another newbie needs help...:-(

[Tabrez Muchhala]

hi ....i need help in the following.
this is a question from my assignment i have done it as much as i can but am unsure of the answers...can someone pls check and tell me if i have done rite ???..........
here is the question..
Create a class named itemtype that following attributes as members
Attributes are ? item_name of type string
cost of type float
qty of type int
i.Is it possible to create an instance of itemtype without a constructor implemented?
Explain why for not; otherwise

my answer: No . it is because there would be nothing to take in the values.

ii.Implement a constructor that takes necessary arguments for member variables to be initialized
my answer

 class itemtype{

public String item_name;
public float cost;
public int qty;
itemtype(String x, float y, int z){
x = item_name;
y = cost;
z = qty;} 

iii.Show you can overload the constructor by implementing another constructor in itemtype class.
my answer :

 class itemtype{

public String item_name;
public float cost;
public int qty;
itemtype(String x, float y, int z){
x = item_name;
y = cost;
z = qty;}

itemtype(float price, int pqty){

price = 5.00;
pqty = 10;}

void print(){
System.out.println("Item name is :" +item_name);
System.out.println("The Cost is :" +cost);
System.out.println("The Quantity is :" +qty);}
public static void main(String[] args){
itemtype products;
products = new itemtype("fruit");
products.print();}
 

however this does not work when i compile it...i get the following error

F:\j2sdk1.4.0_03\bin>javac itemtype.java
itemtype.java:15: possible loss of precision
found : double
required: float
price = 5.00;
^
itemtype.java:26: cannot resolve symbol
symbol : constructor itemtype (java.lang.String)
location: class itemtype
products = new itemtype("shit");
^
2 errors
F:\j2sdk1.4.0_03\bin>

can somebody please guide me.......thanks

[Corey McGlone]

Okay, let's take this a step at a time...
First, this question:

Is it possible to create an instance of itemtype without a constructor implemented?
Explain why for not; otherwise
my answer: No . it is because there would be nothing to take in the values.

That's true, if you don't implement a constructor, you can't pass any values in, but could you still create an itemtype object? How about this code:

public class itemtype
{
   public String item_name;
   public float cost;
   public int qty;
   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      itemtype myItem = new itemtype();
   }
}

Try compiling that and see what happens. Does it fail? Does it succeed? Why do you think it did what it did?
Okay, for now, let's go forward...

ii.Implement a constructor that takes necessary arguments for member variables to be initialized
my answer

class itemtype
{
   public String item_name;
   public float cost;
   public int qty;
 
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      x = item_name;
      y = cost;
      z = qty;
   }
}

You're awfully close. One thing to remember is that, when you perform an assignment, you assign the value of the variable on the right hand side to the variable on the left hand side. Do you see your mistake?

iii.Show you can overload the constructor by implementing another constructor in itemtype class.
my answer :

 
class itemtype
{
   public String item_name;
   public float cost;
   public int qty;
 
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      x = item_name;
      y = cost;
      z = qty;
   }
 
   itemtype(float price, int pqty)
   {
      price = 5.00;
      pqty = 10;
   }
   void print()
   {
      System.out.println("Item name is :" +item_name);
      System.out.println("The Cost is :" +cost);
      System.out.println("The Quantity is :" +qty);
   }
 
   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      itemtype products;
      products = new itemtype("fruit");
      products.print();
   }
}

Okay, again you've got some of the same problems as above - look at what is being assigned to what. Think of it like this:
setThisVariable = toTheValueOfThisOne;
Now, let's look at the errors you're getting:

F:\j2sdk1.4.0_03\bin>javac itemtype.java
itemtype.java:15: possible loss of precision
found : double
required: float
price = 5.00;
^
itemtype.java:26: cannot resolve symbol
symbol : constructor itemtype (java.lang.String)
location: class itemtype
products = new itemtype("fruit");
^
2 errors

The first error is stating something about a loss of precision. The reason for this is that Java considers any decimal literal (in your case, 5.00) to be a double. A double doesn't fit into a float, so a compiler error is thrown. Try adding a 'f' to the end of the number, like this: 5.00f so that the compiler knows that you want that value to be a float, not a double.
The second error is because you're trying to invoke a constructor that takes just a String as a parameter. Do you have any of those? Hmmmm...
Try some of those things and come back with what you have.
Best of luck,
Corey

[Tabrez Muchhala]

hithere thanks for the help..
i) it does compile w/o errors....but it does not do anything except create another object of itself ....rite??...what is the use of this??? (i see no use why someone would implement this..)
conclusion : i guess that an itemtype object can be created if a constructor is not implemented.
ii)

 
{
   String item_name;
   float cost;
   int qty;
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      item_name = x;
      cost = y;
      qty = z;
   }
 

is this the proper way....??

iii) Got rid of the float error!! thanks!!! i get this part..wherever i use a float..i must use and f to indicate its a float...
however, i dun get the following..

The second error is because you're trying to invoke a constructor that takes just a String as a parameter. Do you have any of those? Hmmmm...

i've tried to change the code but i got too many errors so i changed back..could you kinldy pls explain this in more detail... thank you

 class itemtype
{
   String item_name;
   float cost;
   int qty;
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      item_name = x;
      cost = y;
      qty = z;
   }
   itemtype(float price, int pqty, String Apple)
   {
price = 5.00f ;
pqty = 10 ;

   }
   void print()
   {
      System.out.println("Item name is :" +item_name);
      System.out.println("The Cost is :" +cost);
      System.out.println("The Quantity is :" +qty);
   }
   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      itemtype products = new itemtype() ;
      products.print();
   }
}
 

[Corey McGlone]

i) it does compile w/o errors....but it does not do anything except create another object of itself ....rite??...what is the use of this??? (i see no use why someone would implement this..)
conclusion : i guess that an itemtype object can be created if a constructor is not implemented.

When you don't provide a constructor, the compiler inserts a "default" constructor for you. The default constructor takes no parameters and has an empty method body, but it allows you to construct an instance of the object.
In your case, in which you want to initialize an object with some information the second you create it, this may seem like a silly thing to do. However, you don't always know all of the information you're going to put into an object when you create it. In a case such as that, it might be helpful to create an "empty" object and then add data to it later using "setter" methods (A setter method simply takes a value and assigns it to an instance variable).
Anyway, I really just wanted to demonstrate the default constructor. Also note that the compiler will not insert a default constructor if you declare one yourself. It is only inserted if no constructor is provided.

ii)

 
{
   String item_name;
   float cost;
   int qty;
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      item_name = x;
      cost = y;
      qty = z;
   }
 

is this the proper way....??

Yup - looks better.

i've tried to change the code but i got too many errors so i changed back..could you kinldy pls explain this in more detail...

In the original code snippet, you had these two lines:

itemtype products;
products = new itemtype("fruit");

This code tells the JVM to create a new variable of type itemtype and then it attempts to create an instance of that type when you use the keyword "new". However, you supply just one parameter, a String ("fruit"). The JVM then looks for a constructor that takes a single string as a parameter. Unfortunately, you don't have one. You have these constructors:

itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
{
   x = item_name;
   y = cost;
   z = qty;
}
 
itemtype(float price, int pqty)
{
   price = 5.00;
   pqty = 10;
}

The first constructor takes a String, but it also takes a float and an int. The second one takes and float and an int. Nowhere have you defined a constructor that takes a single String. To fix this, one of two things must occur:
1. Provide additional parameters when you attempt to construct your object.
2. Create a constructor that takes only a single String as a parameter.
Does that help?
Corey

[Barry Gaunt]

Hi Tabz, I forgot to ask you last time to review JavaRanch's naming policy. Would you please do that, cos we like to feel that we are helping real live people.
Thanks - Barry (also known by lots of other name, but that's my own).
[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Barry Gaunt ]

[Tabrez Muchhala]

ok Barry..its done....thanks for telling me...

[Corey McGlone]

Originally posted by Tabrez:
ok Barry..its done....thanks for telling me...

Tabrez,
You're close. If you look back the the Javaranch Naming Policy, you'll see that names are requried to be in the form "first_name last_name" (notice a space between them). You can change your publicly displayed name (here) to comply with our unique rule. Thank you.
Corey

[Tabrez Muchhala]

 
String item_name;
   float cost;
   int qty;
   itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
   {
      item_name = x;
      cost = y;
      qty = z;
   }
   itemtype(float price, int pqty, String Apple)
   {
price = 5.00f ;
pqty = 10 ;

   }
   void print()
   {
      System.out.println("Item name is :" +item_name);
      System.out.println("The Cost is :" +cost);
      System.out.println("The Quantity is :" +qty);
   }
   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      itemtype products = new itemtype("fruit", 5.0f, 10) ;
      products.print();
   }
}
 

Yahoooo!!! thanks...you people r GREAT!!

[Barry Gaunt]

Only one problem, it's gotta be two names. We'll call you by the first name up front. If you don't want to use your real second name, then make up something that looks real. Thanks Tabrez!
How did you get along with that reverse assignment?
Did the lecturer fall over?

[Corey McGlone]

Originally posted by Tabrez:
Yahoooo!!! thanks...you people r GREAT!!

Glad you got it working, Tabrez.

[Tabrez Muchhala]

thank you corey....as for my assignment..i have yet to show it to my lect..my class is on thursday..and i will talk to him then....i will get back to u about his response ....thanks barry......

[Tabrez Muchhala]

btw..this is my full name...no kidding...

[Barry Gaunt]

Thanks and good luck Tabz!

[Barry Gaunt]

One tip:

itemtype(String x, float y, int z)
{
    item_name = x;
    cost = y;
    qty = z;
}

That code works fine, nothing wrong with it. But it isn't
x, y, z is ok for algebra and stuff, but it's not so good in computer programs that other people have got to read.
This is cooler:

itemtype(String item_name, float cost, int qty)
{
    this.item_name = [B]item_name[/B];
    this.cost = [B]cost[/B];
    this.qty = [B]qty[/B];
}

Notice I used this which means the variable belongs to this object I'm now making ( or constructing ). If you don't use this the compiler gets confused because the same names are being used as parameters to the method.
An alternative could be:

itemtype(String anItemName, float aCost, int aQty)
{
    item_name = anItemName;
    cost = aCost;
    qty = aQty;
}

Corrected according to Layne's post below, sorry Tabz!
[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Barry Gaunt ]

[Barry Gaunt]

Do you still need this constructor?

itemtype(float price, int pqty, String Apple)
{
    price = 5.00f ;
    pqty = 10 ;
}

I asked because you do not use it, and the Apple parameter is never used. And it does not initialize an itemtype object correctly.
Zap it! Simplify to the Max.
[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Barry Gaunt ]

[Layne Lund]

Originally posted by Barry Gaunt:
This is cooler:

itemtype(String item_name, float cost, int qty)
{
    this.item_name = x;
    this.cost = y;
    this.qty = z;
}

Sorry to nitpick, but I think you need to change the code to corespond with your new parameter names...

[Barry Gaunt]

Thanks Layne,
Will do that, but it's funny I thought I already did that. Guess I hit the "back" button at some time. I can't be that dumb... or...?
Actually, that convinces me not to post code until I have at least compiled it myself. I didn't do it this time because I don't have Java on this particular PC.
[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: Barry Gaunt ]