Difference between declaring variables.

[Joy Vergis]

HI,
Please let me know waht is the difference between declaring variables at line no.1 and line no. 2

import java.util.Date;
import java.util.GregorianCalendar;

public class Employee {
	
	Employee(){
		
	}
	
	@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
	Employee(String n, double s,int d, int m, int y){
		String name=n;                                                                                //(1)
		double salary = s;
		GregorianCalendar calendar= new GregorianCalendar(y, m, d);
		hireday.getMonth();
	}

	public String getName(){
		return name;
	}
	private Date hireday;
//	private String name;                                                                                 //(2)
}

I thought declaring a variables in the constructor Employee constructor will make the variable for the method getName(). but the same did not happen.

I am a bit confused with instance variable concept. Instance variable are accessible through the object of the class. So I declared it in the constructor itself. Now tha same variable is not accessible outside the constructor in the same class to other methods.

Please help to understand it.

[John Jai]

The variable @ line #12 are local variables visible only to the constructor block. Instance variables should be declared outside any method / block in the class. So try declaring the variables @ line #5.

[Campbell Ritchie]

. . . and why are you suppressing a deprecation warning? That looks suspicious to me.

[Unnar Björnsson]

The constructor in no different than any other method or code block in terms of scope, variables declared inside a constructor or any other codeblock are not visible outside it. You should move the declaration of name outside the constructor while still giving it value of 'n' inside it.

[Ted Smyth]

Campbell Ritchie wrote: . . . and why are you suppressing a deprecation warning? That looks suspicious to me.

Likewise. The getMonth() method of java.util.Date was deprecated some time ago (JDK 1.1, lol, that's some serious backwards compatibility right there).