Java Programming Keywords Summary

By I Wayan Saryada in Basic, Core API 0 Comment

Here are the summary of the available keywords in the Java programming language. Keywords are reserved words that already taken and internally used by Java, so we cannot create variables and name it using this keyword.

Keyword Meaning
abstract an abstract class or method
assert used to locate internal program errors
boolean the Boolean type
break breaks out of a switch or loop
byte the 8-bit integer type
case a case of a switch
catch the clause of a try block catching an exception
char the Unicode character type
class defines a class type
const not used
continue continues at the end of a loop
default the default clause of a switch
do the top of a do/while loop
double the double-precision floating-number type
Keyword Meaning
else the else clause of an if statement
enum define an enum type
extends defines the parent class of a class
final a constant, or a class or method that cannot be overridden
finally the part of a try block that is always executed
float the single-precision floating-point type
for a loop type
goto not used
if a conditional statement
implements defines the interface(s) that a class implements
import imports a package
instanceof tests if an object is an instance of a class
int the 32-bit integer type
interface an abstract type with methods that a class can implement
long the 64-bit long integer type
Keyword Meaning
native a method implemented by the host system
new allocates a new object or array
null a null reference
package a package of classes
private a feature that is accessible only by methods of this class
protected a feature that is accessible only by methods of this class, its children, and other classes in the same package
public a feature that is accessible by methods of all classes
return returns from a method
short the 16-bit integer type
static a feature that is unique to its class, not to objects of its class
strictfp Use strict rules for floating-point computations
super the superclass object or constructor
switch a selection statement
synchronized a method or code block that is atomic to a thread
this the implicit argument of a method, or a constructor of this class
Keyword Meaning
throw throws an exception
throws the exceptions that a method can throw
transient marks data that should not be persistent
try a block of code that traps exceptions
void denotes a method that returns no value
volatile ensures that a field is coherently accessed by multiple threads
while a while loop type

How do I compare string regardless of their case?

By I Wayan Saryada in Basic, Core API 0 Comment

Here is an example of comparing two strings for equality without considering their case sensitivity. To do this we can use equalsIgnoreCase() method of the String class. Let’s see an example below:

package org.kodejava.basic;

public class EqualsIgnoreCase {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String uppercase = "ABCDEFGHI";
        String mixed = "aBCdEFghI";

        // To compare two string equality regarding it case use the
        // String.equalsIgnoreCase method.
        if (uppercase.equalsIgnoreCase(mixed)) {
            System.out.println("Uppercase and Mixed equals.");
        }
    }
}

What’s needed to be prepared for learning Java programming?

By I Wayan Saryada in Basic, Core API 0 Comment

At the time you decided to start to learn Java Programming you can start by downloading the Java Development Kit (JDK) from Java Download website. There are three different types of JDK, the Java SE (Java Standard Edition), Java EE (Java Enterprise Edition), Java ME (Java Mobile Edition).

From the website you can also download the Java API documentations which will sure be your first companion when learning the language. It is better also to download the Java Tutorial Series that was written by the Java experts.

In the tutorial you can learn from the basic of Java programming, introduction of the fundamental of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) which is Java all about. Next you can also find trails in each subject of the API (Application Programming Interface) provided by Java library, such as the core package, how to communicate with a database, Java GUI programming, image manipulation, RMI, Java Beans Framework, etc.

When you want to write a code, you might wonder what editor or IDE you will need to use to start learning. A good text editor that supports a coloring will be a good candidate, colorful screen is better than just a black and white, isn’t it?

There are a lot of good text editor available today such as the VIM, NotePad++, TextPad, Editplus, UltraEdit. If you already have your preferred editor, you can use it of course.

If you’re ready for the big stuff, a bigger homework project, you might consider using an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) as you’ll be working with lots of Java classes, configuration files and build script for examples. There are many great IDE on the Java world from the free to the commercial product.

What IDE to use is really a developer decision, use whatever tools that can help you to improve your learning and programming activities. You can find IDE such as NetBeans, Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, etc.

Beside learning from the Java tutorials there are also many forums on the internet where you can discuss your doubts or your problems. Forums like JavaRanch, Stack Overflow are great forums with Java gurus that can help you to clarify your doubts and help you to solve your problem. Remember one thing when you ask for help, be polite, elaborate your problem clearly.

Good Java books on your desktop are good resources to study Java, from good books you can learn the nuts and bolts of the Java programming languages. When you have all your arsenal you can get the best out of you in learning Java. Have fun!

How do I get the command line arguments passed to the program?

By I Wayan Saryada in Basic, Core API 0 Comment

When we create a Java application we might want to pass a couple of parameters to our program. To get the parameters passed from the command line we can read it from the main(String[] args) method arguments.

To make a class executable we need to create a main() method with the following signatures:

public static void main(String[] args) {
}

This method takes an array of String as the parameter. This array is the parameters that we pass to the program in the command line.

package org.kodejava.basic;

public class ArgumentParsingExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
            System.out.println("Argument " + (i + 1) + " = " +
                    args[i]);
        }

        // If you want to check if the number of supplied parameters
        // meet the program requirement you can check the size of 
        // the arguments array.
        if (args.length < 3) {
            System.out.println(
                    "You must call the program as follow:");
            System.out.println(
                    "java org.kodejava.example.basic.ArgumentParsingExample arg1 arg2 arg3");

            // Exit from the program with an error status, for
            // instance we return -1 to indicate that this program 
            // exit abnormally
            System.exit(-1);
        }

        System.out.println("Hello, Welcome!");
    }
}

When we try to run the program without argument we will see the following message:

$ java org.kodejava.basic.ArgumentParsingExample
You must call the program as follow:
java org.kodejava.basic.ArgumentParsingExample arg1 arg2 arg3

And when we pass three arguments we get something like:

$ java org.kodejava.basic.ArgumentParsingExample param1 param2 param3
Argument 1 = param1
Argument 2 = param2
Argument 3 = param3
Hello, Welcome!

What is Autoboxing?

By I Wayan Saryada in Basic, Core API 0 Comment

Autoboxing is a new feature offered in the Tiger (1.5) release of Java SDK. In short auto boxing is a capability to convert or cast between object wrappers (Integer, Long, etc) and their primitive types.

Previously when placing primitive data into one of the Java Collection Framework object we have to wrap it to an object because the collection cannot work with primitive data. Also, when calling a method that requires an instance of object rather than an int or long, we have to convert it too.

Now, starting from version Java 1.5 we have a new feature in the Java Language which automate this process, its call the Autoboxing. When we place an int value into a collection, such as List, it will be converted into an Integer object behind the scene. When we read it back, it will automatically convert to the primitive type. In most way this simplifies the way we code, no need to do an explicit object casting.

Here an example how it will look like using the Autoboxing feature:

package org.kodejava.basic;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

public class Autoboxing {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<>();

        // Here we put an int into the Map, and it accepted
        // as it will be autoboxed or converted into the wrapper
        // of this type, in this case the Integer object.
        map.put("Age", 25);

        // Here we can just get the value from the map, no need
        // to cast it from Integer to int.
        int age = map.get("Age");

        // Here we simply do the math on the primitive type
        // and got the result as an Integer.
        Integer newAge = age + 10;
    }
}