Missing return statement

[justin villanueva]

Hiya, I have some code that I'm just messing around with while reading Head First java. So this really isn't serious code.

Now my problem is that I keep getting the error "Missing return statement" and it points to a }

So heres my code

class GoodKitty {

   //make the instance variable private
   private int kittySize;


   //make the getter...
   public int getSize() {

        return size;
   }

   //and setter methods public
   public int setSize(int s){
    
       size = s;
   }

   void meow() {

      if (size > 60) {
     
          System.out.println("Meow!  Meow!");
      } else if (size > 14) {
          System.out.println("Meow!  Mew!");
      } else {
          System.out.println("Mew!  Mew! Mew!");
      }
   }
}

import java.io.*;

class GoodKittyTestDrive {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
          
          System.out.print("Enter size of kitty: ");
    
          //  open up standard input
          BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
  
          String ks = null;

          //  read the username from the command-line; need to use try/catch with the
          //  readLine() method

          try {
             
             ks = br.readLine();

               } catch (IOException ioe) {

                 System.out.println("IO error trying to read your name!");
                 System.exit(1);
                }
              
             int kittySize = Integer.parseInt(ks.trim());

              GoodKitty one = new GoodKitty();
              one.setSize(kittySize);

              
              System.out.println("Cat one: " + one.getSize());  
              one.meow();
       }
             
}

Pretty much it asks for the size of a kitty and then it runs the if statement.

Any help would be much appreciated

[Pramod P Deore]

The problem is here

 public int setSize(int s){  
      
       size = s;  
   }  

you must have to write return type as void instead of int. Because you are not returning anything from this method.

[Bear Bibeault]

The compiler doesn't like to be lied to. In this method:

   public int setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

you tell the compiler that you will be returning an int, but then don't. This ticks it off.

So either return an int, or tell the compiler that you don't intend to return anything (which is probably what's best) by declaring the return type as void.

[Bear Bibeault]

Ohhh, beat me to it!

[Pramod P Deore]

Bear Bibeault wrote:Ohhh, beat me to it!

Who will dare to bit you sir?

[justin villanueva]

Bear Bibeault wrote:The compiler doesn't like to be lied to. In this method:

   public int setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

you tell the compiler that you will be returning an int, but then don't. This ticks it off.

So either return an int, or tell the compiler that you don't intend to return anything (which is probably what's best) by declaring the return type as void.

How do I declare the return type as void?

[Pramod P Deore]

write method as

public void setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

instead of

public int setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

[justin villanueva]

Pramod P Deore wrote:write method as

public void setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

instead of

public int setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

Now it says cannot find symbol and points to size

[Pramod P Deore]

Then you must have to declare variable size as

int size;

[justin villanueva]

Pramod P Deore wrote:Then you must have to declare variable size as

int size;

D'oh! I knew that, had the wrong variable! Its working now Thanks all!

Now, maybe one more question. Why didn't it return an int in the first place?

In the example from the book, instead of receiving a size for the kitty from the user, the size is added into the code (one.setSize(70); for example)

[Pramod P Deore]

When declaring any method like

public int getInt()
{
    return myInt;
}

here you are telling that this method returning int (myInt). And when you are not returning any value from method then you have to write return type as void. In your method

public void setSize(int s){  
       size = s;  
   }  

you are not returning any value therefore you had write void here instead of int.