Chapter 9 Objects and Classes

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 1
Motivations
After learning the preceding chapters, you are capable of
solving many programming problems using selections,
loops, methods, and arrays. However, these Java features
are not sufficient for developing graphical user interfaces
and large scale software systems. Suppose you want to
develop a graphical user interface (GUI) as shown below.
How do you program it?

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 2
Objectives
 To describe objects and classes, and use classes to model objects (§9.2).
 To use UML graphical notation to describe classes and objects (§9.2).
 To demonstrate how to define classes and create objects (§9.3).
 To create objects using constructors (§9.4).
 To access objects via object reference variables (§9.5).
 To define a reference variable using a reference type (§9.5.1).
 To access an object’s data and methods using the object member access operator (.) (§9.5.2).
 To define data fields of reference types and assign default values for an object’s data fields (§9.5.3).
 To distinguish between object reference variables and primitive data type variables (§9.5.4).
 To use the Java library classes Date, Random, and Point2D (§9.6).
 To distinguish between instance and static variables and methods (§9.7).
 To define private data fields with appropriate get and set methods (§9.8).
 To encapsulate data fields to make classes easy to maintain (§9.9).
 To develop methods with object arguments and differentiate between primitive-type arguments and
object-type arguments (§9.10).
 To store and process objects in arrays (§9.11).
 To create immutable objects from immutable classes to protect the contents of objects (§9.12).
 To determine the scope of variables in the context of a class (§9.13).
 To use the keyword this to refer to the calling object itself (§9.14).

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OO Programming Concepts
• Object-oriented programming enables you to
develop large-scale software and GUIs
effectively.
• Object-oriented programming (OOP) involves
programming using objects.
• An object represents an entity in the real world
that can be distinctly identified.
• For example, a student, a desk, a circle, a button,
and even a loan can all be viewed as objects.
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OO Programming Concepts
• An object has a unique identity, state, and
behaviors.
• The state of an object consists of a set of data
fields (also known as properties) with their
current values.
• The behavior of an object is defined by a set of
methods.

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Classes and Objects
• Objects of the same type are defined using a
common class.
• A class is a template, blueprint or contract
that defines what an object’s data fields and
methods will be.
• An object is an instance of a class.
• You can create many instances of a class.

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Classes and Objects
• Creating an instance is referred to as
instantiation.
• The terms object and instance are often
interchangeable.
• The relationship between classes and
objects is analogous to that between an
apple-pie recipe and apple pies: You can
make as many apple pies as you want from
a single recipe.
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Objects
Class Name: Circle A class template

Data Fields:
radius is _______

Methods:
getArea

Circle Object 1 Circle Object 2 Circle Object 3 Three objects of

the Circle class
Data Fields: Data Fields: Data Fields:
radius is 10 radius is 25 radius is 125

An object has both a state and behavior. The state

defines the object, and the behavior defines what
the object does.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 8
Classes
• Classes are constructs that define objects of the
same type.
• A Java class uses variables to define data fields
and methods to define behaviors.
• Additionally, a class provides a special type of
methods, known as constructors, which are
invoked to construct objects from the class.

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Classes
class Circle {
/** The radius of this circle */
double radius = 1.0; Data field

/** Construct a circle object */

Circle() {
}
Constructors
/** Construct a circle object */
Circle(double newRadius) {
radius = newRadius;
}

/** Return the area of this circle */

double getArea() { Method
return radius * radius * 3.14159;
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 10
Classes
• The Circle class is different from all of the
other classes you have seen thus far.
• It does not have a main method and
therefore cannot be run; it is merely a
definition for circle objects.
• The class that contains the main method
will be referred to in this book, for
convenience, as the main class.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 11
UML Class Diagram
• The illustration of class templates and
objects can be standardized using Unified
Modeling Language (UML) notation.

• This notation is called a UML class

diagram, or simply a class diagram.

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UML Class Diagram
• In the class diagram, the data field is denoted as
dataFieldName: dataFieldType

• The constructor is denoted as

ClassName(parameterName: parameterType)

• The method is denoted as

methodName(parameterName: parameterType): returnType

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UML Class Diagram
UML Class Diagram Circle Class name

radius: double Data fields

Circle() Constructors and

Circle(newRadius: double) methods
getArea(): double

circle2: Circle circle3: Circle UML notation

circle1: Circle
for objects
radius = 1.0 radius = 25 radius = 125

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 14
Example: Defining Classes and
Creating Objects

Objective: Demonstrate creating objects,

accessing data, and using methods.

TestSimpleCircle

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Example: TestSimpleCircle.java
• The program contains two classes.
• TestSimpleCircle
• SimpleCircle
• You can put the two classes into one file, but only one class in the file
can be a public class.
• The public class must have the same name as the file name.
• Each class in the source code is compiled into a .class file.

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SimpleCircle.java
1 public class SimpleCircle {
2 /** Main method */
3 public static void main(String[] args) {
4 // Create a circle with radius 1
5 SimpleCircle circle1 = new SimpleCircle();
6 System.out.println("The area of the circle of radius “ + circle1.radius + " is " +
7 circle1.getArea());
8 }
9
10 double radius;
11
12 /** Construct a circle with radius 1 */
13 SimpleCircle() {
14 radius = 1;
15 }
16
17 /** Construct a circle with a specified radius */
18 SimpleCircle(double newRadius) {
19 radius = newRadius;
20 }
21
22 /** Return the area of this circle */
23 double getArea() {
24 return radius * radius * Math.PI;
25 } }
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015
Example: Defining Classes and Creating Objects
TV
channel: int The current channel (1 to 120) of this TV.
volumeLevel: int The current volume level (1 to 7) of this TV.
on: boolean Indicates whether this TV is on/off.

The + sign indicates +TV() Constructs a default TV object.

a public modifier.
+turnOn(): void Turns on this TV.
The constructor and +turnOff(): void Turns off this TV.
methods in the TV
+setChannel(newChannel: int): void Sets a new channel for this TV.
class are defined
public so they can be +setVolume(newVolumeLevel: int): void Sets a new volume level for this TV.
accessed from other Increases the channel number by 1.
+channelUp(): void
classes.
+channelDown(): void Decreases the channel number by 1.
+volumeUp(): void Increases the volume level by 1.
+volumeDown(): void Decreases the volume level by 1.

TV

TestTV
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Constructors
Constructors are a special
Circle() { kind of methods that are
} invoked to construct objects.

Circle(double newRadius) {
radius = newRadius;
}

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Constructors, cont.
• A constructor with no parameters is referred to
as a no-arg 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.
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Creating Objects Using
Constructors
new ClassName();

Example:
new Circle();

new Circle(5.0);

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Default Constructor
• A class may be defined without constructors.
• In this case, a no-arg constructor with an empty
body is implicitly defined in the class.
• This constructor, called a default constructor, is
provided automatically only if no constructors
are explicitly defined in the class.

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Declaring Object Reference Variables
To reference an object, assign the object to a reference
variable.

To declare a reference variable, use the syntax:

ClassName objectRefVar;

Example:
Circle myCircle;

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

Assign object reference Create an object

Example:
Circle myCircle = new Circle();

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 24
Accessing Object’s Members
 Referencing the object’s data:
objectRefVar.data
e.g., myCircle.radius

 Invoking the object’s method:

objectRefVar.methodName(arguments)
e.g., myCircle.getArea()

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 25
animation
Trace Code
Declare myCircle

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0); no value

myCircle
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100;

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 26
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0); no value

myCircle
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

Create a circle

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 27
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);

myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; Assign object reference : Circle

to myCircle
radius: 5.0

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 28
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle no value

Declare yourCircle

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 29
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle no value

: Circle
Create a new radius: 1.0
Circle object

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 30
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle reference value

Assign object reference

to yourCircle : Circle

radius: 1.0

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 31
animation

Trace Code, cont.

Circle myCircle = new Circle(5.0);
myCircle reference value
Circle yourCircle = new Circle();

yourCircle.radius = 100; : Circle

radius: 5.0

yourCircle reference value

: Circle
Change radius in radius: 100.0
yourCircle

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 32
Caution
Recall that you use
Math.methodName(arguments) (e.g., Math.pow(3, 2.5))

to invoke a method in the Math class. Can you invoke getArea() using
SimpleCircle.getArea()? The answer is no. All the methods used before
this chapter are static methods, which are defined using the static
keyword. However, getArea() is non-static. It must be invoked from an
object using

objectRefVar.methodName(arguments) (e.g., myCircle.getArea()).

More explanations will be given in the section on “Static Variables,

Constants, and Methods.”

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Reference Data Fields
The data fields can be of reference types. For example,
the following Student class contains a data field name of
the String type.

public class Student {

String name; // name has default value null
int age; // age has default value 0
boolean isScienceMajor; // isScienceMajor has default value false
char gender; // c has default value '\u0000'
}

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The null Value
• If a data field of a reference type does not
reference any object, the data field holds a
special literal value, null.
• null is a literal just like true and false.
• While true and false are Boolean literals, null is a
literal for a reference type.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 35
Default Value for a Data Field
The default value of a data field is null for a
reference type, 0 for a numeric type, false for a
boolean type, and '\u0000' for a char type.
However, Java assigns no default value to a local
variable inside a method.
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Student student1 = new Student();
System.out.println("name? " + student1.name);
System.out.println("age? " + student1.age);
System.out.println("isScienceMajor? " + student1.isScienceMajor);
System.out.println("gender? " + student.gender);
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 36
Example
Java assigns no default value to a local variable
inside a method.
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int x; // x has no default value
String y; // y has no default value
System.out.println("x is " + x);
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
}

Compile error: variable not initialized

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 37
Differences between Variables of
Primitive Data Types and Object Types
Created using new Circle()
Primitive type int i = 1 i 1

Object type Circle c c reference c: Circle

radius = 1

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 38
Copying Variables of Primitive
Data Types and Object Types
Primitive type assignment i = j

Before: After:

i 1 i 2

j 2 j 2

Object type assignment c1 = c2

Before: After:

c1 c1

c2 c2

c1: Circle C2: Circle c1: Circle C2: Circle

radius = 5 radius = 9 radius = 5 radius = 9

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 39
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
referenced. This object is known as garbage.
Garbage is automatically collected by JVM.

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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 JVM
will automatically collect the space if the
object is not referenced by any variable.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 41
Example#1: What is wrong in the following code?

class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
A a = new A(); // +

a.print();
}
}
class A {
String s;
A(String newS) {
s = newS;
}
public void print() {
System.out.print(s);
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 42
Example#2: What is the output of the following code?

public class A {
boolean x;
public static void main(String[] args)
{
A a = new A();
System.out.println(a.x);
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 43
The Date Class
Java provides a system-independent encapsulation of date
and time in the java.util.Date class. You can use the Date
class to create an instance for the current date and time and
use its toString method to return the date and time as a string.

java.util.Date
The + sign indicates
public modifer +Date() Constructs a Date object for the current time.
+Date(elapseTime: long) Constructs a Date object for a given time in
milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, GMT.
+toString(): String Returns a string representing the date and time.
+getTime(): long Returns the number of milliseconds since January 1,
1970, GMT.
+setTime(elapseTime: long): void Sets a new elapse time in the object.

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The Date Class Example
For example, the following code

java.util.Date date = new java.util.Date();

System.out.println(date.toString());

displays a string like Fri Dec 02 10:25:29

EET 2018

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 45
The Random Class
You have used Math.random() to obtain a random double
value between 0.0 and 1.0 (excluding 1.0). A more useful
random number generator is provided in the java.util.Random
class.
java.util.Random
+Random() Constructs a Random object with the current time as its seed.
+Random(seed: long) Constructs a Random object with a specified seed.
+nextInt(): int Returns a random int value.
+nextInt(n: int): int Returns a random int value between 0 and n (exclusive).
+nextLong(): long Returns a random long value.
+nextDouble(): double Returns a random double value between 0.0 and 1.0 (exclusive).
+nextFloat(): float Returns a random float value between 0.0F and 1.0F (exclusive).
+nextBoolean(): boolean Returns a random boolean value.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 46
The Random Class Example
If two Random objects have the same seed, they will generate
identical sequences of numbers. For example, the following
code creates two Random objects with the same seed 3.
Random random1 = new Random(3);
System.out.print("From random1: ");
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
System.out.print(random1.nextInt(1000) + " ");
Random random2 = new Random(3);
System.out.print("\nFrom random2: ");
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
System.out.print(random2.nextInt(1000) + " ");

From random1: 734 660 210 581 128 202 549 564 459 961
From random2: 734 660 210 581 128 202 549 564 459 961

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The Point2D Class
Java API has a conveninent Point2D class in the
javafx.geometry package for representing a point in a two-
dimensional plane.

Point2D
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Instance Variables, and Methods

Instance variables belong to a specific instance.

Instance methods are invoked by an instance of

the class.

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Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods
• Static Variables
• They are shared by all the instances of the class.
• They store values for the variables in a common memory
location.
• If one object changes the value of a static variable, all
objects of the same class are affected.

• Static Methods
• They are not tied to a specific object.
• They can be called without creating an instance of the
class.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 50
Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods (cont.)
• Constants in a class are shared by all objects of
the class. Thus, constants should be declared
as final static.
Example:
final static double PI = 3.14159265358979323846;

• Static methods and static data fields don’t

belong to a particular object.
• To declare static variables, constants, and
methods, use the static modifier.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 51
Static Variables, Constants,
and Methods, cont.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 52
Example of
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
numberOfObjects to track the number of
Circle objects created.
CircleWithStaticMembers

TestCircleWithStaticMembers
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 53
Example of Using Instance and Class
Variables and Method (cont.)
• Use ClassName.methodName(arguments) to invoke a static
method and ClassName.staticVariable to access a static
variable.

• This improves readability, because this makes the static method

and data easy to spot.
Example:
c1.numberOfObjects (line 27) and c2.numberOfObjects (line 30) are
better replaced by CircleWithStaticMembers.numberOfObjects.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 54
Static vs. Instance Methods

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 55
Example #3:

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Example #3 (cont.)

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 57
Common Design Error
• It is a common design error to define an instance method that should have been
defined as static. For example, the method factorial(int n) should be defined as
static, as shown next, because it is independent of any specific instance.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 58
Visibility Modifiers and
Accessor/Mutator Methods
By default, the class, variable, or method 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.
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The private modifier restricts access to within a class.
The default modifier restricts access to within a package.
The public modifier enables unrestricted access.
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The private modifier restricts access to within a class.
The default modifier restricts access to within a package.
The public modifier enables unrestricted access.
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NOTE
An object cannot access its private members, as shown in (b).
It is OK, however, if the object is declared in its own class, as
shown in (a).

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 62
Why Data Fields Should Be
private?
To protect data.

To make code easy to maintain.

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Data Field Encapsulation
• To prevent direct modifications of data
fields, you should declare the data fields
private, using the private modifier.
• This is known as data field encapsulation

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 64
Data Field Encapsulation (cont.)
• A private data field cannot be accessed by an
object from outside the class that defines
the private field.
• However, a client often needs to retrieve and
modify a data field.
• To make a private data field accessible, provide a
getter method to return its value.
• To enable a private data field to be updated,
provide a setter method to set a new value.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 65
Data Field Encapsulation (cont.)
• A getter method is also referred to as an
accessor and a setter to a mutator.
• A getter method has the following
signature:
public returnType getPropertyName()

• A setter method has the following signature:

public void setPropertyName(dataType
propertyValue)

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Example of
Data Field Encapsulation
Circle
The - sign indicates
private modifier -radius: double The radius of this circle (default: 1.0).
-numberOfObjects: int The number of circle objects created.

+Circle() Constructs a default circle object.

+Circle(radius: double) Constructs a circle object with the specified radius.
+getRadius(): double Returns the radius of this circle.
+setRadius(radius: double): void Sets a new radius for this circle.
+getNumberOfObjects(): int Returns the number of circle objects created.
+getArea(): double Returns the area of this circle.

CircleWithPrivateDataFields

TestCircleWithPrivateDataFields
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Passing Objects to Methods
 Passing by value for primitive type value
(the value is passed to the parameter)
 Passing by value for reference type value
(the value is the reference to the object)
 Any changes to the object that occur inside
the method body will affect the original
object that was passed as the argument
TestPassObject

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Passing Objects to Methods, cont.

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

• An array of objects is actually an array

of reference variables.
• So invoking circleArray[1].getArea()
involves two levels of referencing.
• circleArray references to the entire array.
• circleArray[1] references to a Circle
object.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 70
Array of Objects, cont.
Circle[] circleArray = new Circle[10];

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 71
Array of Objects, cont.
Summarizing the areas of the circles

TotalArea
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Immutable Objects and Classes

• If the contents of an object cannot be changed once the

object is created, the object is called an immutable object
and its class is called an immutable class.

• If you delete the set method in the Circle class, the class
would be immutable because radius is private and cannot
be changed without a set method.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 73
Immutable Objects and Classes
(cont.)
• A class with all private data fields and without mutators is
not necessarily immutable.

• For example, the following class Student has all private

data fields and no mutators, but it is mutable.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 74
Example public class BirthDate {
private int year;
public class Student {
private int month;
private int id;
private BirthDate birthDate; private int day;

public Student(int ssn, public BirthDate(int newYear,

int year, int month, int day) {
int newMonth, int newDay) {
id = ssn;
birthDate = new BirthDate(year, month, day); year = newYear;
} month = newMonth;
day = newDay;
public int getId() {
}
return id;
}
public void setYear(int newYear) {
public BirthDate getBirthDate() { year = newYear;
return birthDate;
}
}
} }

public class Test {

public static void main(String[] args) {
Student student = new Student(111223333, 1970, 5, 3);
BirthDate date = student.getBirthDate();
date.setYear(2010); // Now the student birth year is changed!
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 75
What Class is Immutable?

• For a class to be immutable,

• it must mark all data fields private and
• provide no mutator (setter) methods and
• no accessor methods that would return a reference
to a mutable data field object.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 76
Scope of Variables
• The scope of instance and static 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 initialized explicitly
before it can be used.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 77
Scope of Variables (cont.)
• If a local variable has the same name as a class’s variable, the local
variable takes precedence and the class’s variable with the same name
is hidden.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 78
The this Keyword
 The this keyword is the name of a reference that
refers to an object itself.
 One common use of the this keyword is
reference a class’s hidden data fields.
 Another common use of the this keyword to
enable a constructor to invoke another
constructor of the same class.
 this must be first statement in constructor
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 79
Reference the Hidden Data Fields
public class F { Suppose that f1 and f2 are two objects of F.
private int i = 5; F f1 = new F(); F f2 = new F();
private static double k = 0;
Invoking f1.setI(10) is to execute
void setI(int i) { this.i = 10, where this refers f1
this.i = i;
} Invoking f2.setI(45) is to execute
this.i = 45, where this refers f2
static void setK(double k) {
F.k = k;
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 80
Calling Overloaded Constructor
public class Circle {
private double radius;

public Circle(double radius) {

this.radius = radius;
} this must be explicitly used to reference the data
field radius of the object being constructed
public Circle() {
this(1.0);
} this is used to invoke another constructor
this must appear first in the constructor before any other statements
public double getArea() {
return this.radius * this.radius * Math.PI;
}
} Every instance variable belongs to an instance represented by this,
which is normally omitted
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 81
Example #4: What is wrong with each of
the following programs

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 82
Example #5:

Suppose that the class F is defined in (a). Let f be an instance of F.

Which of the statements in (b) are correct?

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 83
Example #6:
In the following code, radius is private in the Circle class, and myCircle is an
object of the Circle class. Does the highlighted code cause any problems? If so,
explain why.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 84
Example #7: Show the output of the
following code:

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 85
Example #8:What is wrong in the following code?

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, Global Edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2015 86