core
programming
Basic Java Syntax
2001-2003 Marty Hall, Larry Brown: http://www.corewebprogramming.com
Agenda
Creating, compiling, and executing simple
Java programs
Accessing arrays
Looping
Using if statements
Comparing strings
Building arrays
One-step process
Two-step process
Using multidimensional arrays
Manipulating data structures
Handling errors
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Basic Java Syntax
Getting Started
Name of file must match name of class
It is case sensitive, even on Windows
Processing starts in main
public static void main(String[] args)
Routines usually called methods, not functions.
Printing is done with System.out
System.out.println, System.out.print
Compile with javac
Open DOS window; work from there
Supply full case-sensitive file name (with file extension)
Execute with java
Supply base class name (no file extension)
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Basic Java Syntax
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Example
File: HelloWorld.java
public class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello, world.");
}
}
Compiling
DOS> javac HelloWorld.java
Executing
DOS> java HelloWorld
Hello, world.
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More Basics
Use + for string concatenation
Arrays are accessed with []
Array indices are zero-based
The argument to main is an array of strings that
correspond to the command line arguments
args[0] returns first command-line argument
args[1] returns second command-line argument
Etc.
The length field gives the number of
elements in an array
Thus, args.length gives the number of commandline arguments
Unlike in C/C++, the name of the program is not inserted
into the command-line arguments
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Example
File: ShowTwoArgs.java
public class ShowTwoArgs {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("First arg: " +
args[0]);
System.out.println("Second arg: " +
args[1]);
}
}
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Example (Continued)
Compiling
DOS> javac ShowTwoArgs.java
Executing
DOS> java ShowTwoArgs Hello World
First args Hello
Second arg: Class
DOS> java ShowTwoArgs
[Error message]
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Looping Constructs
while
while (continueTest) {
body;
}
do
do {
body;
} while (continueTest);
for
for(init; continueTest; updateOp) {
body;
}
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While Loops
public static void listNums1(int max) {
int i = 0;
while (i <= max) {
System.out.println("Number: " + i);
i++; // "++" means "add one"
}
}
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Do Loops
public static void listNums2(int max) {
int i = 0;
do {
System.out.println("Number: " + i);
i++;
} while (i <= max);
// ^ Dont forget semicolon
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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For Loops
public static void listNums3(int max) {
for(int i=0; i<max; i++) {
System.out.println("Number: " + i);
}
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Aside: Defining Multiple
Methods in Single Class
public class LoopTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
listNums1(5);
listNums2(6);
listNums3(7);
}
public static void listNums1(int max) {}
public static void listNums2(int max) {}
public static void listNums3(int max) {}
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Loop Example
File ShowArgs.java:
public class ShowArgs {
public static void main(String[] args) {
for(int i=0; i<args.length; i++) {
System.out.println("Arg " + i +
" is " +
args[i]);
}
}
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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If Statements
Single Option
if (boolean-expression) {
statement;
}
Multiple Options
if (boolean-expression) {
statement1;
} else {
statement2;
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Boolean Operators
==, !=
Equality, inequality. In addition to comparing primitive
types, == tests if two objects are identical (the same
object), not just if they appear equal (have the same
fields). More details when we introduce objects.
<, <=, >, >=
Numeric less than, less than or equal to, greater than,
greater than or equal to.
&&, ||
Logical AND, OR. Both use short-circuit evaluation to
more efficiently compute the results of complicated
expressions.
Logical negation.
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Basic Java Syntax
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Example: If Statements
public static int max2(int n1, int n2) {
if (n1 >= n2)
return(n1);
else
return(n2);
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Strings
String is a real class in Java, not an array of
characters as in C and C++.
The String class has a shortcut method to
create a new object: just use double quotes
This differs from normal objects, where you use the new
construct to build an object
Use equals to compare strings
Never use ==
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Basic Java Syntax
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Strings: Common Error
public static void main(String[] args) {
String match = "Test";
if (args.length == 0) {
System.out.println("No args");
} else if (args[0] == match) {
System.out.println("Match");
} else {
System.out.println("No match");
}
}
Prints "No match" for all inputs
Fix:
if (args[0].equals(match))
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Building Arrays:
One-Step Process
Declare and allocate array in one fell swoop
type[] var = { val1, val2, ... , valN };
Examples:
int[] values = { 10, 100, 1000 };
Point[] points = { new Point(0, 0),
new Point(1, 2),
... };
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Basic Java Syntax
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Building Arrays:
Two-Step Process
Step 1: allocate an array of references:
type[] var = new type[size];
Eg:
int[] values = new int[7];
Point[] points = new Point[someArray.length];
Step 2: populate the array
points[0] = new Point(...);
points[1] = new Point(...);
...
Points[6] = new Point();
If you fail to populate an entry
Default value is 0 for numeric arrays
Default value is null for object arrays
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Basic Java Syntax
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Multidimensional Arrays
Multidimensional arrays are implemented as
arrays of arrays
int[][] twoD = new int[64][32];
String[][] cats = { { "Caesar", "blue-point" },
{ "Heather", "seal-point" },
{ "Ted",
"red-point" } };
Note: the number of elements in each row (dimension)
need not be equal
int[][] irregular = { {
{
{
{
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Basic Java Syntax
1 },
2, 3, 4},
5 },
6, 7 } };
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TriangleArray: Example
public class TriangleArray {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[][] triangle = new int[10][];
for(int i=0; i<triangle.length; i++) {
triangle[i] = new int[i+1];
}
}
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for (int i=0; i<triangle.length; i++) {
for(int j=0; j<triangle[i].length; j++) {
System.out.print(triangle[i][j]);
}
System.out.println();
}
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TriangleArray: Result
> java TriangleArray
0
00
000
0000
00000
000000
0000000
00000000
000000000
0000000000
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Data Structures
Java 1.0 introduced two synchronized data
structures in the java.util package
Vector
A strechable (resizeable) array of Objects
Time to access an element is constant regardless of
position
Time to insert element is proportional to the size of the
vector
In Java 2 (eg JDK 1.2 and later), use ArrayList
Hashtable
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Stores key-value pairs as Objects
Neither the keys or values can be null
Time to access/insert is constant
In Java 2, use HashMap
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Useful Vector Methods
addElement/insertElementAt/setElementAt
Add elements to the vector
removeElement/removeElementAt
Removes an element from the vector
firstElement/lastElement
Returns a reference to the first and last element, respectively
(without removing)
elementAt
Returns the element at the specified index
indexOf
Returns the index of an element that equals the object specified
contains
Determines if the vector contains an object
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Basic Java Syntax
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Useful Vector Methods
elements
Returns an Enumeration of objects in the vector
Enumeration elements = vector.elements();
while(elements.hasMoreElements()) {
System.out.println(elements.nextElement());
}
size
The number of elements in the vector
capacity
The number of elements the vector can hold before
becoming resized
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Basic Java Syntax
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Useful Hashtable Methods
put/get
Stores or retrieves a value in the hashtable
remove/clear
Removes a particular entry or all entries from the hashtable
containsKey/contains
Determines if the hashtable contains a particular key or element
keys/elements
Returns an enumeration of all keys or elements, respectively
size
Returns the number of elements in the hashtable
rehash
Increases the capacity of the hashtable and reorganizes it
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Basic Java Syntax
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Collections Framework
Additional data structures added by Java 2
Platform
Collection
Map
HashMap
Hashtable
Set
HashSet
SortedSet
List
ArrayList
LinkedList
Vector
SortedMap
TreeMap
TreeSet
Interface
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Basic Java Syntax
Concrete class
Synchronized
Access
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Collection Interfaces
Collection
Abstract class for holding groups of objects
Set
Group of objects containing no duplicates
SortedSet
Set of objects (no duplicates) stored in ascending order
Order is determined by a Comparator
List
Physically (versus logically) ordered sequence of objects
Map
Stores objects (unordered) identified by unique keys
SortedMap
Objects stored in ascending order based on their key value
Neither duplicate or null keys are permitted
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Basic Java Syntax
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Collections Class
Use to create synchronized data structures
List list = Collection.synchronizedList(new ArrayList());
Map map =
Collections.synchronizedMap(new HashMap());
Provides useful (static) utility methods
sort
Sorts (ascending) the elements in the list
max, min
Returns the maximum or minimum element in the
collection
reverse
Reverses the order of the elements in the list
shuffle
Randomly permutes the order of the elements
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Basic Java Syntax
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Wrapper Classes
Each primitive data type has a
corresponding object (wrapper class)
Primitive
Data Type
byte
short
int
long
float
double
char
boolean
Corresponding
Object Class
Byte
Short
Integer
Long
Float
Double
Character
Boolean
The data is stored as an immutable field of the object
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Basic Java Syntax
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Wrapper Uses
Defines useful constants for each data type
For example,
Integer.MAX_VALUE
Float.NEGATIVE_INFINITY
Convert between data types
Use parseXxx method to convert a String to the
corresponding primitive data type
try {
String value = "3.14e6";
Double d = Double.parseDouble(value);
} catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
System.out.println("Can't convert: " + value);
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Wrappers: Converting Strings
Data Type
byte
new
short
new
int
new
long
new
float
new
double
new
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Basic Java Syntax
Convert String using either
Byte.parseByte(string )
Byte(string ).byteValue()
Short.parseShort(string )
Short(string ).shortValue()
Integer.parseInteger(string )
Integer(string ).intValue()
Long.parseLong(string )
Long(string ).longValue()
Float.parseFloat(string )
Float(string ).floatValue()
Double.parseDouble(string )
Double(string ).doubleValue()
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Error Handling: Exceptions
In Java, the error-handling system is based
on exceptions
Exceptions must be handed in a try/catch block
When an exception occurs, process flow is immediately
transferred to the catch block
Basic Form
try {
statement1;
statement2;
...
} catch(SomeException someVar) {
handleTheException(someVar);
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Exception Hierarchy
Simplified Diagram of Exception Hierarchy
Throwable
Exception
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Basic Java Syntax
IOException
Error
RuntimeException
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Throwable Types
Error
A non-recoverable problem that should not be caught
(OutOfMemoryError, StackOverflowError, )
Exception
An abnormal condition that should be caught and handled
by the programmer
RuntimeException
Special case; does not have to be caught
Usually the result of a poorly written program (integer
division by zero, array out-of-bounds, etc.)
A RuntimeException is considered a bug
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Basic Java Syntax
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Multiple Catch Clauses
A single try can have more that one catch
clause
try {
...
} catch
// Do
} catch
// Do
}
(ExceptionType1 var1) {
something
(ExceptionType2 var2) {
something else
If multiple catch clauses are used, order them from the
most specific to the most general
If no appropriate catch is found, the exception is
handed to any outer try blocks
If no catch clause is found within the method, then the
exception is thrown by the method
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Basic Java Syntax
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Try-Catch, Example
...
BufferedReader in = null;
String lineIn;
try {
in = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("book.txt"));
while((lineIn = in.readLine()) != null) {
System.out.println(lineIn);
}
in.close();
} catch (FileNotFoundException fnfe ) {
System.out.println("File not found.");
} catch (EOFException eofe) {
System.out.println("Unexpected End of File.");
} catch (IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("IOError reading input: " + ioe);
ioe.printStackTrace(); // Show stack dump
}
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The finally Clause
After the final catch clause, an optional
finally clause may be defined
The finally clause is always executed,
even if the try or catch blocks are exited
through a break, continue, or return
try {
...
} catch (SomeException someVar) {
// Do something
} finally {
// Always executed
}
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Basic Java Syntax
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Thrown Exceptions
If a potential exception is not handled in the
method, then the method must declare that
the exception can be thrown
public SomeType someMethod(...) throws SomeException {
// Unhandled potential exception
...
}
Note: Multiple exception types (comma separated) can be
declared in the throws clause
Explicitly generating an exception
throw new IOException("Blocked by firewall.");
throw new MalformedURLException("Invalid protocol");
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Basic Java Syntax
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Summary
Loops, conditional statements, and array
access is the same as in C and C++
String is a real class in Java
Use equals, not ==, to compare strings
You can allocate arrays in one step or in two
steps
Vector or ArrayList is a useful data
structure
Can hold an arbitrary number of elements
Handle exceptions with try/catch blocks
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Basic Java Syntax
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core
programming
Questions?
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2001-2003 Marty Hall, Larry Brown: http://www.corewebprogramming.com
