CHAPTE

R4
Loops and
Files

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

 Chapter Topics
Chapter 4 discusses the following main topics:
– The Increment and Decrement Operators
– The while Loop
– Using the while Loop for Input Validation
– The do-while Loop
– The for Loop
– Running Totals and Sentinel Values

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 Chapter Topics
Chapter 4 discusses the following main topics:
– Nested Loops
– The break and continue Statements
– Deciding Which Loop to Use
– Introduction to File Input and Output
– Generating Random Numbers with the Random
class

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 The Increment and Decrement Operators
• There are numerous times where a variable must
simply be incremented or decremented.
number = number + 1;
number = number – 1;

• Java provide shortened ways to increment and

decrement a variable’s value.
• Using the ++ or -- unary operators, this task can be
completed quickly.
number++; or ++number;
number--; or --number;

• Example: IncrementDecrement.java
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 Differences Between Prefix and Postfix
• When an increment or decrement are the only
operations in a statement, there is no difference
between prefix and postfix notation.
• When used in an expression:
– prefix notation indicates that the variable will be
incremented or decremented prior to the rest of the equation
being evaluated.
– postfix notation indicates that the variable will be
incremented or decremented after the rest of the equation
has been evaluated.
• Example: Prefix.java

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 The while Loop
• Java provides three different looping structures.
• The while loop has the form:
while(condition)
{
statements;
}
• While the condition is true, the statements will execute
repeatedly.
• The while loop is a pretest loop, which means that it
will test the value of the condition prior to executing
the loop.

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 The while Loop
• Care must be taken to set the condition to false
somewhere in the loop so the loop will end.
• Loops that do not end are called infinite loops.
• A while loop executes 0 or more times. If the
condition is false, the loop will not execute.
• Example: WhileLoop.java

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 The while loop Flowchart

true
boolean
statement(s)
expression?

false

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 Infinite Loops
• In order for a while loop to end, the condition must
become false. The following loop will not end:
int x = 20;
while(x > 0)
{
System.out.println("x is greater than 0");
}
• The variable x never gets decremented so it will
always be greater than 0.
• Adding the x-- above fixes the problem.

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 Infinite Loops

• This version of the loop decrements x

during each iteration:
int x = 20;
while(x > 0)
{
System.out.println("x is greater than 0");
x--;
}

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 Block Statements in Loops
• Curly braces are required to enclose block
statement while loops. (like block if
statements)

while (condition)
{
statement;
statement;
statement;
}

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 The while Loop for Input Validation
• Input validation is the process of ensuring that user
input is valid.
System.out.print("Enter a number in the " +
"range of 1 through 100: ");
number = keyboard.nextInt();
// Validate the input.
while (number < 1 || number > 100)
{
System.out.println("That number is invalid.");
System.out.print("Enter a number in the " +
"range of 1 through 100: ");
number = keyboard.nextInt();
}

• Example: SoccerTeams.java

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 The do-while Loop
• The do-while loop is a post-test loop, which means
it will execute the loop prior to testing the condition.
• The do-while loop (sometimes called called a do
loop) takes the form:
do
{
statement(s);
}while (condition);
• Example: TestAverage1.java

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 The do-while Loop Flowchart

statement(s)

true
boolean
expression?

false

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 The for Loop
• The for loop is a pre-test loop.
• The for loop allows the programmer to initialize a
control variable, test a condition, and modify the
control variable all in one line of code.
• The for loop takes the form:
for(initialization; test; update)
{
statement(s);
}
• See example: Squares.java

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 The for Loop Flowchart

boolean true
statement(s) update
expression?

false

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 The Sections of The for Loop
• The initialization section of the for loop
allows the loop to initialize its own control
variable.
• The test section of the for statement acts in the
same manner as the condition section of a
while loop.
• The update section of the for loop is the last
thing to execute at the end of each loop.
• Example: UserSquares.java

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 The for Loop Initialization
• The initialization section of a for loop is
optional; however, it is usually provided.
• Typically, for loops initialize a counter
variable that will be tested by the test section of
the loop and updated by the update section.
• The initialization section can initialize multiple
variables.
• Variables declared in this section have scope
only for the for loop.
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 The Update Expression
• The update expression is usually used to increment or
decrement the counter variable(s) declared in the
initialization section of the for loop.
• The update section of the loop executes last in the
loop.
• The update section may update multiple variables.
• Each variable updated is executed as if it were on a
line by itself.

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 Modifying The Control Variable
• You should avoid updating the control variable
of a for loop within the body of the loop.
• The update section should be used to update the
control variable.
• Updating the control variable in the for loop
body leads to hard to maintain code and
difficult debugging.

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 Multiple Initializations and Updates
• The for loop may initialize and update multiple
variables.
for(int i = 5, int j = 0; i < 10 || j < 20; i++, j+=2)
{
statement(s);
}

• Note that the only parts of a for loop that are

mandatory are the semicolons.
for(;;)
{
statement(s);
} // infinite loop
• If left out, the test section defaults to true.
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 Running Totals
• Loops allow the program to keep running totals
while evaluating data.
• Imagine needing to keep a running total of user
input.
• Example: TotalSales.java

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 Logic for Calculating a Running Total

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 Sentinel Values
• Sometimes the end point of input data is not known.
• A sentinel value can be used to notify the program to stop
acquiring input.
• If it is a user input, the user could be prompted to input data that
is not normally in the input data range (i.e. –1 where normal
input would be positive.)
• Programs that get file input typically use the end-of-file marker
to stop acquiring input data.
• Example: SoccerPoints.java

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 Nested Loops
• Like if statements, loops can be nested.
• If a loop is nested, the inner loop will execute all of its
iterations for each time the outer loop executes once.
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
for(int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
loop statements;

• The loop statements in this example will execute 100

times.
• Example: Clock.java

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 The break Statement
• The break statement can be used to
abnormally terminate a loop.
• The use of the break statement in loops
bypasses the normal mechanisms and makes
the code hard to read and maintain.
• It is considered bad form to use the break
statement in this manner.

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 The continue Statement
• The continue statement will cause the currently
executing iteration of a loop to terminate and the next
iteration will begin.
• The continue statement will cause the evaluation of
the condition in while and for loops.
• Like the break statement, the continue statement
should be avoided because it makes the code hard to
read and debug.

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 Deciding Which Loops to Use
• The while loop:
– Pretest loop
– Use it where you do not want the statements to execute
if the condition is false in the beginning.
• The do-while loop:
– Post-test loop
– Use it where you want the statements to execute at least
one time.
• The for loop:
– Pretest loop
– Use it where there is some type of counting variable that
can be evaluated.
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 File Input and Output
• Reentering data all the time could get tedious for the
user.
• The data can be saved to a file.
– Files can be input files or output files.
• Files:
– Files have to be opened.
– Data is then written to the file.
– The file must be closed prior to program termination.
• In general, there are two types of files:
– binary
– text
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 Writing Text To a File
• To open a file for text output you create an
instance of the PrintWriter class.
PrintWriter outputFile = new PrintWriter("StudentData.txt");

Pass the name of the file that you Warning: if the file
wish to open as an argument to already exists, it will be
the PrintWriter constructor. erased and replaced
with a new file.

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 The PrintWriter Class
• The PrintWriter class allows you to write
data to a file using the print and println
methods, as you have been using to display
data on the screen.
• Just as with the System.out object, the
println method of the PrintWriter
class will place a newline character after the
written data.
• The print method writes data without
writing the newline character.
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 The PrintWriter Class
Open the file.

PrintWriter outputFile = new PrintWriter("Names.txt");

outputFile.println("Chris");
outputFile.println("Kathryn");
outputFile.println("Jean");
outputFile.close();

Close the file.

Write data to the file.

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 The PrintWriter Class
• To use the PrintWriter class, put the
following import statement at the top of the
source file:

import java.io.*;

• See example: FileWriteDemo.java

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 Exceptions
• When something unexpected happens in a Java
program, an exception is thrown.
• The method that is executing when the
exception is thrown must either handle the
exception or pass it up the line.
• Handling the exception will be discussed later.
• To pass it up the line, the method needs a
throws clause in the method header.

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 Exceptions
• To insert a throws clause in a method header,
simply add the word throws and the name of the
expected exception.
• PrintWriter objects can throw an
IOException, so we write the throws clause like
this:
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException

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 Appending Text to a File
• To avoid erasing a file that already exists,
create a FileWriter object in this manner:

FileWriter fw =
new FileWriter("names.txt", true);

• Then, create a PrintWriter object in this

manner:
PrintWriter fw = new PrintWriter(fw);

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 Specifying a File Location
• On a Windows computer, paths contain
backslash (\) characters.
• Remember, if the backslash is used in a string
literal, it is the escape character so you must
use two of them:

PrintWriter outFile =
new PrintWriter("A:\\PriceList.txt");

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 Specifying a File Location
• This is only necessary if the backslash is in a
string literal.
• If the backslash is in a String object then it
will be handled properly.
• Fortunately, Java allows Unix style filenames
using the forward slash (/) to separate
directories:
PrintWriter outFile = new
PrintWriter("/home/rharrison/names.txt");

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 Reading Data From a File
• You use the File class and the Scanner
class to read data from a file:
Pass the name of the file as
an argument to the File
class constructor.

File myFile = new File("Customers.txt");

Scanner inputFile = new Scanner(myFile);

Pass the File object as an

argument to the Scanner
class constructor.

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 Reading Data From a File
Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("Enter the filename: ");
String filename = keyboard.nextLine();
File file = new File(filename);
Scanner inputFile = new Scanner(file);

• The lines above:

– Creates an instance of the Scanner class to read from the keyboard
– Prompt the user for a filename
– Get the filename from the user
– Create an instance of the File class to represent the file
– Create an instance of the Scanner class that reads from the file

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 Reading Data From a File
• Once an instance of Scanner is created, data can be read
using the same methods that you have used to read keyboard
input (nextLine, nextInt, nextDouble, etc).

// Open the file.

File file = new File("Names.txt");
Scanner inputFile = new Scanner(file);
// Read a line from the file.
String str = inputFile.nextLine();
// Close the file.
inputFile.close();

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 Exceptions
• The Scanner class can throw an
IOException when a File object is
passed to its constructor.
• So, we put a throws IOException clause
in the header of the method that instantiates
the Scanner class.
• See Example: ReadFirstLine.java

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 Detecting The End of a File
• The Scanner class’s hasNext() method will
return true if another item can be read from the
file.
// Open the file.
File file = new File(filename);
Scanner inputFile = new Scanner(file);
// Read until the end of the file.
while (inputFile.hasNext())
{
String str = inputFile.nextLine();
System.out.println(str);
}
inputFile.close();// close the file when done.

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 Detecting the End of a File
• See example: FileReadDemo.java

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 Generating Random Numbers with the
Random Class
• Some applications, such as games and simulations,
require the use of randomly generated numbers.
• The Java API has a class, Random, for this purpose.
To use the Random class, use the following import
statement and create an instance of the class.
import java.util.Random;
Random randomNumbers = new Random();

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 Some Methods of the
Random Class
Method Description

nextDouble() Returns the next random number as a double. The number

will be within the range of 0.0 and 1.0.

nextFloat() Returns the next random number as a float. The number

will be within the range of 0.0 and 1.0.

nextInt() Returns the next random number as an int. The number

will be within the range of an int, which is –2,147,483,648
to +2,147,483,648.
nextInt(int n) This method accepts an integer argument, n. It returns a
random number as an int. The number will be within the
range of 0 to n.

See example: RollDice.java

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