}
}

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.3 – Class Libraries
• A class library is a collection of classes that we can use 
when developing programs
• The Java standard class library is part of any Java 
development environment
• Its classes are not part of the Java language per se, but 
we rely on them heavily
• Various classes we've already used (System , Scanner, 
String) are part of the Java standard class library

• Other class libraries can be obtained through third party 
vendors, or you can create them yourself
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 3.3 – Packages

• The classes of the Java standard class library are 
organized into packages

• Some of the packages in the standard class library are
Package Purpose

java.lang General support

java.applet Creating applets for the web
java.awt Graphics and graphical user interfaces
javax.swing Additional graphics capabilities
java.net Network communication
java.util Utilities
javax.xml.parsers XML document processing

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 3.3 – The import Declaration

• When you want to use a class from a package, you could 
use its fully qualified name
java.util.Scanner

• Or you can import the class, and then use just the class 
name
import java.util.Scanner;

• To import all classes in a particular package, you can use 
the * wildcard character
import java.util.*;

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 3.3 – The import Declaration

• All classes of the java.lang package are imported 
automatically into all programs

• It's as if all programs contain the following line
import java.lang.*;

• That's why we didn't have to import the System or 
String classes explicitly in earlier programs

• The Scanner class, on the other hand, is part of the 
java.util package, and therefore must be imported

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley 1-23

 3.4 – The Random Class

• The Random class is part of the java.util package

• It provides methods that generate pseudorandom numbers

• A Random object performs complicated calculations based 
on a seed value to produce a stream of seemingly random 
values

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 3.4 – RandomNumbers.java
//********************************************************************
// RandomNumbers.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the creation of pseudo-random numbers using the
// Random class.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Random;

public class RandomNumbers

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Generates random numbers in various ranges.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
Random generator = new Random();
int num1;
float num2;

num1 = generator.nextInt();
System.out.println ("A random integer: " + num1);

(more…)

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 3.4 – RandomNumbers.java
num1 = generator.nextInt(10);
System.out.println ("From 0 to 9: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(10) + 1;
System.out.println ("From 1 to 10: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(15) + 20;

System.out.println ("From 20 to 34: " + num1);

num1 = generator.nextInt(20) - 10;

System.out.println ("From -10 to 9: " + num1);

num2 = generator.nextFloat();
System.out.println ("A random float (between 0-1): " + num2);

num2 = generator.nextFloat() * 6; // 0.0 to 5.999999

num1 = (int)num2 + 1;
System.out.println ("From 1 to 6: " + num1);
}
}

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.5 – The Math Class

• The Math class is part of the java.lang package
• The Math class contains methods that perform various 
mathematical functions
• These include
– absolute value
– square root
– exponentiation
– trigonometric functions

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 3.5 – The Math Class

• The methods of the Math class are static methods (also 
called class methods)

• Static methods can be invoked through the class name – 
no object of the Math class is needed
value = Math.cos(90) + Math.sqrt(delta);
• We discuss static methods further in Chapter 5

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 3.5 – Quadratic.java
//********************************************************************
// Quadratic.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the use of the Math class to perform a calculation
// based on user input.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Quadratic

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Determines the roots of a quadratic equation.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
int a, b, c; // ax^2 + bx + c
double discriminant, root1, root2;

Scanner scan = new Scanner (System.in);

System.out.print ("Enter the coefficient of x squared: ");

a = scan.nextInt();

(more…)

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 3.5 – Quadratic.java
System.out.print ("Enter the coefficient of x: ");
b = scan.nextInt();

System.out.print ("Enter the constant: ");

c = scan.nextInt();

// Use the quadratic formula to compute the roots.

// Assumes a positive discriminant.

discriminant = Math.pow(b, 2) - (4 * a * c);

root1 = ((-1 * b) + Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);
root2 = ((-1 * b) - Math.sqrt(discriminant)) / (2 * a);

System.out.println ("Root #1: " + root1);

System.out.println ("Root #2: " + root2);
}
}

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.6 – Formatting Output

• It is often necessary to format values in certain ways so 
that they can be presented properly
• The Java standard class library contains classes that 
provide formatting capabilities
• The NumberFormat class allows you to format values as 
currency or percentages
• The DecimalFormat class allows you to format values 
based on a pattern
• Both are part of the java.text package

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 3.6 – Formatting Output

• The NumberFormat class has static methods that return a 
formatter object
getCurrencyInstance()

getPercentInstance()

• Each formatter object has a method called format that 
returns a string with the specified information in the 
appropriate format

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 3.6 – Purchase.java
//********************************************************************
// Purchase.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the use of the NumberFormat class to format output.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.text.NumberFormat;

public class Purchase

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Calculates the final price of a purchased item using values
// entered by the user.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
final double TAX_RATE = 0.06; // 6% sales tax

int quantity;
double subtotal, tax, totalCost, unitPrice;

Scanner scan = new Scanner (System.in);

(more…)

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 3.6 – Purchase.java
NumberFormat fmt1 = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance();
NumberFormat fmt2 = NumberFormat.getPercentInstance();

System.out.print ("Enter the quantity: ");

quantity = scan.nextInt();

System.out.print ("Enter the unit price: ");

unitPrice = scan.nextDouble();

subtotal = quantity * unitPrice;

tax = subtotal * TAX_RATE;
totalCost = subtotal + tax;

// Print output with appropriate formatting

System.out.println ("Subtotal: " + fmt1.format(subtotal));
System.out.println ("Tax: " + fmt1.format(tax) + " at "
+ fmt2.format(TAX_RATE));
System.out.println ("Total: " + fmt1.format(totalCost));
}
}

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 3.6 – Formatting Output

• The DecimalFormat class can be used to format a 
floating point value in various ways

• For example, you can specify that the number should be 
truncated to three decimal places

• The constructor of the DecimalFormat class takes a 
string that represents a pattern for the formatted number

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 3.6 – CircleStats.java
//********************************************************************
// CircleStats.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the formatting of decimal values using the
// DecimalFormat class.
//********************************************************************

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;

public class CircleStats

{
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Calculates the area and circumference of a circle given its
// radius.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
int radius;
double area, circumference;

Scanner scan = new Scanner (System.in);

(more…)

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 3.6 – CircleStats.java
System.out.print ("Enter the circle's radius: ");
radius = scan.nextInt();

area = Math.PI * Math.pow(radius, 2);

circumference = 2 * Math.PI * radius;

// Round the output to three decimal places

DecimalFormat fmt = new DecimalFormat ("0.###");

System.out.println ("The circle's area: " + fmt.format(area));

System.out.println ("The circle's circumference: "
+ fmt.format(circumference));
}
}

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.7 – Enumerated Types

• Java allows you to define an enumerated type, which can 
then be used to declare variables
• An enumerated type establishes all possible values for a 
variable of that type
• The values are identifiers of your own choosing
• The following declaration creates an enumerated type called 
Season
enum Season {winter, spring, summer, fall};

• Any number of values can be listed

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 3.7 – Enumerated Types

• Once a type is defined, a variable of that type can be 
declared
Season time;

and it can be assigned a value
time = Season.fall;

• The values are specified through the name of the type
• Enumerated types are type­safe – you cannot assign any 
value other than those listed

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 3.7 – Ordinal Values

• Internally, each value of an enumerated type is stored as 
an integer, called its ordinal value

• The first value in an enumerated type has an ordinal value 
of zero, the second one, and so on

• However, you cannot assign a numeric value to an 
enumerated type, even if it corresponds to a valid ordinal 
value

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 3.7 – Enumerated Types

• The declaration of an enumerated type is a special type of 
class, and each variable of that type is an object

• The ordinal method returns the ordinal value of the 
object

• The name method returns the name of the identifier 
corresponding to the object's value

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 3.7 – IceCream.java
//********************************************************************
// IceCream.java Java Foundations
//
// Demonstrates the use of enumerated types.
//********************************************************************

public class IceCream

{
enum Flavor {vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, fudgeRipple, coffee,
rockyRoad, mintChocolateChip, cookieDough}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------
// Creates and uses variables of the Flavor type.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------
public static void main (String[] args)
{
Flavor cone1, cone2, cone3;

cone1 = Flavor.rockyRoad;
cone2 = Flavor.chocolate;

(more…)

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 3.7 – IceCream.java
System.out.println ("cone1 value: " + cone1);
System.out.println ("cone1 ordinal: " + cone1.ordinal());
System.out.println ("cone1 name: " + cone1.name());

System.out.println ();
System.out.println ("cone2 value: " + cone2);
System.out.println ("cone2 ordinal: " + cone2.ordinal());
System.out.println ("cone2 name: " + cone2.name());

cone3 = cone1;

System.out.println ();
System.out.println ("cone3 value: " + cone3);
System.out.println ("cone3 ordinal: " + cone3.ordinal());
System.out.println ("cone3 name: " + cone3.name());
}
}

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 Outline

• Creating Objects
• The String Class
• Packages
• The Random Class 
• The Math Class
• Formatting Output
• Enumerated Types
• Wrapper Classes

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 3.8 – Wrapper Classes

• The java.lang package contains wrapper classes that 
correspond to each primitive type
Primitive Type Wrapper Class
byte Byte
short Short
int Integer
long Long
float Float
double Double
char Character
boolean Boolean
void Void

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 3.8 – Wrapper Classes

• The following declaration creates an Integer object 
which represents the integer 40 as an object 
Integer age = new Integer(40);

• An object of a wrapper class can be used in any situation 
where a primitive value will not suffice
• For example, some objects serve as containers of other 
objects
• Primitive values could not be stored in such containers, 
but wrapper objects could be

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 3.8 – Wrapper Classes
• Wrapper classes also contain static methods that help 
manage the associated type
• For example, the Integer class contains a method to 
convert an integer stored in a String to an int value:
num = Integer.parseInt(str);
• The wrapper classes often contain useful constants as 
well
• For example, the Integer class contains MIN_VALUE and 
MAX_VALUE which hold the smallest and largest int 
values

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 3.8 – Autoboxing

• Autoboxing is the automatic conversion of a primitive 
value to a corresponding wrapper object
Integer obj;
int num = 42;
obj = num;

• The assignment creates the appropriate Integer object

• The reverse conversion (called unboxing) also occurs 
automatically as needed

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 Chapter 3 – Summary

• Chapter 3 focused on
– object creation and object references
– the String class and its methods
– the Java standard class library
– the Random and Math classes
– formatting output
– enumerated types
– wrapper classes and autoboxing

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