Chapter 6 Methods

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1
Opening Problem
Find the sum of integers from 1 to 10, from 20 to
30, and from 35 to 45, respectively.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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2
Problem
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 20; i <= 30; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 35; i <= 45; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " + sum);

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
3
Problem
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 20; i <= 30; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 35; i <= 45; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " + sum);

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
4
Solution
public static int sum(int i1, int i2) {
int sum = 0;
for (int i = i1; i <= i2; i++)
sum += i;
return sum; MethodDe Run
} mo

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " +
sum(1, 10));
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " +
sum(20, 30));
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " +
sum(35, 45));
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
5
Objectives
▪ To define methods with formal parameters (§6.2).
▪ To invoke methods with actual parameters (i.e., arguments)
(§6.2).
▪ To define methods with a return value (§6.3).
▪ To define methods without a return value (§6.4).
▪ To pass arguments by value (§6.5).
▪ To develop reusable code that is modular, easy to read, easy
to debug, and easy to maintain (§6.6).
▪ To use method overloading and understand ambiguous
overloading (§6.8).
▪ To determine the scope of variables (§6.9).
▪ To apply the concept of method abstraction in software
development (§6.10).

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
6
Defining Methods
A method is a collection of statements
that are grouped together to perform an
operation.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
7
Defining Methods
A method is a collection of statements
that are grouped together to perform an
operation.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
8
Method Signature
Method signature is the combination of the method
name and the parameter list.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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9
Formal Parameters
The variables defined in the method header are
known as formal parameters.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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10
Actual Parameters
When a method is invoked, you pass a value to the
parameter. This value is referred to as actual parameter
or argument.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
11
Return Value Type
A method may return a value. The returnValueType is
the data type of the value the method returns. If the
method does not return a value, the returnValueType is
the keyword void. For example, the returnValueType in
the main method is void.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
12
Calling Methods
Testing the max method
This program demonstrates calling a
method max to return the largest of the
int values

TestMax Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
13
animation

Calling Methods, cont.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
14
animation

Trace Method Invocation

i is now 5

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
15
animation

Trace Method Invocation

j is now 2

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
16
animation

Trace Method Invocation

invoke max(i, j)

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
17
animation

Trace Method Invocation

invoke max(i, j)
Pass the value of i to num1
Pass the value of j to num2

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
18
animation

Trace Method Invocation

declare variable result

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
19
animation

Trace Method Invocation

(num1 > num2) is true since
num1 is 5 and num2 is 2

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
20
animation

Trace Method Invocation

result is now 5

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
21
animation

Trace Method Invocation

return result, which is 5

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
22
animation

Trace Method Invocation

return max(i, j) and assign
the return value to k

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
23
animation

Trace Method Invocation

Execute the print statement

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
24
CAUTION
A return statement is required for a value-returning
method. The method shown below in (a) is logically
correct, but it has a compilation error because the Java
compiler thinks it possible that this method does not
return any value.

To fix this problem, delete if (n < 0) in (a), so that the

compiler will see a return statement to be reached
regardless of how the if statement is evaluated.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
25
Reuse Methods from Other
Classes
NOTE: One of the benefits of methods is for reuse.
The max method can be invoked from any class
besides TestMax. If you create a new class Test, you
can invoke the max method using ClassName.
methodName (e.g., TestMax.max).

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
26
Call Stacks

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All rights reserved.
27
animation

Trace Call Stack

i is declared and initialized

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
28
animation

Trace Call Stack

j is declared and initialized

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
29
animation

Trace Call Stack

Declare k

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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30
animation

Trace Call Stack

Invoke max(i, j)

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
31
animation

Trace Call Stack

pass the values of i and j to
num1 and num2

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
32
animation

Trace Call Stack

Declare result

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
33
animation

Trace Call Stack

(num1 > num2) is true

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
34
animation

Trace Call Stack

Assign num1 to result

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
35
animation

Trace Call Stack

Return result and assign it to

k

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
36
animation

Trace Call Stack

Execute print statement

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
37
void Method Example
This type of method does not return a value.
The method performs some actions.

TestVoidMetho Run
d
TestReturnGradeMet Run
hod

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
38
Passing Parameters
public static void nPrintln(String message, int n) {

for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)

System.out.println(message);
}
Suppose you invoke the method using
nPrintln(“Welcome to Java”, 5);
What is the output?

Suppose you invoke the method using

nPrintln(“Computer Science”, 15);
What is the output?

Can you invoke the method using

nPrintln(15, “Computer Science”);
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
39
Pass by Value

This program demonstrates passing

values to the methods.

Increment Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
40
Pass by Value

Testing Pass by value

This program demonstrates passing
values to the methods.

TestPassByValue Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
41
Pass by Value, cont.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
42
Modularizing Code
Methods can be used to reduce redundant
coding and enable code reuse. Methods
can also be used to modularize code and
improve the quality of the program.

PrimeNumberMethod Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
43
Overloading Methods
Overloading the max Method

public static double max(double num1, double

num2) {
if (num1 > num2)
return num1;
else
return num2;
}

TestMethodOverload Run
ing

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
44
Ambiguous Invocation
Sometimes there may be two or more
possible matches for an invocation of
a method, but the compiler cannot
determine the most specific match.
This is referred to as ambiguous
invocation. Ambiguous invocation is a
compile error.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
45
Ambiguous Invocation
public class AmbiguousOverloading {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(max(1, 2));
}

public static double max(int num1, double num2) {

if (num1 > num2)
return num1;
else
return num2;
}

public static double max(double num1, int num2) {

if (num1 > num2)
return num1;
else
return num2;
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
46
Scope of Local Variables
A local variable: a variable defined
inside a method.
Scope: the part of the program where
the variable can be referenced.
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.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
47
Scope of Local Variables,
cont.
You can declare a local variable with
the same name multiple times in
different non-nesting blocks in a
method, but you cannot declare a
local variable twice in nested blocks.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
48
Scope of Local Variables,
cont.
A variable declared in the initial action part of a
for loop header has its scope in the entire loop.
But a variable declared inside a for loop body has
its scope limited in the loop body from its
declaration and to the end of the block that
contains the variable.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
49
Scope of Local Variables,
cont.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
50
Scope of Local Variables,
//
cont.
Fine with no errors
public static void correctMethod() {
int x = 1;
int y = 1;
// i is declared
for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
x += i;
}
// i is declared again
for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
y += i;
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
51
Scope of Local Variables,
cont.
// With errors
public static void incorrectMethod() {
int x = 1;
int y = 1;
for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
int x = 0;
x += i;
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
52
Method Abstraction
You can think of the method body as a
black box that contains the detailed
implementation for the method.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
53
Benefits of Methods
• Write a method once and reuse it
anywhere.
• Information hiding. Hide the
implementation from the user.
• Reduce complexity.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
54
Case Study: Generating
Random Characters, cont.
a random lowercase letter is
(char)('a' + Math.random() * ('z' - 'a' + 1))

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
55
The RandomCharacter Class
// RandomCharacter.java: Generate random characters
public class RandomCharacter {
/** Generate a random character between ch1 and ch2 */
public static char getRandomCharacter(char ch1, char ch2) {
return (char)(ch1 + Math.random() * (ch2 - ch1 + 1));
}

/** Generate a random lowercase letter */

public static char getRandomLowerCaseLetter() {
return getRandomCharacter('a', 'z');
}

/** Generate a random uppercase letter */

public static char getRandomUpperCaseLetter() {
return getRandomCharacter('A', 'Z');
}

/** Generate a random digit character */

public static char getRandomDigitCharacter() {
return getRandomCharacter('0', '9'); RandomCharacter
}

/** Generate a random character */ TestRandomCharacte

public static char getRandomCharacter() { r
return getRandomCharacter('\u0000', '\uFFFF'); Run
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
56