Classes and Class Members

1. Chapter 3 Classes and Class Members

2. Public Interface • Contract between class and its clients to fulfill certain responsibilities • The client is an object that calls methods on another object or class. • The interface details what the class does, but not how it does it.

3. Private Implementation • The private implementation of a class is the detailed explanation of how the class does its work. • Clients do not know these details.

4. Encapsulation • A good contract promises a well-defined area of responsibility. • Each class should fully encapsulate (contain) all its responsibilities. • What the class does should be clear but the details of how it does it should be hidden.

5. What is data hiding? • Data hiding is a term used to indicate that a class’s internal state is hidden from its clients.

6. Delegation • A class should fulfill and restrict itself to one area of responsibility. • Classes should delegate outside responsibilities to other classes.

7. Class Fields • Class fields hold the class data. Each field has a type: • Intrinsic Types • The Java language defines eight intrinsic types • Java Library Types • User-Defined Types • Classes defined by the programmer

8. Public vs. Private Fields • The keywordspublic and private are referred to as access modifiers. • Use private keyword to hide field from clients. • Use public keyword to allow clients access to field.

9. Methods • Methods define the behavior of the class. • Methods can return a value: • Return type can be an intrinsic type or an object. • Use the keyword void if a value is not to be returned by the method. • Methods can accept parameters: • A parameter is an object you pass in to the method when you call it. • Parameters follow the same naming conventions as field names.

10. Accessor and Mutator Methods • Accessor methods return information • Typically named to indicate that a value is being returned: • getAge() • getAccountBalance() • Mutator methods modify the state of the object. • Typically named to indicate that a value is being changed: • setAge() • addDeposit()

11. Why Use Accessors and Mutators? • Follows the concept of data hiding • Allows the class designer to change how a method is implemented without rewriting clients

12. What is a constructor? • A constructor is a special method that creates an instance of your class.

13. Constructors • Constructors initialize objects with valid values. • Constructors have special rules: • May accept parameters • Never marked with a return type • A default constructor: • Takes no parameters • Is provided by the compiler if you do not provide one

14. Static Members • Static members belong to the class and are shared by all instances of the class. • Declared using the static keyword • Can be accessed without an instance of the class

15. Dot Operator • The dot operator indicates that a method or member field (right side of dot) belongs to the object or class (left side of dot). • ClassName.someStaticMemberField • ObjectName.someMethod()

16. The this Keyword • Is a self-reference to the current object • Provided only in instance methods, not in static methods