COMP1409:

Introduction to Software
Development I
Lesson 2
Learning Outcomes: Lesson 2
• Comments
• Visibility modifiers (“access modifiers”)
• Methods: return types and parameters
• if statements
• null
• Constructors
• Parameters
• Assignment statement =
• Logical operators
• Relational operators > >= < <= == !=
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Comments
• Comments are ignored by the Java compiler.
• They are used as “notes” for developers.
• There are two categories of comments, and three “styles”.

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JavaDoc Comments
• JavaDoc comments are marked /** with two asterisks */
• These notes get published in documents created by Java.
• JavaDoc-comment everything that is public.

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JavaDoc Comments

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JavaDoc Comments

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Visibility modifiers
• Visibility modifiers are also called access modifiers.
• Instance variables, methods, and constructors can be declared as
public or private (there are also other modifiers, to be discussed
later).
• We will always make our instance variables private.
• We will make our classes and constructors public.
• We will make some methods public, others private.
• private means “accessible only from within this class”.
• public means “accessible from any class”.
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Visibility modifiers

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Methods: return types and parameters
• A method is an instruction, a function, a verb.
• Java methods can take input (parameters) and give output (return).
• An example could be:

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Methods: return types and parameters
• Since this method is public it needs JavaDoc comments on top of it.

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Methods: return types and parameters
• Methods should be named as verbs.
• If a particular method doesn’t need to return anything, its return type
is “void”.
• Example: public void returnNothing(){
}

• Notice that this method also didn’t need any inputs.

• Inputs are called parameters or arguments.

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 Methods: return types and parameters
• A method signature includes:
• modifier return-type name(parameters)
• Examples:
public boolean isStudentEnrolled(String studentID)
private void doSomething(double a, int b, char c)
public double getAverage(double num1, double num2, double num3)
private char doSomethingElse()

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 Methods: return types and parameters
public boolean isStudentEnrolled(String studentID)
private void doSomething(double a, int b, char c)
public double getAverage(double num1, double num2, double num3)
private char doSomethingElse()

• Call those methods later:

• isStudentEnrolled(“a00123456”)
• doSomething(5.5, 4, ‘c’)
• getAverage(1.0, 2.2, 3.4)
• doSomethingElse()

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Methods: return types and parameters
• Note: a method must return data of the specified return type, or it
will not even compile.

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Methods
• Much more on methods, coming next lesson.

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if statements
• One way for a Java program to make decisions is to use “if
statements”.
• Example:

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if statements
• if statements are very often accompanied by an (optional) else
statement.
• In between these, there
may be zero, one, or many
else if statements also.

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null
• null means “no object” (or “no reference”…more on that later) for
object / reference data types.
• Not relevant for primitive data types.

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Constructors
• A constructor in a class has the exact same name as the class.
• It is called automatically when an object is created.
• Its job is to ensure that the instance variables are set to
proper/normal/valid/sensible initial values.
• A constructor should not be marked private.

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Constructors
• Remember, the
default value for
an int is 0 and for
a String is null.
• We don’t want to
allow the creation
of a Movie object
which was
released before
1895, nor of a
movie whose title is
null.
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Constructor Parameters
• The Movie constructor takes two parameters.
public Movie(int theYearReleased, String theTitle)
• theYearReleased and theTitle are also known as “formal arguments”
• “Actual” arguments would be something like 1998 and “Harry Potter”,
for example:

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Constructor Parameters
• The constructor did its job.
• The “bad” data of 1800 was rejected.

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Assignment statement
• The equals sign = by itself does not mean equals.
• To say “equals” in Java, use two equals signs ==
• One equals sign alone assigns the value on the right side, to the
variable on the left side.

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Logical operators
• There are three logical operators: and, or, not.
• In general these are evaluated left to right, when they are put in
combination with one another.
• and is written as &&
today is Saturday && today is Sunday && today is Monday
• or is written as ||
today is Friday || today is Saturday || today is Sunday
• not is written as !
boolean x = true; x = !x; // x is now false
• Note: not equals is written as !=
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Relational operators

• == note: do not use with Strings or other objects; use .equals()

• != note: do not use with Strings or other objects; use !.equals()
• >=
• <=
•>
•<

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