Chapter 2

Classes and Objects

 Introduction
Java is a true object-oriented language and therefore the underlying structure of all Java programs is classes
Classes: A class is a group of objects which have common properties.
• It is a template or blueprint from which objects are created.
• It is a logical entity. It can't be physical.
• Classes create objects and objects use methods to communicate between them.
• A class in Java can contain:
 Fields
 Methods
 Constructors
 Blocks
 Nested class and interface

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 Defining a class
 Java provides a reserved keyword class to define a class. The keyword must be followed by the
class name. Inside the class, we declare methods and variables.
 In general, class declaration includes the following in the order as it appears:
• Modifiers: A class can be public or has default access.
• Class keyword: The class keyword is used to create a class.
• Class name: The name must begin with an initial letter (capitalized by convention).
• Superclass (if any): The name of the class's parent (superclass), if any, preceded by the
keyword extends. A class can only extend (subclass) one parent.
• Body: The class body surrounded by braces, { }.

Syntax:
<access specifier> class class_name
{
// member variables
// class methods
}
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class classname {
type instance-variable1;
type instance-variable2;
// ...
type instance-variableN;
type methodname1(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
...
type methodnameN(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
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 What is an object in Java
There are 3 ways to initialize
object in Java.
Object 1. By reference variable
 A software bundle that has State and Behaviour. 2. By method
 An Object's state is stored in variables called fields. 3. By constructor
 An Object's behaviour is defined by its methods. Example: initialize by reference
 An object is the instance(result) of a class. class Student{
int id;
 An object is a real-world entity. String name;
 An object is a runtime entity. }
class TestStudent2{
Example 1: Dogs:
public static void main(String args[]){
States: name, color, breed, and “is hungry?”. Student s1=new Student();
s1.id=101;
Behaviors: bark, run, and wag tail
s1.name="Sonoo";
System.out.println(s1.id+" "+s1.name);
} }

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 Creating an Object
 An object in Java is essentially a block of memory that contains space to store all the instance variables.
 Creating an object also known as instantiating an object.
 The new operator creates an object of the specified class and returns a reference to that object.
 Syntax for object creation:
 classname objectname; //declares a variable to hold the object reference
 objectname = new classname( ); // Assigns the object reference to the variable
So basically an object is created from a class. In Java, the new key word is used to create new objects.
There are three steps when creating an object from a class:
♦ Declaration:- A variable declaration with a variable name with an object type.
♦ Instantiation:- The 'new' keyword is used to create the object.
♦ Initialization:- The 'new' keyword is followed by a call to a constructor. This call initializes the new object.

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Cont…;
Example:
Rectangle R1 = new Rectangle();

Action Statement Result

Declare Rectangle R1 null R1

Instantiate R1=new Rectangle () R1

R1 is a reference to Rectangle
Rectangle object object

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 Adding Variables (Fields)
 Data is encapsulated in a class by placing data fields inside the body of the class definition.
 These variables are called instance variables (member variables) because they are created when an object of

the class is instantiated.

 These variables are created exactly the same way as we declare local variables.

Example:

class Rectangle

int length;

int width;

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 Types of Variables
There are three types of variables in Java:-
1) Local Variable: A variable declared and used inside the body of the method
definitions.
2) Instance Variable
 A variable declared inside the class but outside the body of the method, is
called an instance variable. It is not declared as static.
 It is used to define attributes or state for a particular objects.
 The data, or variables, defined within a class are called instance variables.
 The methods and variables defined within a class are called members of the
class.
 It acted upon and accessed by the methods defined for that class.
3) Static variable

03/11/2025 A variable that is declared as static is called a static variable. It cannot
9 be
 Declaring Variables
 To use any variable in a Java program, you must first declare it. Variable declarations
consist of a type and a variable name:
int myAge;
 Variable names
• In Java can start with a letter, an underscore (_), or a dollar sign ($).
• A valid identifier must have characters [A-Z] or [a-z] or numbers [0-9], and
underscore(_) or a dollar sign ($).
• They cannot start with a number.
• After the first character, your variable names can include any letter or
number.
 Variable Type: The variable type can be one of three things:-
• One of the eight basic primitive data types
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• The name of a class
 Adding Methods
 A class with only data fields (and without methods that operate on that data) has no life.
 Methods are declared inside the body of the class but immediately after the declaration of
the instance variables.
 The general form of a method declaration is:

type methodname(parameter-list)
{
method-body;
}

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 Method declaration has four parts:

• Method name: is a valid identifier

• Data type: The type specifies the type value the method would return. It could be void type, if the method
does not return any value.

• Parameter-list: is always enclosed in parenthesis and contains variable names and types of all the values we
want to give to the method as input.

• The body of the method.

 Methods which act upon instance variables of a class are called instance methods.

 Instance variable is a variable whose separate copy is available in every object.

 Any modifications to instance variable in one object will not affect the instance variable of other objects.

 Instance methods can read and act upon static variables also.

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Class - Example
class Rectangle
{
int length, width;
void getData(int x, int y) // A method with two parameter
{
length=x;
width=y;
}
int rectArea() // A method with no parameter
{
return length*width;
}}
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 Methods and Message

Message

 Objects communicate with one another by sending messages.

 A message is a method call from a message-sending object to a message-receiving object.

A messagesending object is a sender while a message-receiving object is a receiver.

 An object responds to a message by executing one of its methods.

 Additional information, known as arguments, may accompany a method call.

 Such parameterization allows for added flexibility in message passing.

 The set of methods collectively defines the dynamic behavior of an object.

 An object may have as many methods as required.

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 Message Components: A message is composed of three components:

 An object identifier that indicates the message receiver,

 A method name (corresponding to a method of the receiver), and

 Arguments (additional information required for the execution of the method).

Method: Purchase ()
{

Benjamin as an Object Sean.takeOrder("Benjamin", "sofa", "1, Robinson Road",

"12 November")
Attributes: getBudget() {return budget}
 name = Benjamin

 address = 1, Robinson Road  "Benjamin", "stock", "address", "date" are arguments of the

 budget = 2000 message.

 Sean is the receiver of the message;

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 • takeOrder is a method call on Sean; 15
 Constructors
 Constructors are a special kind of methods that are invoked to construct objects.

 It calls a default constructor if there is no constructor available in the class. In such case, Java compiler

provides a default constructor by default.

 Note: It is called constructor because it constructs the values at the time of object creation. It is not

necessary to write a constructor for a class.

 It is possible to initialize objects, they are created by:-

 Using the dot operator

 The help of methods

 Java supports a special type of method, called a constructor, that enables an object to initialize itself when

it is created.
 Call the constructor(s) preceding it with the new keyword.
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 Rules with Constructors
There are rules defined for the constructor.
 Class name and constructor name should be the same. .
 Constructors have no return type
 Constructors should be public.
 Constructors cannot be inherited.
 They can be overloaded.
 Constructors are invoked using the new operator when an object is created. Constructors play the
role of initializing objects.
 A Java constructor cannot be abstract, static, final, and synchronized

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 Types of Java constructors

There are two types of constructors in Java:-

 Default constructor (no-arg constructor):
 is the type of constructor with out any
argument.
 The default constructor is used to provide
the default values to the object like 0, null,
etc., depending on the type
 Parameterized constructor:
 a constructor with one or more argument.
 The parameterized constructor is used to
provide different values to distinct objects.

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 Default Constructor Parameterized Constructor
Class Box
{ Class Box
double width;
{
double height; double width;
double depth; double height;
Box() // default constructor double depth;
Box(double w, double h, double d)
{ {
System.out.println("Constructing
width = w;
Box"); height = h;
width = 10; height = 10; depth =
depth = d;
10; }
}
double volume()
{
double volume()
return width * height * depth;
{ }
return width * height * depth; }
}
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 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.
 Can be used by any object to refer to itself in any class method.
 Typically used to class LightSwitch
{
► avoid variable name collisions boolean on;

► pass the receiver as an argument LightSwitch() {

this.on = true; //(same as
► chain constructors on=true;)
}

LightSwitch(boolean on) {
this.on = on;
}
}
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 Cascading Constructors
 A constructor can call another constructor with this(arguments)
class LightSwitch
{

boolean on;

LightSwitch() {
this(true);
}

LightSwitch(boolean on) {
this.on = on;
}
}

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 Parameter Passing
While working under calling process, arguments is to be passed. These should be in the same order as their
respective parameters in the method specification.
 Parameters can be passed
• By value : Calling a method with a parameter.Through this the argument value is passed to the parameter
• This method copies the value of an argument into the formal parameter of the subroutine.
• Therefore, changes made to the parameter of the subroutine have no effect on the argument. It's
to pass primitive data types values.
• By Reference:-
• In this method, a reference to an argument (not the value of the argument) is passed to the
parameter.
• To pass objects, changes made to the parameter will affect the argument used to call the
subroutine

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Example-1: Passing by value: change will no happen to instance variables ‘name’ and ‘idno’!

Drawback of Pass by Value:

 Inefficiency in storage allocation
 For objects and arrays, the copy
semantics are costly

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Example-1: Passing by reference: change will happen to instance variables ‘name’ and
‘idno’!

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 Access Modifiers
Access Modifiers are keywords that can be used to control the visibility of fields, methods, and constructors in
a class.
 In Java, the access modifiers are used for restricting the scope of a class and its data members, member
function, and constructor
 It used to specify the access levels for classes, variable, methods, and constructor.
 They are also known as visibility modifier.
 Access modifiers play an important in designing Java programs and Java applications.
 Java has the following access modifiers:
1. Private
2. Protected
3. Public
4. Default

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Default Access Modifier
• When we do not use any access specifier in the method declaration, Java uses default access specifier by
default.
• It is visible only from the same package only.
• The default modifier is accessible only within package
• It provides more visibility than private access modifier.
• But, it is more restricted than protected and public access modifiers.
• The class, data members, and member functions that we defined without using access modifiers can be
accessed only within the same package.
• Outside of the current package, we cannot use the classes and methods.

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Example

Here, two classes are with default access

modifier. If they reside in two different
directories, then the Class A is not
accessible to Class B and vice-versa.
However, if they reside in the same
directory, then there will be no error!

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 Suppose, there are two packages, say pack 1
and pack 2.
Here, Class A and Class B are declared as
default and we are accessing the Class A from
outside its package, since Class A is default, so
it cannot be accessed from any outside
package.

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 Private Access Modifier
 The private access modifier is accessible only within class.
 Methods, Variables and Constructors that are declared private can only be accessed within the declared
class itself.
 Private access modifier is the most restrictive access level.
 Class and interfaces cannot be private.
 Variables that are declared private can be accessed outside the class if public getter methods are present in
the class.
 Role of Private Constructor
 If you make any class constructor private, you cannot create the instance of that class from outside
the class.

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 Public Access Modifier
 A class, method, constructor, interface etc declared public can be accessed from any other class.
 However if the public class we are trying to access is in a different package, then the public class still need
to be imported.
 Because of class inheritance, all public methods and variables of a class are inherited by its subclasses.
 We can access the methods and variables of a class from anywhere in the program, which is declared as
public.
 In simple words, no restriction is allowed on the scope of public data members.

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 Protected Access Modifier
The protected access modifier is accessible within package and outside the package but through
inheritance only.
Variables, methods and constructors which are declared protected in a superclass can be accessed only by
the subclasses in other package or any class within the package of the protected members' class.
The protected access modifier cannot be applied to class and interfaces.
Methods, fields can be declared protected, however methods and fields in a interface cannot be declared
protected.
Protected access gives the subclass a chance to use the helper method or variable, while preventing a
nonrelated class from trying to use it.

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 Access Control and Inheritance:
The following rules for inherited methods are enforced:
♦ Methods declared public in a superclass also must be public in all subclasses.
♦ Methods declared protected in a superclass must either be protected or public in
subclasses; they cannot be private.
♦ Methods declared without access control (no modifier was used) can be declared
more private in subclasses.
♦ Methods declared private are not inherited at all, so there is no rule for them.

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 Encapsulation
Encapsulation is the technique of making the fields in a class private and providing access to the fields via public
methods.
 If a field is declared private, it cannot be accessed by anyone outside the class, thereby hiding the fields
within the class.
 The main benefit of encapsulation is the ability to modify our implemented code without breaking the
code of others who use our code.
 With this feature Encapsulation gives maintainability, flexibility and extensibility to our code

Benefits of encapsulation
 The fields of a class can be made read-only or write-only.
 A class can have total control over what is stored in its fields.
 The users of a class do not know how the class stores its data.
 A class can change the data type of a field and users of the class do not need to change any of their code.

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