toString() method overloading

[sandip pol]

dear friends i have created 3 java files
1) Employee
2) Nameof_emp
3) Emploeetest which has main method
my problem is how should i overload tostring method of Nameof_emp
to get full name of person

Here is Employee class



package My_emp_project;



public class Employee {
private Nameof_emp name;
private double in_time;
private double out_time;
private double work_h;

public Employee(String s1, String s2, String s3, double y, double z) {
this.name = new Nameof_emp(s1, s2, s3);
in_time = y;
out_time = z;
}

public Employee(String s1, String s2, double y, double z) {
this.name = new Nameof_emp(s1, s2);
in_time = y;
out_time = z;
}

public Employee(String s1, double y, double z) {
this.name = new Nameof_emp(s1);
in_time = y;
out_time = z;
}
protected Nameof_emp setnameof_emp(String s1,String s2,String s3) {
return new Nameof_emp(s1,s2,s3);
}
protected Nameof_emp setnameof_emp(String s1,String s2) {
return new Nameof_emp(s1,s2);
}


protected Nameof_emp setnameof_emp(String s1) {
return new Nameof_emp(s1);
}

protected void set_in_time(double in) {
this.in_time = in;
}

protected void set_out_time(double out) {
this.out_time = out;
}

protected double set_work_hour() {
work_h = (out_time) - (in_time);
return work_h;

}

protected String get_work_hour() {

return Double.toString(work_h);

}

public String toString() {
return "my Dear\t " + this.name + "\n your intime:\t" + this.in_time +
"\n outtime\t" + this.out_time + "\n work hour:\t" +
Double.toString(this.set_work_hour());
}
}
now Employeename class


package My_emp_project;

public class Nameof_emp {
private String first_n;
private String middle_n;
private String Last_n;
public Nameof_emp(String x, String y, String z) {
first_n = x;
middle_n = y;
Last_n = z;
}

public Nameof_emp(String x, String y) {
first_n = x;
Last_n = y;
}

public Nameof_emp(String x) {
first_n = x;
}

public String toString() {
return first_n;
}

}


Employeetest class

package My_emp_project;

public class Employeetest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Employee g2 = new Employee("jayesh","Khanvilkar", 9.45, 13.45);
Employee g1 = new Employee("vivek","padh", 9.23, 13.45);


System.out.println();
System.out.println(g1);
System.out.println(g2);

}
}


o/p is


my Dear vivek
your intime:9.23
outtime13.45
work hour:4.219999999999999
my Dear jayesh
your intime:9.45
outtime13.45
work hour:4.0

[Henrik Engert]

You have

public class Employee {
private Nameof_emp name;
private double in_time;
private double out_time;  

Then use

name.toString() instead of this.toString();

Maybe that will help.

[Henrik Engert]

Instead of using toString() you can create Getters in your Nameof_emp class.

public String getFirst_n() {
        return first_n;
    }
 
    public String getMiddle_n() {
        return middle_n;
    }
 
    public String getLast_n() {
        return Last_n;
    }  

Then in your Employee class you will access the first, middle and last name by using:

name.getFirst_n() and so on.

I hope that helps.

[David Harkness]

Following on Henrik's idea, I'd also create some helper methods for the Nameof_emp class like getFullName() [all three concatenated together with spaces as necessary) and getFirstAndLastName() [should be obvious]. This will make it easier to enforce uniformity of how names are built.

For example, if you code getFullName() like this:

return first_n + " " + middle_n + " " + last_n;

you'll get "null" showing up when a portion of the name is not specified. When fixing that, make sure you don't return two spaced between a first and last name when the middle name is null.

Finally, it will make debugging and writing logging code easier if you provide a toString() method for the Nameof_emp class. Just call one of the other methods -- probably getFullName(). Normal code shouldn't rely on toString() since none of the various forms for a three-part name can really be viewed as "correct." In my code I tend to use toString() only when displaying an object for developers, thus my choice of the full name to ease debugging.

Now for some stylistic advice. I recommend reading and following the Java naming conventions. Classes use InitialUpperCamelCase, methods and non-final variables use initialLowerCamelCase, and final variables (constants) use ALL_CAPS_WITH_UNDERSCORES. By following these conventions you make it easier for other people to quickly understand your code.

How about FullName or PersonName instead of Nameof_emp? A three-part name isn't inherently limited to employees, and thus the class name shouldn't imply such a limitation. It's fields would be firstName, middleName, and lastName with methods like I've used above.

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