Java Language Basics

This chapter is from the book 

You’ve already learned that objects store their state in fields. However, the Java programming language uses the term variable as well. The first section of this chapter discusses this relationship, plus variable naming rules and conventions, basic data types (primitive types, character strings, and arrays), default values, and literals.

The second section describes the operators of the Java programming language. It presents the most commonly used operators first and the less commonly used operators last. Each discussion includes code samples that you can compile and run.

Operators may be used for building expressions, which compute values; expressions are the core components of statements, and statements may be grouped into blocks. The third section discusses expressions, statements, and blocks using example code that you’ve already seen.

The final section describes the control flow statements supported by the Java programming language. It covers the decision-making, looping, and branching statements that enable your programs to conditionally execute particular blocks of code.

Note that each section contains its own questions and exercises to test your understanding.

Variables

As you learned in the previous chapter, an object stores its state in fields:

int cadence = 0;
int speed = 0;
int gear = 1;

In Chapter 2, the section “What Is an Object?” introduced you to fields, but you probably have still a few questions, such as, What are the rules and conventions for naming a field? Besides int, what other data types are there? Do fields have to be initialized when they are declared? Are fields assigned a default value if they are not explicitly initialized? We’ll explore the answers to such questions in this chapter, but before we do, there are a few technical distinctions you must first become aware of. In the Java programming language, the terms field and variable are both used; this is a common source of confusion among new developers because both often seem to refer to the same thing. The Java programming language defines the following kinds of variables:

• Instance variables (nonstatic fields). Technically speaking, objects store their individual states in “nonstatic fields”—that is, fields declared without the static keyword. Nonstatic fields are also known as instance variables because their values are unique to each instance of a class (to each object, in other words); for example, the currentSpeed of one bicycle is independent of the currentSpeed of another.
• Class variables (static fields). A class variable is any field declared with the static modifier; this tells the compiler that there is exactly one copy of this variable in existence, regardless of how many times the class has been instantiated. For example, a field defining the number of gears for a particular kind of bicycle could be marked as static since conceptually the same number of gears will apply to all instances. The code static int numGears = 6; would create such a static field. Additionally, the keyword final could be added to indicate that the number of gears will never change.
• Local variables. Similar to how an object stores its state in fields, a method will often store its temporary state in local variables. The syntax for declaring a local variable is similar to declaring a field (e.g., int count = 0;). There is no special keyword designating a variable as local; that determination comes entirely from the location in which the variable is declared—which is between the opening and closing braces of a method. As such, local variables are only visible to the methods in which they are declared; they are not accessible from the rest of the class.
• Parameters. You’ve already seen examples of parameters, both in the Bicycle class and in the main method of the “Hello World!” application. Recall that the signature for the main method is public static void main(String[] args). Here, the args variable is the parameter to this method. The important thing to remember is that parameters are always classified as variables, not fields. This applies to other parameter-accepting constructs as well (such as constructors and exception handlers) that you’ll learn about later in the chapter.

That said, the remainder of the chapters use the following general guidelines when discussing fields and variables. If we are talking about fields in general (excluding local variables and parameters), we may simply use the term fields. If the discussion applies to all of the above, we may simply use the term variables. If the context calls for a distinction, we will use specific terms (such as static field or local variables) as appropriate. You may also occasionally see the term member used as well. A type’s fields, methods, and nested types are collectively called its members.

Naming

Every programming language has its own set of rules and conventions for the kinds of names that you’re allowed to use, and the Java programming language is no different. The rules and conventions for naming your variables can be summarized as follows:

• Variable names are case sensitive. A variable’s name can be any legal identifier—an unlimited-length sequence of Unicode letters and digits, beginning with a letter, the dollar sign ($), or the underscore character (_). The convention, however, is to always begin your variable names with a letter, not $ or _. Additionally, the dollar sign character, by convention, is never used at all. You may find some situations where autogenerated names will contain the dollar sign, but your variable names should always avoid using it. A similar convention exists for the underscore character; while it’s technically legal to begin your variable’s name with _, this practice is discouraged. White space is not permitted.
• Subsequent characters may be letters, digits, dollar signs, or underscore characters. Conventions (and common sense) apply to this rule as well. When choosing a name for your variables, use full words instead of cryptic abbreviations. Doing so will make your code easier to read and understand. In many cases, it will also make your code self-documenting; fields named cadence, speed, and gear, for example, are much more intuitive than abbreviated versions, such as s, c, and g. Also keep in mind that the name you choose must not be a keyword or reserved word.
• If the name you choose consists of only one word, spell that word in all lowercase letters. If it consists of more than one word, capitalize the first letter of each subsequent word. The names gearRatio and currentGear are prime examples of this convention. If your variable stores a constant value, such as static final int NUM_GEARS = 6, the convention changes slightly, capitalizing every letter and separating subsequent words with the underscore character. By convention, the underscore character is never used elsewhere.

Primitive Data Types

The Java programming language is statically typed, which means that all variables must first be declared before they can be used. This involves stating the variable’s type and name, as you’ve already seen:

int gear = 1;

Doing so tells your program that a field named gear exists, holds numerical data, and has an initial value of 1. A variable’s data type determines the values it may contain plus the operations that may be performed on it. In addition to int, the Java programming language supports seven other primitive data types. A primitive type is predefined by the language and is named by a reserved keyword. Primitive values do not share state with other primitive values. The eight primitive data types supported by the Java programming language are as follows:

1. The byte data type is an 8-bit signed two’s complement integer. It has a minimum value of – 128 and a maximum value of 127 (inclusive). The byte data type can be useful for saving memory in large arrays, where the memory savings actually matters. It can also be used in place of int where its limits help clarify your code; the fact that a variable’s range is limited can serve as a form of documentation.
2. The short data type is a 16-bit signed two’s complement integer. It has a minimum value of –32,768 and a maximum value of 32,767 (inclusive). As with byte, the same guidelines apply: you can use a short to save memory in large arrays in situations where the memory savings actually matter.
3. By default, the int data type is a 32-bit signed two’s complement integer, which has a minimum value of – 2³¹ and a maximum value of 2³¹ – 1. In Java SE 8 and later, you can use the int data type to represent an unsigned 32-bit integer, which has a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2³² – 1. The Integer class also supports unsigned 32-bit integers. Static methods like compareUnsigned and divideUnsigned have been added to the Integer class to support arithmetic operations for unsigned integers.¹
4. The long data type is a 64-bit two’s complement integer. The signed long has a minimum value of –2⁶³ and a maximum value of 2⁶³ – 1. In Java SE 8 and later, you can use the long data type to represent an unsigned 64-bit long, which has a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2⁶⁴ – 1. Use this data type when you need a range of values wider than those provided by the int data type. The Long class also contains methods like compareUnsigned and divideUnsigned to support arithmetic operations for unsigned long values.²
5. The float data type is a single-precision 32-bit IEEE 754 floating-point value. Its range of values is beyond the scope of this discussion but is specified in the Floating-Point Types, Formats, and Values section of the Java Language Specification.³ As with the recommendations for the byte and short data types, use a float (instead of double) value if you need to save memory in large arrays of floating-point numbers. This data type should never be used for precise values, such as currency. For that, you will need to use the java.math.BigDecimal class instead.⁴ Chapter 9 covers BigDecimal and other useful classes provided by the Java platform.
6. The double data type is a double-precision 64-bit IEEE 754 floating-point value. Its range of values is beyond the scope of this discussion but is specified in the Floating-Point Types, Formats, and Values section of the Java Language Specification.⁵ For decimal values, this data type is generally the default choice. As mentioned previously, this data type should never be used for precise values, such as currency.
7. The boolean data type has only two possible values: true and false. Use this data type for simple flags that track true/false conditions. This data type represents one bit of information, but its “size” isn’t something that’s precisely defined.
8. The char data type is a single 16-bit Unicode character. It has a minimum value of '\u0000' (or 0) and a maximum value of '\uffff' (or 65,535 inclusive).

In addition to the eight primitive data types, the Java programming language also provides special support for character strings through the java.lang.String class.⁶ Enclosing your character string within double quotes will automatically create a new String object—for example, String s = "this is a string";. String objects are immutable, which means that, once created, their values cannot be changed. The String class is not technically a primitive data type, but considering the special support given to it by the language, you’ll probably tend to think of it as such. You’ll learn more about the String class in Chapter 9.

Default Values

It’s not always necessary to assign a value when a field is declared. Fields that are declared but not initialized will be set to a reasonable default by the compiler. Generally speaking, this default will be zero or null, depending on the data type. Relying on such default values, however, is generally considered bad programming style. Table 3.1 summarizes the default values for the above data types.

Table 3.1 Default Values for Data Types

Data type	Default value (for fi elds)
byte	0
short	0
int	0
long	0L
float	0.0f
double	0.0d
boolean	false
char	'\u0000'
String (or any object)	null

Local variables are slightly different; the compiler never assigns a default value to an uninitialized local variable. If you cannot initialize your local variable where it is declared, make sure to assign it a value before you attempt to use it. Accessing an uninitialized local variable will result in a compile-time error.

Literals

You may have noticed that the new keyword isn’t used when initializing a variable of a primitive type. Primitive types are special data types built into the language; they are not objects created from a class. A literal is the source code representation of a fixed value; literals are represented directly in your code without requiring computation. As shown here, it’s possible to assign a literal to a variable of a primitive type:

boolean result = true;
char capitalC = 'C';
byte b = 100;
short s = 10000;
int i = 100000;

Integer Literals

An integer literal is of type long if it ends with the letter L or l; otherwise, it is of type int. It is recommended that you use the uppercase letter L because the lowercase letter l is hard to distinguish from the digit 1.

Values of the integral types byte, short, int, and long can be created from int literals. Values of type long that exceed the range of int can be created from long literals. Integer literals can be expressed by these number systems:

• Decimal. Base 10, whose digits consist of the numbers 0 through 9 (This is the number system you use every day.)
• Hexadecimal. Base 16, whose digits consist of the numbers 0 through 9 and the letters A through F
• Binary. Base 2, whose digits consists of the numbers 0 and 1

For general-purpose programming, the decimal system is likely to be the only number system you’ll ever use. However, if you need to use another number system, the following example shows the correct syntax. The prefix 0x indicates hexadecimal and 0b indicates binary:

// The number 26, in decimal
int decVal = 26;
// The number 26, in hexadecimal
int hexVal = 0x1a;
// The number 26, in binary
int binVal = 0b11010;

Floating-Point Literals

A floating-point literal is of type float if it ends with the letter F or f; otherwise, its type is double and it can optionally end with the letter D or d. The floating-point types (float and double) can also be expressed using E or e (for scientific notation), F or f (32-bit float literal), and D or d (64-bit double literal, which is the default and by convention is omitted).

double d1 = 123.4;
// same value as d1, but in scientific notation
double d2 = 1.234e2;
float f1 = 123.4f;

Character and String Literals

Literals of types char and String may contain any Unicode (UTF-16) characters. If your editor and file system allow it, you can use such characters directly in your code. If not, you can use a Unicode escape, such as '\u0108' (for a capital C with circumflex,Ĉ) or "S\u00ED Se\u00F1or" (for Sí Señor in Spanish). Always use ‘single quotes’ for char literals and “double quotes” for String literals. Unicode escape sequences may be used elsewhere in a program (such as in field names, for example), not just in char or String literals.

The Java programming language also supports a few special escape sequences for char and String literals: \b (backspace), \t (tab), \n (line feed), \f (form feed), \r (carriage return), \" (double quote), \' (single quote), and \\ (backslash).

There’s also a special null literal that can be used as a value for any reference type. You may assign null to any variable except variables of primitive types. There’s little you can do with a null value beyond testing for its presence. Therefore, null is often used in programs as a marker to indicate that some object is unavailable.

Finally, there’s also a special kind of literal called a class literal, formed by taking a type name and appending .class (e.g., String.class). This refers to the object (of type Class) that represents the type itself.

Using Underscore Characters in Numeric Literals

Any number of underscore characters (_) can appear anywhere between digits in a numerical literal. This feature enables you, for example, to separate groups of digits in numeric literals, which can improve the readability of your code.

For instance, if your code contains numbers with many digits, you can use an underscore character to separate digits in groups of three, similar to how you would use a punctuation mark like a comma or a space as a separator.

The following example shows other ways you can use the underscore in numeric literals:

long creditCardNumber = 1234_5678_9012_3456L;
long socialSecurityNumber = 999_99_9999L;
float pi = 3.14_15F;
long hexBytes = 0xFF_EC_DE_5E;
long hexWords = 0xCAFE_BABE;
long maxLong = 0x7fff_ffff_ffff_ffffL;
byte nybbles = 0b0010_0101;
long bytes = 0b11010010_01101001_10010100_10010010;

You can place underscores only between digits; you cannot place underscores in the following places:

• At the beginning or end of a number
• Adjacent to a decimal point in a floating-point literal
• Prior to an F or L suffix
• In positions where a string of digits is expected

The following examples demonstrate valid and invalid underscore placements (which are bold) in numeric literals:

// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// adjacent to a decimal point
float pi1 = 3_.1415F;
// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// adjacent to a decimal point
float pi2 = 3._1415F;
// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// prior to an L suffix
long socialSecurityNumber1 = 999_99_9999_L;

// OK (decimal literal)
int x1 = 5_2;
// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// At the end of a literal
int x2 = 52_;
// OK (decimal literal)
int x3 = 5_______2;

// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// in the 0x radix prefix
int x4 = 0_x52;
// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// at the beginning of a number
int x5 = 0x_52;
// OK (hexadecimal literal)
int x6 = 0x5_2;
// Invalid: cannot put underscores
// at the end of a number
int x7 = 0x52_;

Arrays

An array is a container object that holds a fixed number of values of a single type. The length of an array is established when the array is created. After creation, its length is fixed. You have seen an example of arrays already, in the main method of the “Hello World!” application. This section discusses arrays in greater detail.

Each item in an array is called an element, and each element is accessed by its numerical index. As shown in the preceding illustration, numbering begins with 0. The ninth element, for example, would therefore be accessed at index 8.

The following program, ArrayDemo, creates an array of integers, puts some values in the array, and prints each value to standard output:

class ArrayDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // declares an array of integers
        int[] anArray;

        // allocates memory for 10 integers
        anArray = new int[10];

        // initialize first element
        anArray[0] = 100;
        // initialize second element
        anArray[1] = 200;
        // and so forth
        anArray[2] = 300;
        anArray[3] = 400;
        anArray[4] = 500;
        anArray[5] = 600;
        anArray[6] = 700;
        anArray[7] = 800;
        anArray[8] = 900;
        anArray[9] = 1000;

        System.out.println("Element at index 0: "
                           + anArray[0]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 1: "
                           + anArray[1]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 2: "
                           + anArray[2]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 3: "
                           + anArray[3]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 4: "
                           + anArray[4]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 5: "
                           + anArray[5]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 6: "
                           + anArray[6]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 7: "
                           + anArray[7]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 8: "
                           + anArray[8]);
        System.out.println("Element at index 9: "
                           + anArray[9]);
    }
}

Here is the output from this program:

Element at index 0: 100
Element at index 1: 200
Element at index 2: 300
Element at index 3: 400
Element at index 4: 500
Element at index 5: 600
Element at index 6: 700
Element at index 7: 800
Element at index 8: 900
Element at index 9: 1000

In a real-world programming situation, you would probably use one of the supported looping constructs to iterate through each element of the array, rather than write each line individually as in the preceding example. However, the example clearly illustrates the array syntax. You will learn about the various looping constructs (for, while, and do-while) later in the “Control Flow” section.

Declaring a Variable to Refer to an Array

The preceding program declares an array (named anArray) with the following code:

// declares an array of integers
int[] anArray;

Like declarations for variables of other types, an array declaration has two components: the array’s type and the array’s name. An array’s type is written as type[], where type is the data type of the contained elements; the brackets are special symbols indicating that this variable holds an array. The size of the array is not part of its type (which is why the brackets are empty). An array’s name can be anything you want, provided that it follows the rules and conventions as previously discussed in the “Naming” section. As with variables of other types, the declaration does not actually create an array; it simply tells the compiler that this variable will hold an array of the specified type. Similarly, you can declare arrays of other types:

byte[] anArrayOfBytes;
short[] anArrayOfShorts;
long[] anArrayOfLongs;
float[] anArrayOfFloats;
double[] anArrayOfDoubles;
boolean[] anArrayOfBooleans;
char[] anArrayOfChars;
String[] anArrayOfStrings;

You can also place the brackets after the array’s name:

// this form is discouraged
float anArrayOfFloats[];

However, convention discourages this form; the brackets identify the array type and should appear with the type designation.

Creating, Initializing, and Accessing an Array

One way to create an array is with the new operator. The next statement in the ArrayDemo program allocates an array with enough memory for ten integer elements and assigns the array to the anArray variable:

// create an array of integers
anArray = new int[10];

If this statement is missing, then the compiler prints an error like the following and compilation fails:

ArrayDemo.java:4: Variable anArray may not have been initialized.

The next few lines assign values to each element of the array:

anArray[0] = 100; // initialize first element
anArray[1] = 200; // initialize second element
anArray[2] = 300; // and so forth

Each array element is accessed by its numerical index:

System.out.println("Element 1 at index 0: " + anArray[0]);
System.out.println("Element 2 at index 1: " + anArray[1]);
System.out.println("Element 3 at index 2: " + anArray[2]);

Alternatively, you can use the shortcut syntax to create and initialize an array:

int[] anArray = {
    100, 200, 300,
    400, 500, 600,
    700, 800, 900, 1000
};

Here the length of the array is determined by the number of values provided between braces and separated by commas.

You can also declare an array of arrays (also known as a multidimensional array) by using two or more sets of brackets, such as String[][] names. Each element, therefore, must be accessed by a corresponding number of index values.

In the Java programming language, a multidimensional array is an array whose components are themselves arrays. This is unlike arrays in C or Fortran. A consequence of this is that the rows are allowed to vary in length, as shown in the following MultiDimArrayDemo program:

class MultiDimArrayDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String[][] names = {
            {"Mr. ", "Mrs. ", "Ms. "},
            {"Smith", "Jones"}
        };
        // Mr. Smith
        System.out.println(names[0][0] + names[1][0]);
        // Ms. Jones
        System.out.println(names[0][2] + names[1][1]);
    }
}

Here is the output from this program:

Mr. Smith
Ms. Jones

Finally, you can use the built-in length property to determine the size of any array. The following code prints the array’s size to standard output:

System.out.println(anArray.length);

Copying Arrays

The System class has an arraycopy() method that you can use to efficiently copy data from one array into another:

public static void arraycopy(Object src, int srcPos,
                             Object dest, int destPos, int length)

The two Object arguments specify the array to copy from and the array to copy to. The three int arguments specify the starting position in the source array, the starting position in the destination array, and the number of array elements to copy.

The following program, ArrayCopyDemo, declares an array of char elements, spelling the word decaffeinated. It uses the System.arraycopy() method to copy a subsequence of array components into a second array:

class ArrayCopyDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        char[] copyFrom = { 'd', 'e', 'c', 'a', 'f', 'f', 'e',
                            'i', 'n', 'a', 't', 'e', 'd' };
        char[] copyTo = new char[7];

        System.arraycopy(copyFrom, 2, copyTo, 0, 7);
        System.out.println(new String(copyTo));
    }
}

Here is output from this program:

caffein

Array Manipulations

Arrays are a powerful and useful concept in programming. Java SE provides methods to perform some of the most common manipulations related to arrays. For instance, the ArrayCopyDemo example uses the arraycopy() method of the System class instead of manually iterating through the elements of the source array and placing each one into the destination array. This is performed behind the scenes, enabling the developer to use just one line of code to call the method.

For your convenience, Java SE provides several methods for performing array manipulations (common tasks such as copying, sorting, and searching arrays) in the java.util.Arrays class.⁷ For instance, the previous example can be modified to use the copyOfRange() method of the java.util.Arrays class, as you can see in the ArrayCopyOfDemo example. The difference is that using the copyOfRange() method does not require you to create the destination array before calling the method because the destination array is returned by the method:

class ArrayCopyOfDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        char[] copyFrom = {'d', 'e', 'c', 'a', 'f', 'f', 'e',
            'i', 'n', 'a', 't', 'e', 'd'};

        char[] copyTo = java.util.Arrays.copyOfRange(copyFrom, 2, 9);

        System.out.println(new String(copyTo));
    }
}

As you can see, the output from this program is the same (caffein), although it requires fewer lines of code.

Some other useful operations provided by methods in the java.util.Arrays class are as follows:

• Search an array for a specific value to get the index at which it is placed (the binarySearch() method).
• Compare two arrays to determine if they are equal or not (the equals() method).
• Fill an array to place a specific value at each index (the fill() method).
• Sort an array into ascending order. This can be done either sequentially, using the sort() method, or concurrently, using the parallelSort() method introduced in Java SE 8. Parallel sorting of large arrays on multiprocessor systems is faster than sequential array sorting.

Summary of Variables

The Java programming language uses both fields and variables as part of its terminology. Instance variables (nonstatic fields) are unique to each instance of a class. Class variables (static fields) are fields declared with the static modifier; there is exactly one copy of a class variable, regardless of how many times the class has been instantiated. Local variables store temporary state inside a method. Parameters are variables that provide extra information to a method; both local variables and parameters are always classified as variables (not fields). When naming your fields or variables, there are rules and conventions that you should (or must) follow.

The eight primitive data types are byte, short, int, long, float, double, boolean, and char. The java.lang.String class represents character strings.⁸ The compiler will assign a reasonable default value for fields of these types; for local variables, a default value is never assigned. A literal is the source code representation of a fixed value. An array is a container object that holds a fixed number of values of a single type. The length of an array is established when the array is created. After creation, its length is fixed.

Questions and Exercises: Variables

Questions

1. The term instance variable is another name for ___.
2. The term class variable is another name for ___.
3. A local variable stores temporary state; it is declared inside a ___.
4. A variable declared within the opening and closing parenthesis of a method signature is called a ___.
5. What are the eight primitive data types supported by the Java programming language?
6. Character strings are represented by the class ___.
7. An ___ is a container object that holds a fixed number of values of a single type.

Exercises

1. Create a small program that defines some fields. Try creating some illegal field names and see what kind of error the compiler produces. Use the naming rules and conventions as a guide.
2. In the program you created in Exercise 1, try leaving the fields uninitialized and print out their values. Try the same with a local variable and see what kind of compiler errors you can produce. Becoming familiar with common compiler errors will make it easier to recognize bugs in your code.

Answers

You can find answers to these questions and exercises at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/QandE/answers_variables.html.