Fancy Parameters

Class parameters When you define a class, you typically give it parameters scala> class Point(val x: Double, val y: Double) defined class Point scala> val p = new Point(3.7, 4.2) p: Point = scala> p.x res11: Double = 3.7 Declaring a parameter with val makes the value accessible from outside the class Declaring a parameter with var makes it accessible and changeable from outside the class Use this with extreme care—basically, only when changing the value to some garbage value cannot cause an error Declaring a parameter with neither val nor var makes it private to the class (inaccessible from outside) Note: Objects created with object (rather than from a class) don’t take parameters 2

Arbitrary number of parameters A class can take an arbitrary number of parameters scala> class Stuff(val things: Int*) defined class Stuff scala> val s = new Stuff(3, 5, 7) s: Stuff = scala> s.things res15: Seq[Int] = WrappedArray(3, 5, 7) scala> for (n <- s.things) print(n + " ") The * notation can be used only on the last parameter Here’s an example of a nontrivial use: scala> var sum = 0; for (n <- s.things) sum += n sum: Int = 15 Later we’ll learn about better ways to do things like this 3

Methods can have an arbitrary number of parameters scala> def vocabulary(words: String*) { | println("The class of \"words\" is " + words.getClass) | for (word <- words) println(word) | } vocabulary: (words: String*)Unit scala> vocabulary("one", "two", "three") The class of "words" is class scala.collection.mutable.WrappedArray$ofRef one two three The type you get inside the method is a “WrappedArray,” but you can treat it as a list (or use.toList on it) 4

case classes When you declare a class as a case class, you get extra features You don’t have to use new to create one It has a better toString method (though maybe still not what you want) Its objects can be used in match expressions scala> case class Point(val x: Double, val y: Double) defined class Point scala> val p = Point(3.7, 4.2) p: Point = Point(3.7,4.2) scala> p match { | case Point(a, b) => s"It's a Point at $a, $b" | case _ => "It's not a Point" | } res21: String = It's a Point at 3.7, 4.2 You probably should only use case classes when you want the extra features, but there seems to be little harm in overusing them 5

Named arguments to a class scala> case class Card(suit: String, value: Int) defined class Card Notice that the above is a complete definition of a class To add features to a class, you need a { on the same line scala> val card = Card(value = 2, suit = "Clubs") card: Card = Card(Clubs,2) Notice that when using parameter names, the order of parameters does not matter 6

Named arguments to a method scala> def number(hundreds: Int, tens: Int, ones: Int) = | 100 * hundreds + 10 * tens + ones number: (hundreds: Int, tens: Int, ones: Int)Int scala> number(2, 3, 5) res2: Int = 235 scala> number(tens = 3, hundreds = 2, ones = 5) res3: Int = 235 scala> number(2, ones = 5, tens = 3) res4: Int = 235 When you use names for only some of the arguments, the named arguments must come after the ones in the correct position 7

Constructors When you define a class, you are writing a constructor A constructor is used to create new objects of a class Create a new object (or “instance”) with the word new You can omit the word new for a case class When you create an object, all the “loose” code in the constructor is executed scala> class Person(name: String) { | println("Creating person " + name) | def getName = name | } defined class Person scala> val jane = new Person("Jane") Creating person Jane jane: Person = scala> jane.getName res1: String = Jane 8

Auxiliary constructors You can have additional constructors defined within the “primary” constructor Use the word this as the name of the constructor The constructors must be different in the number or types of arguments The first thing any auxiliary constructor must do is call another constructor (again, using the word this ) scala> case class Person(val name: String, val age: Int) { | override def toString = s"$name is $age years old" | def this(name: String) { | this(name, 0) | println("It's a baby!") | } | } defined class Person scala> new Person("Jane", 23) res0: Person = Jane is 23 years old scala> new Person("Frank") It's a baby! res1: Person = Frank is 0 years old 9

The End