Core Java

Access Specifiers, Methods &

Constructors

LEVEL PRACTITIONER

About the Author

Created By:

Sangeetha Mohan(139944)

Credential
Information:

Associate - Projects

Version and
Date:

1.0, December 20th 2011

ognizant Certified Official Curriculum

Icons Used

Questions

Tools

Coding
Standard
s

Test Your
Understan
ding

Demonstrati
on

Best
Practices
& Industry
Standards

Hands on
Exercise

Case
Study

Worksho
p

Objectives
After completing this chapter you will be able to:
Apply Access Modifiers
Develop a java method
Explain encapsulation
Overload a method
Use static keyword
Understand Constructors
Overload the constructor

Access Modifier

In my Facebook Profile page, I do not wish

to share some personal information like my
age. But, I would like to share my email
id with my friends and I would like
everyone to be able to access my
school/university details. How do I do
this?

FaceBookProfile

Face book application has

features where users can
select what level of access to
be provided to their profile
information.

No access: Age
private access:
EmailId
Public access:
School

How is access level defined in Java?

Similarly when developing java application developers

needs to secure their methods/ variables by defining
different access level.
This is achieved using Access Modifiers"

What is Access Modifier?

What are access modifiers?
The scope of a variable/methods can be defined by using access
modifiers.

Access
Modifie
rs

Public

Private

Protect
ed

Default

Analogy to the Facebook Example:

School details can be made public (can be accessed by any class)
Age can be made private (to be accessed only by the same class)
Email Id can be left as default (to be accessed only by the classes in
same package)
7

Public access
What is public access?
Public access specifies that the class members (variables or
methods) are accessible to anyone, both inside and outside the
class and outside of the package.
Syntax: public <method/variable name>
Example:
Public variable:
public int x = 0;
Public Method:
public addNumbers(int x, int y){
// some code here
}
8

Public access
Illustration for public access:
Assume there are 3 java classes A, B, and C
Classes A & B are in the same package where as Class C is in a
different package
Class A has a public variable
Class B will be able to access the public variable in Class A
Class C will be able to access the public variable in Class A

C
public

Same Package

Another Package
9

Private access
What is private access?
Private access specifies that class member are only accessible by the
class in which they are defined. Cannot be accessed by any other class.
Syntax : private <variable/method name>

Example:
Private variable:
private int x = 0;
Private Method:
private addNumbers(int x, int y){
// some code here
}
10

Private access
Illustration for private access:
Taking the same example illustrated before
Class A has a private variable
Class B will not be able to access the private variable in Class A
Class C will not be able to access the private variable in Class A
Only methods in class A can access the private variable in Class
A.

C
privat
e

Same Package

Another Package
11

Protected access
What is protected access?
Protected access specifies that the class members/methods are
accessible to only the methods in that class, classes from same
package and the subclasses of the class. The subclass can be in
any package
Syntax: protected <variable/method name>
Example:
Protected variable:
protected int x = 0;
Protected Method:
protected addNumbers(int x, int y){
// some code here
}

12

Protected access
Illustration for protected access:
Class A has a protected variable.
Protected variable in Class A can be accessed by Class B in the
same package
It can be accessed by class D since Class D is a subclass of Class
A
It cannot be accessed by class C since class C is in a different
package and is not a sub class of class A.

B
A

extends A

protect
ed
Same Package

Another Package
13

Default access
What is default access?
Default/No access specifies that only classes in the same package
can have access to the variables and methods of the other class
No keyword is required for the default modifier and it is applied in the
absence of an access modifier.

B
A

C
defaul
t
Same Package

Another

Package
14

Code Example
Public access
Protected
to
school
Default/no
access
to
variable
access to
employerNam
Private
access
emailId
e variable
to age
variable
Public
access to
variable
getSchool
Protected
access to
method
getEmployerName
(Everyone
method can
(Packageaccess)
& subclass
Default/no
access to
access)
getEmailId method
(Package
accessto
Private access
only)
getAge
method
(Access
within class only)
15

Modifiers in a nutshell

Access
Modifiers

Same
Class

Same
Package

Subclass

Other
packages

public

Protected

No access
modifier

Private

Public and private are the commonly used

access specifiers in projects.
16

Time To Reflect

Associates to reflect the following topics before proceeding.

Why do you need access modifiers?
What are the types of access modifiers?
A method declared protected can it be accessed from other class
residing in another package?
A variable declared private can it be accessed from other class residing
in the same package?
What is the access specifiers used to prevent sub classes accessing the
methods and variables?
17

Methods
What is a method?
A method is a set of statements to perform a desired functionality which
can be included inside a java class.
This set of statements can be called (invoked) at any point in the program
by using the method name.
Example: main method in class A invokes method
add in class B and method multiply in class C.

ClassB{
add(){
//write code
here

ClassA{
public static void
main{
Statement 1
add();
Statement 2
multiply();
}
}

}
}

ClassC{
multiply(){
// write code
here
}
}

18

Method Declaration
How to declare a method?
Syntax:
<modifier> <returnType> <methodName>(<parameter>*) {
<statement>*
}
Example:
public int add(int x, int y){
int sum = x+y;
return sum;
}
is the parameter or
arguments
passed to this
is the name
ofthe
thestatements
is
is the access method. These values
is themethod.
<returnType>
is
This
the
can
result
beinside
any
value the
that
present
<modifier> that
are
used
inside
the
that meaningful
indicatesisthe
being
word
datasent
that back
to
method
perform
specifies the visibility
ofAny that
method.
number
of
type describes
of the return
the
the
calling
value.
purpose
method
of
the actual
function
the method. arguments
can
be
the method
passed

19

Encapsulation
What is encapsulation?

The actual medicine is

hidden inside the
capsule. The patient is
not aware of the
contents of the
medicine.

20

What is Encapsulation?
What is Encapsulation?
Encapsulation is one of the fundamental OOP concepts
It is the protective barrier that prevents the data in a class from
being directly accessed by the code outside the class.
Access to the data and code is tightly controlled by using an
interface.
Example: In Face book people dont share their age information.

21

How is Encapsulation achieved?

How is Encapsulation done?
The fields in a class are made private so that it cannot be
accessed by anyone outside the class.
Hence encapsulation is also called Data Hiding.
The fields can be accessed only by using the public methods in
the class.
Encapsulated data is accessed using the Accessor (getter) and
Mutator (setter) methods.
Accessors Methods to retrieve the hidden data.
Mutators Methods to change hidden data.

22

When encapsulation used?

Encapsulation are used to create value or transfer objects.
Transfer objects are used to logically bundle the related data and
transferring it to another object.
Example: EmployeeVO variables like employeeId, salary
will be encapsulated and exposed using getters/setters.
VO stands for Value Object.
Confusing, you will learn more about value objects
during your design pattern session.

23

Lend a Hand - Encapsulation

Let us look at an example of encapsulation,
In our FaceBook profile, we would like to hide the age, marital status and phone number
information to the external world. This can be done using encapsulation where the fields are
made private and can be accessed only by the accessor and mutator methods.

The public methods are access

points to the fields of this class.
Hence, any class that wants to
access the variables should
access them through these
getters and setters

24

Lend a Hand - Encapsulation

The variables of the EncapTest can be accessed as follows

The fields are set using the

setter (Mutator) methods.
The values are got
using the getter
(Accessor) methods.

25

Returning values from a method

How to return from a method?
A method returns a value using the return keyword.
Syntax:
return <return Value>;
Where,
<return Value> denotes the variable whose value needs to be returned.
The datatype of the return Value must match the data type specified in
the method declaration.
i.e. You cannot return an integer variable value from a method which is
declared to return a boolean.
Returning control: If the method execution needs to be stopped and
the control needs to be sent back to the calling method simply use the
return keyword without the variable.
Syntax: return;
26

Return from a method

Multiple Return Statements:
A method can have multiple return statements
You can use constants as return values instead of variables
Below is an example of a code having multiple return statements

A constant value is being returned

Returning a variable value

NOTE: It is NOT a good practice to have multiple return statements

from a method.
Let us look at a solution to fix this Best Practice violation in the next
slide !!

27

Return from a method

Best Practice: A method should have only one return statement

Value stored in a variable and

returned from a single point

28

Lend a hand - Methods

Let us all develop a program with a method invocation
1. Create a Java class Square.java with a method
calculateArea
2. This method should accept length as an argument, calculate
the area and return the area.
3. The main method should invoke the Square objects
calculateArea method by passing a value for the length,
say 20.
4. The main method should also print the area (result).

29

Lend a hand - Solution

Solution:

30

Time To Reflect

Associates to reflect the following topics before proceeding.

What is a method?
What are the building block elements of the method?
What is encapsulation?
How is a variable encapsulated?
How can we transfer the execution control to the calling method?
Can we have multiple return statements from a method?
31

Method Overloading
What is method overloading?
Let us recollect what we learnt in the Introduction to OOPS session

Implementation 1:
makeSound()
{
Bark woof woof
}

Implementation 2:
makeSound(injured) // Added input
parameter, overloaded method.
{
Make a whining sound.
}

Yes, You got It

If not, go to the next slide for the definition !!
32

Method Overloading
What is method overloading?
Two different versions of the same method available in the same
class.
This can be done by changing the input parameter .
Example: The method add has been overloaded below,

33

Lend a Hand - Method Overloading

Let us all create 4 overloaded methods for test() and invoke all versions of
the overloaded methods !!

34

Lend a Hand - Method Overloading

Create another class Overload.java which has a main method to call the
overloaded methods in OverloadDemo.java

35

Static keyword
Static keyword:
The static keyword is used before a method or variable (similar to an
access modifier).
Examples:
variable: private static int x = 0;
method: public static add(){
// some code here
}

Dictionary Definition of static:

Changeless, motionless

36

Static keyword
What is a static member?
Static variables are global variables, which is shared by all the
instances of the class.
Static means that there will only be only one instance of that object
in the class.
It is not required to create an instance of the object to access the
static method or variable.
Where is it used?
Static variables are used in singleton implementation. You will
learn more about this during the design pattern session.

37

Lend a hand static variable

Let us all understand static variables using an example. Develop the
code and look at out static is different from a normal variable.

38

Lend a hand Understanding static variable

The output of the program is below.

Reason:
Before s1 is created, X = 0 and Y = 3;
When s1 is created, X = 1 and Y = 8 (as per logic inside constructor)
When s2 is created, X = 2 since the value of X does not change with
every instance. The value of X is shared across all instances.
But Y = 8 (since a new object of Y is created and incremented by 5.
Similarly, when s3 is created, X = 3 and Y = 8

39

What is a static method?

What is a static method?
A "static" method belongs to the class, not to any particular instance. In
other words, static methods can be invoked using the class name

Where is it used?
Static methods are used in singleton implementation. You will
learn more about this during the design pattern session.

40

Lend a hand - static method

Let us develop the following code and get accustomed to static method
declaration and invocation. The static method getStudentCount() can be
accessed directly using class name.

41

Time To Reflect

Associates to reflect the following topics before proceeding.

What is method overloading?
What are ways by which you can overload methods?
What is a static variable?
How is a static method invoked?

42

Constructor
What is a constructor?
A constructor is a special method used for creating an object of a
class and initializing its instance variables
Constructors should have the same name as the class
It should not have any return, not even void.
It is not mandatory for the developer to write a constructor.
If constructor is not defined by developer java will use the
default constructor to create objects.
43

Default Constructor
Default Constructor (no-arg constructor):

A constructor with no parameters

If the class does not specify any constructors, then an implicit

default constructor is automatically called by the JVM.
Syntax:

Default
Constructor

44

Overloading Constructors
What is overloaded constructor?
A default constructor with one or more arguments is called a
overloaded constructor

How to overload constructors?

Step 1: Create a method with the same name as the class name
Step 2: Do not provide any return type for the method created
Step 3: Add required number of arguments for the constructor
(method) to create an overloaded constructor
Step 4: Any number of overloaded constructors can be created for
a class.

45

Lend a Hand How to overload constructor?

Lets all create this class and overload the constructors

as illustrated.
Default Constructor

Overloaded Constructors

Objects instantiated using

different constructors

46

this Reference
The this keyword:
this refer to the current object instance itself.
It can be used for only instance variables and not for static or class
variables
It is used for also invoking the overloaded constructors.
It is used to access the instance variables shadowed by the parameters
in methods. Typically used with the encapsulated field.
Example: A method calculateTax has a parameter salary, also the
class has the instance variable salary. In the method if we refer using
this keyword it means we are referring to instance variable.
Syntax:
this.<name of instance variable>
this.<constructor Name><arguments>
47

this Reference Example

The member variables

are being referred using
the this key word.

48

Chaining Constructor call using this()

Chaining Constructor Calls:

Constructor calls can be chained, which mean you can call another
constructor from a constructor of the same class.
You can use this() for invoking constructors from other constructor
of a class.
There are a few things to remember when using this() method
constructor call:
When using this() constructor call, it must occur as the first
statement in a constructor.
The this() call can then be followed by any other statements.

49

this() Constructor call

Example of constructor chaining using this() reference

The overloaded constructor is being

invoked by the default constructor using
this()

50

Time To Reflect

Associates to reflect the following topics before proceeding.

What is a constructor?
How to overload constructor?
Can a constructor have return value?
What is chaining of constructors? How can it be
implemented?

51

Core Java

You have successfully

completed Access Specifiers, methods
& Constructors