1. Applying OO Concepts Using Java

2. In this class, we will cover:
Overriding a method
Overloading a method
Constructors
Mutator and accessor methods
The import statement and using prewritten classes
Packages and the protected access modifier
The finalize() method

3. Overriding a Method Overriding:
If you declare a variable within a class, and use the same variable name within a method of the class, then the variable used inside the method takes precedence, or overrides, the first variable

4. Overloading a Method Overloading:
Involves using one term to indicate diverse meanings
Writing multiple methods with the same name, but with different arguments
Overloading a Java method means you write multiple methods with a shared name
This is polymorphism in action.

5. Constructors Constructors are a special type of method.
Used to create an instance of the class.
e.g. Employee e = new Employee( ); This calls the Employee constructor.
Java automatically provides a constructor method when you create a class
Programmers can write their own constructor classes
Programmers can also write constructors that receive arguments
Such arguments are often used for initialization purposes when values of objects might vary

6. Overloading Constructors
If you create a class from which you instantiate objects, Java automatically provides a constructor
But, if you create your own constructor, the automatically created constructor no longer exists
As with other methods, you can overload constructors
Overloading constructors provides a way to create objects with or without initial arguments, as needed

7. Example of Overloading a Constructor
public class Employee { public Employee (String n, double a) { name = n; salary = a; } public Employee ( ) { name = “ “; salary = 0; } }

8. Mutator and Accessor Methods
Often referred to as get/set methods.
Mutator methods modify fields in a class.
Example: public void setName (String n) { empName = n; }
Accessor methods retrieve fields in a class
Example: public String class getName () { return empName; }
Be careful not to return mutatable objects in your accessor methods. Why is this important?

9. Mutator and Accessor Methods
Returning mutatable objects in public accessor methods breaks encapsulation!!!!
Even if the data element is private, outside classes can now modify it.
You should return immutable objects (Strings, ints, etc).
If you must return a reference to a mutatable object, you should clone it first.
See pg. 112 in book for example of this rogue code.

10. The finalize() Method Inherited from the Object class.
Called by the VM before an object is destroyed and it’s memory is released
Use it to release resources that might not otherwise be released (e.g. files)
Use it to record the fact that an object has been destroyed

11. The Import Statement and Using Pre-written Classes
The creators of Java wrote nearly 500 classes
For example:
System, Character, Boolean, Byte, Short, Integer, Long, Float, and Double are classes
These classes are stored in packages, or a library of classes, which is a folder that provides a convenient grouping for classes

12. The Import Statement and Using Pre-written Classes
java.lang – The package that is implicitly imported into every Java program and contains fundamental classes, or basic classes
Fundamental classes include:
System, Character, Boolean, Byte, Short, Integer, Long, Float, and Double
Optional classes – Must be explicitly named

13. The Import Statement and Using Pre-written Classes
To use any of the prewritten classes (other than java.lang):
Import the class OR
Import the package which contains the class you are using
To import an entire package of classes use the wildcard symbol - *
For example:
import java.util.*; //imports all java.util classes
import java.util.Vector; //imports the Vector class
Represents all the classes in a package

14. Packages
Creating packages encourages others to reuse software because it makes it convenient to import many related classes at once
Packages are used to:
maintain the uniqueness of class names
Using Packages in your programs prevent class name scope conflicts if multiple classes of the same name are used.
e.g. both java.util and java.sql have a Date class, so if you are using both packages you need to reference with java.util.Date or java.sql.Date.
group classes to make them more easily accessible to your classes
reference classes in a particular scope
What access modifier helps you limit access to packages?

15. Packages and the Protected Access Modifier
Provides you with an intermediate level of security between public and private access
Is used to limit access to classes within the same package
If you create a protected data field or method, it can be used:
within its own class
in any classes extended from that class
or in classes in the same package
but it cannot be used by “outside” classes

16. Putting Your Class in a Package
To include your class into a package, use the package statement
The package statement must appear outside the class definition
The package statement looks like this:
package <name of package>;
example: package MC697; class Person { }

17. Packages and Directory Structure
Packages map to the directory structure.
Example: package com.MC697; public class Test { public static void main (String[] args) { System.out.println(“Testing packages”); } }
This package statement maps to the directory: <base directory>/com/MC697 where base directory is the directory you are going to compile and execute the class file from

18. Compiling and Executing Using Packages
When using packages you must compile and run from the base directory.
So, let’s say c:\temp is the base directory we want to use. The file in the example should be saved to c:\temp\com\MC697\Test.java.
To compile:
cd to c:\temp javac com/MC697/Test.java
To execute:
cd to c:\temp java com.MC697.Test

19. Setting the Classpath
When using packages or classes outside the java. packages, you need to modify the classpath.
What is the classpath?
It is a environment variable that points the jvm to the needed class files.
How do you set the classpath?
You can set it using the -classpath option in the javac or java command.
This is temporary. You will need to do this every time you use those commands.
e.g. javac -classpath c:\user\classdir PackageTest.java java -classpath c:\user\classdir PackageTest
Another way is to modify the environment variable on your machine.
e.g. SET CLASSPATH=c:\com\MC697
Different operating systems have different ways of setting this variable.
See pg. 137 in book for examples of how to set this on different platforms.

20. JAR Files Jar files are Java’s version of the zip file.
They group packages and class files together in a unit to make it easier to deploy.
Can be viewed using Winzip or similar utility.
You can point your classpath variable to jar’s that contain needed classes.
e.g. SET CLASSPATH=c:\j2sdk1.4.1\jre\lib\rt.jar;%CLASSPATH%

21. Javadocs Javadocs are documentation for class files.
Javadoc is a utility built into the sdk to automatically build documentation from the java files.
e.g. javadoc VectorDemo.java
Remember the /** …. */ documentation symbols?
These are used to denote documentation comments.
Put these before a method or field to include comments about these in the javadocs.
Special tags can be used:
@author
@version
@param for methods
See pg. 139 in book for more information