Chapter 6 – Objects and Classes

ian@purpletrust.org
Mantra:
Coding is fun!
Chapter 6 Objects and Classes
• OO Programming Concepts
• Creating Objects and Object Reference Variables
• Differences between primitive data type and object type
• Automatic garbage collection
• Constructors
• Modifiers (public, private and static)
• Instance and Class Variables and Methods
• Scope of Variables
• Use the this Keyword
• Case Studies (Mortgage class and Count class)
 OO Programming Concepts

An object A Circle object

Data Field
data field 1
radius = 5

... State
Method
data field n findArea

method 1

... Behavior

method n
 Class and Objects

Circle UML Graphical notation for classes

radius: double UML Graphical notation for fields

UML Graphical notation for methods

findArea(): double

new Circle() new Circle()

circle1: Circle circlen: Circle UML Graphical notation

for objects
radius = 2 ... radius = 5
 Class Declaration
class Circle {
double radius = 1.0;

double findArea(){
return radius * radius * 3.14159;
}
}
Declaring Object Reference Variables
ClassName objectReference;

Example:

Circle myCircle;
Creating Objects
objectReference = new ClassName();

Example:

myCircle = new Circle();

The object reference is assigned to the object reference variable.

 Declaring/Creating Objects
in a Single Step
ClassName objectReference = new ClassName();

Example:
Circle myCircle = new Circle();
Differences between variables of
primitive Data types and object types

Primitive type int i = 1 i 1

Object type Circle c c reference

c: Circle
Created using
new Circle() radius = 1
 Copying Variables of Primitive Data Types
and Object Types

Primitive type assignment Object type assignment

i=j c1 = c2

Before: After: Before: After:

i 1 i 2 c1 c1

j 2 j 2 c2 c2

c1: Circle c2: Circle

radius = 5 radius = 9
Garbage Collection
As shown in the previous
figure, after the assignment
statement c1 = c2, c1 points
to the same object
referenced by c2. The object
previously referenced by c1
is no longer useful. This
object is known as garbage.
Garbage is automatically
collected by JVM.
Garbage Collection, cont
TIP: If you know that an
object is no longer needed,
you can explicitly assign
null to a reference
variable for the object.
The Java VM will
automatically collect the
space if the object is not
referenced by any variable.
Accessing Objects
• Referencing the object’s data:

objectReference.data
myCircle.radius

• Invoking the object’s method:

objectReference.method
myCircle.findArea()
Example 6.1 Using Objects

• Objective: Demonstrate creating

objects, accessing data, and using
methods.
Constructors
Circle(double r) {
radius = r;
}

Circle() { Constructors are a

}
radius = 1.0;
special kind of
methods that are
myCircle = new Circle(5.0); invoked to construct
objects.
 Constructors, cont.
A constructor with no parameters is
referred to as a default constructor.
· Constructors must have the same
name as the class itself.
· Constructors do not have a return
type—not even void.
· Constructors are invoked using the
new operator when an object is created.
Constructors play the role of
initializing objects.
Example 6.2 Using Classes from the Java
Library

• Objective: Demonstrate using classes from the

Java library. Use the JFrame class in the
javax.swing package to create two
frames; use the methods in the
JFrame class to set the title, size
and location of the frames and to
display the frames.
Example 6.3 Using Constructors

• Objective: Demonstrate the role of

constructors and use them to create
objects.
 Visibility Modifiers and
Accessor Methods
By default, the class, variable, or data can be
accessed by any class in the same package.
 public
The class, data, or method is visible to any class in any
package.
 private
The data or methods can be accessed only by the declaring
class.
The get and set methods are used to read and modify private
properties.
Example 6.4
Using the private Modifier and Accessor
Methods

In this example, private data are used for the radius

and the accessor methods getRadius and setRadius
are provided for the clients to retrieve and modify
the radius.
Passing Objects to Methods
• Passing by value (the value is the reference to the object)
Example 6.5 Passing Objects as Arguments
Passing Objects to Methods, cont.
main printAreas
method method
times

n 5 5 Pass by value (here the value is 5)

myCircle Reference Reference Pass by value (here the value is the

reference for the object)

myCircle: Circle

radius = 1
Instance
Variables, and Methods

Instance variables belong to a specific instance.

Instance methods are invoked by an instance of

the class.
 Class Variables, Constants,
and Methods

Class variables are shared by all the instances

of the class.

Class methods are not tied to a specific object.

Class constants are final variables shared by all
the instances of the class.
 Class Variables, Constants,
and Methods, cont.

To declare class variables, constants, and

methods, use the static modifier.
 Class Variables, Constants,
and Methods, cont.

UML Notation: Memory

+: public variables or methods
-: private variables or methods
underline: static variables or metods

circle1:Circle 1 radius

instantiate -radius = 1
radius is an instance CircleWithStaticVariable -numOfObjects = 2
variable, and
numOfObjects is a -radius
class variable -numOfObjects
2 numOfObjects
+getRadius(): double instantiate
+setRadius(radius: double): void circle2:Circle
+getNumOfObjects(): int
+findArea(): double
-radius = 5 5 radius
-numOfObjects = 2
Example 6.6
Using Instance and Class Variables and Method

Objective: Demonstrate the roles of

instance and class variables and their
uses. This example adds a class
variable numOfObjects to track the
number of Circle objects created.
Scope of Variables
• The scope of instance and class variables is
the entire class. They can be declared
anywhere inside a class.

• The scope of a local variable starts from its

declaration and continues to the end of the
block that contains the variable. A local
variable must be declared before it can be
used.
The Keyword this
• Use this to refer to the current object.

• Use this to invoke other constructors of the object.

 Array of Objects
Circle[] circleArray = new
Circle[10];

An array of objects is actually

an array of reference variables. So
invoking circleArray[1].findArea()
involves two levels of referencing
as shown in the next figure.
circleArray references to the
entire array. circleArray[1]
references to a Circle object.
 Array of Objects, cont.
Circle[] circleArray = new
Circle[10];

circleArray reference circleArray[0] Circle object 0

circleArray[1]

… Circle object 1

circleArray[9] Circle object 9

Array of Objects, cont.
Example 6.7: Summarizing the
areas of the circles
 Class Abstraction
Class abstraction means to separate class implementation from the
use of the class. The creator of the class provides a description of the
class and let the user know how the class can be used. The user of the
class does not need to know how the class is implemented. The detail
of implementation is encapsulated and hidden from the user.
Example 6.9 The Count Class
Java API and Core Java classes
• java.lang
Contains core Java classes, such as numeric classes, strings, and
objects. This package is implicitly imported to every Java program.

• java.awt
Contains classes for graphics.

• java.applet
Contains classes for supporting applets.
 Java API and Core Java classes,
cont.
• java.io
Contains classes for input and output
streams and files.

• java.util
Contains many utilities, such as date.

• java.net
Contains classes for supporting
network communications.
 Java API and Core Java classes,
cont.
• java.awt.image
Contains classes for managing bitmap images.

• java.awt.peer
Platform-specific GUI implementation.

• Others:
java.sql
java.rmi