Flow of Control

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Chapter 3

Flow of Control

Flow of Control Flow of Control

A i t i l fl f t l i J

• As in most programming languages, flow of control in Java refers to its branching and looping mechanisms

• Java has several branching mechanisms: if-else, if, g and switch statements

• Java has three types of loop statements: the while, do- while and for statements

while, and for statements

• Most branching and looping statements are controlled by Boolean expressions

l i l i h

– A Boolean expression evaluates to either trueor false – The primitive type booleanmay only take the values trueor

false

Branching with an if-else Statement Branching with an if-else Statement

A if l t t t h b t t lt ti

• An if-else statement chooses between two alternative statements based on the value of a Boolean expression

if (Boolean_Expression) Yes_Statement

else

No Statement_

– The Boolean_Expressionmust be enclosed in parentheses – If the Boolean_Expressionis true, then the Yes_Statement

is executed

– If the Boolean_Expressionis false, then the No_Statementis executed

Compound Statements Compound Statements

E h d

• Each Yes_Statement and No_Statement branch of an if-else can be a made up of a single statement or many statements

statement or many statements

• Compound Statement: A branch statement that is made up of a list of statements

made up of a list of statements

– A compound statement must always be enclosed in a pair of braces ({ })

of braces ({ })

– A compound statement can be used anywhere that a

single statement can be used

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Compound Statements Compound Statements

if (myScore > your Score) if (myScore > your Score) {

System.out.println("I win!");

wager = wager + 100;

} else {

System.out.println

("I wish these were golf scores.");

( g );

wager = 0;

}

Omitting the else Part Omitting the else Part

Th l t b itt d t bt i h t i ft ll d

• The else part may be omitted to obtain what is often called an if statement

if (Boolean Expression)( _ p ) Action_Statement

– If the Boolean_Expression is true, then the Action Statementis executed

Action_Statementis executed

– The Action_Statement can be a single or compound statement – Otherwise, nothing happens, and the program goes on to the next

statement

if (weight > ideal)

calorieIntake = calorieIntake – 500;;

Nested Statements Nested Statements

• if-else statements and if statements both contain smaller statements within them

– For example, single or compound statements

• In fact, any statement at all can be used as a subpart of an if-else or if statement, including another if-else or if statement

– Each level of a nested if-else or if should be indented further than the previous level

– Exception: multiway if-else statements

Multiway if-else Statements Multiway if-else Statements

Th lti if l t t t i i l l if

• The multiway if-else statement is simply a normal if- else statement that nests another if-else statement at every else y branch

– It is indented differently from other nested statements

– All of the Boolean_Expressions are aligned with one another, and their corresponding actions are also aligned with one another and their corresponding actions are also aligned with one another – The Boolean_Expressionsare evaluated in order until one that

evaluates to trueis found

h f l l

– The final elseis optional

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Multiway if-else Statement Multiway if-else Statement

if (B l E i )

if (Boolean_Expression) Statement_1

else if (Boolean Expression) else if (Boolean_Expression)

Statement_2

.

else if (Boolean_Expression_n) Statement n

. .

Statement_n else

Statement For All Other Possibilities _ _ _ _

The switch Statement The switch Statement

• The switch statement is the only other kind of Java statement that implements multiway branching

– When a switch statement is evaluated, one of a number of different branches is executed

– The choice of which branch to execute is determined by a controlling expression enclosed in parentheses after the keyword switch

keyword switch

• The controlling expression must evaluate to a char, int, short, or byte

The switch Statement The switch Statement

E h b h t t t i it h t t t t t ith th

• Each branch statement in a switch statement starts with the reserved word case, followed by a constant called a case label, followed by a colon, and then a sequence of statements , y , q

– Each case label must be of the same type as the controlling expression – Case labels need not be listed in order or span a complete interval, but

each one may appear only once each one may appear only once

– Each sequence of statements may be followed by a breakstatement ( break;)

The switch Statement The switch Statement

Th l b ti l b l d d f lt

• There can also be a section labeled default:

– The defaultsection is optional, and is usually last – Even if the case labels cover all possible outcomes in a givenEven if the case labels cover all possible outcomes in a given

switchstatement, it is still a good practice to include a default section

• It can be used to output an error message, for exampleIt can be used to output an error message, for example

• When the controlling expression is evaluated, the code for the case label whose value matches the controlling

i i d

expression is executed

– If no case label matches, then the only statements executed are those following the defaultlabel (if there is one)

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The switch Statement The switch Statement

Th it h t t t d h it t

• The switch statement ends when it executes a break statement, or when the end of the switch statement is reached

statement is reached

– When the computer executes the statements after a case label, it continues until a break statement is reached

If h b k i i d h f i

– If the break statement is omitted, then after executing the code for one case, the computer will go on to execute the code for the next case

– If the break statement is omitted inadvertently, the compiler will not issue an error message

The switch Statement

switch (Controlling_Expression) {

case Case_Label_1:

St t t S 1

Statement_Sequence_1 break;

case Case_Label_2:

Statement Sequence 2 Statement_Sequence_2 break;

case Case Label n:. . . case Case_Label_n:

Statement_Sequence_n break;

default:

Default_Statement Sequence break;

} }

The Conditional Operator

• The conditional operator is a notational variant on certain forms of the

The Conditional Operator

• The conditional operator is a notational variant on certain forms of the if-elsestatement

– Also called the ternary operator or arithmetic if – The following examples are equivalent:

– The following examples are equivalent:

if (n1 > n2) max = n1;

else max = n2;

vs.

max = (n1 > n2) ? n1 : n2;

– The expression to the right of the assignment operator is a conditional operator expression

operator expression

– If the Boolean expression is true, then the expression evaluates to the value of the first expression (n1), otherwise it evaluates to the value of the second expression (n2)

Boolean Expressions Boolean Expressions

A B l i i i th t i ith t

• A Boolean expression is an expression that is either true or false

• The simplest Boolean expressions compare the value of two The simplest Boolean expressions compare the value of two expressions

time < limit

yourScore == myScore

– Note that Java uses two equal signs (==) to perform equality testing:

A single equal sign (=) is used only for assignmentg q g ( ) y g

– A Boolean expression does not need to be enclosed in parentheses, unless it is used in an if-elsestatement

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Java Comparison Operators Java Comparison Operators

Pitfall: Using == with Strings Pitfall: Using == with Strings

Th lit i t ( ) tl t t t

• The equality comparison operator (==) can correctly test two values of a primitive type

• However when applied to two objects such as objects of the However, when applied to two objects such as objects of the String class, == tests to see if they are stored in the same memory location, not whether or not they have the same

l value

• In order to test two strings to see if they have equal values, use the method equals or equalsIgnoreCase use the method equals, or equalsIgnoreCase

string1.equals(string2)

string1.equalsIgnoreCase(string2)

Lexicographic and Alphabetical Order Lexicographic and Alphabetical Order

• Lexicographic ordering is the same as ASCII ordering and includes letters

• Lexicographic ordering is the same as ASCII ordering, and includes letters, numbers, and other characters

– All uppercase letters are in alphabetic order, and all lowercase letters are in alphabetic order, but all uppercase letters come before lowercase letters alphabetic order, but all uppercase letters come before lowercase letters – If s1and s2are two variables of type Stringthat have been given String

values, then s1.compareTo(s2) returns a negative number if s1comes before s2in lexicographic ordering, returns zero if the two strings are equal, and returns a positive number ifs2comes befores1

and returns a positive number if s2comes before s1

• When performing an alphabetic comparison of strings (rather than a lexicographic comparison) that consist of a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, use thecompareToIgnoreCasemethod instead uppercase letters, use the compareToIgnoreCasemethod instead

Building Boolean Expressions Building Boolean Expressions

• When two Boolean expressions are combined using the "and" (&&)

• When two Boolean expressions are combined using the "and" (&&) operator, the entire expression is true provided both expressions are true

– Otherwise the expression is false

• When two Boolean expressions are combined using the "or" (||)

• When two Boolean expressions are combined using the or (||) operator, the entire expression is true as long as one of the expressions is true

– The expression is false only if both expressions are falsep y p

• Any Boolean expression can be negated using the !operator

– Place the expression in parentheses and place the !operator in front of it

• Unlike mathematical notation, strings of inequalities must be joined byUnlike mathematical notation, strings of inequalities must be joined by &&&&

– Use (min < result) && (result < max)rather than min <

result < max

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Evaluating Boolean Expressions Evaluating Boolean Expressions

E th h B l i d t t l b h

• Even though Boolean expressions are used to control branch and loop statements, Boolean expressions can exist

independently as well

– A Boolean variable can be given the value of a Boolean expression by using an assignment statement

• A Boolean expression can be evaluated in the same way that an arithmetic expression is evaluated

• The only difference is that arithmetic expressions produce a number as a result, while Boolean expressions produce either trueor falseas their result

boolean madeIt = (time < limit) && (limit < max);

Truth Tables

Short Circuit and Complete Evaluation Short‐Circuit and Complete Evaluation

J t k h t t h th l ti f th fi t t

• Java can take a shortcut when the evaluation of the first part of a Boolean expression produces a result that evaluation of the second part cannot change

• This is called short‐circuit evaluation or lazy evaluation

– For example, when evaluating two Boolean subexpressions joined by

&&, if the first subexpression evaluates to false, then the entire expression will evaluate to false, no matter the value of the second subexpression

– In like manner, when evaluating two Boolean subexpressions joined by

|| if th fi t b i l t t t th th ti

||, if the first subexpression evaluates to true, then the entire expression will evaluate to true

Short Circuit and Complete Evaluation Short‐Circuit and Complete Evaluation

Th i h i h i i l i

• There are times when using short‐circuit evaluation can prevent a runtime error

– In the following example, if the number of kidst e o o g e a p e, t e u be o dsis equal to zero, then s equa to e o, t e the second subexpression will not be evaluated, thus preventing a divide by zero error

– Note that reversing the order of the subexpressions will not preventNote that reversing the order of the subexpressions will not prevent this

if ((kids !=0) && ((toys/kids) >=2)) . . .

• Sometimes it is preferable to always evaluate both

• Sometimes it is preferable to always evaluate both expressions, i.e., request complete evaluation

– In this case, use the &and |operators instead of &&and ||

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Precedence and Associativity Rules Precedence and Associativity Rules

B l d i h i i d b f ll

• Boolean and arithmetic expressions need not be fully parenthesized

• If some or all of the parentheses are omitted Java will follow If some or all of the parentheses are omitted, Java will follow precedence and associativity rules (summarized in the following table) to determine the order of operations

– If one operator occurs higher in the table than another, it has higher precedence, and is grouped with its operands before the operator of lower precedence

– If two operators have the same precedence, then associativity rules determine which is grouped first

Precedence and Associativity

Rules

Evaluating Expressions Evaluating Expressions

• In general parentheses in an expression help to document the

• In general, parentheses in an expression help to document the programmer's intent

– Instead of relying on precedence and associativity rules, it is best to include most parentheses, except where the intended meaning is obvious

most parentheses, except where the intended meaning is obvious

• Binding: The association of operands with their operators

– A fully parenthesized expression accomplishes binding for all the operators in an expression

• Side Effects: When, in addition to returning a value, an expression changes something, such as the value of a variable

– The assignment, increment, and decrement operators all produce side effects

Rules for Evaluating Expressions Rules for Evaluating Expressions

P f bi di

• Perform binding

– Determine the equivalent fully parenthesized expression using the precedence and associativity rules

• Proceeding left to right, evaluate whatever subexpressions can be immediately evaluated

Th b i ill b d h d

– These subexpressions will be operands or method arguments, e.g., numeric constants or variables

• Evaluate each outer operation and method invocation as soon p

as all of its operands (i.e., arguments) have been evaluated

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Loops Loops

• Loops in Java are similar to those in other high‐level languages

• Java has three types of loop statements: the while, the do-while , and the for statements

– The code that is repeated in a loop is called the body of the loop

– Each repetition of the loop body is called an iteration of the loop

while statement while statement

A hil t t t i d t t ti f d (i

• A while statement is used to repeat a portion of code (i.e., the loop body) based on the evaluation of a Boolean

expression p

– The Boolean expression is checked before the loop body is executed

• When false, the loop body is not executed at all

Before the execution of each following iteration of the loop body the – Before the execution of each following iteration of the loop body, the

Boolean expression is checked again

• If true, the loop body is executed again

If f l h l d

• If false, the loop statement ends

– The loop body can consist of a single statement, or multiple statements enclosed in a pair of braces ({ })

while Syntax while Syntax

while (Boolean_Expression) Statement

Or Or

while (Boolean_Expression) {

{

Statement_1 Statement_2 Statement_Last }

. . .

}

do-while Statement do-while Statement

A d hil t t t i d t t ti f d

• A do-while statement is used to execute a portion of code (i.e., the loop body), and then repeat it based on the

evaluation of a Boolean expression

– The loop body is executed at least once

• The Boolean expression is checked after the loop body is executed – The Boolean expression is checked after each iteration of the loop

b d body

• If true, the loop body is executed again

• If false, the loop statement ends

D 't f t t t i l ft th B l i

• Don't forget to put a semicolon after the Boolean expression – Like the while statement, the loop body can consist of a single

statement, or multiple statements enclosed in a pair of braces ({ })

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do-while Syntax do-while Syntax

do

Statement

while (Boolean Expression); e ( oo ea _ p ess o );

Or do

{ {

Statement_1 Statement_2 _ Statement_Last

} while (Boolean Expression);

. . .

} while (Boolean_Expression);

Algorithms and Pseudocode Algorithms and Pseudocode

• The hard part of solving a problem with a computer program is not dealing

• The hard part of solving a problem with a computer program is not dealing with the syntax rules of a programming language

• Rather, coming up with the underlying solution method is the most difficult part

difficult part

• An algorithm is a set of precise instructions that lead to a solution – An algorithm is normally written in pseudocode, which is a mixture of

programming language and a human language, like English

p g g g g g g , g

– Pseudocode must be precise and clear enough so that a good programmer can convert it to syntactically correct code

– However, pseudocode is much less rigid than code: One needn't worry about

th fi i t f t d l i i bl f l

the fine points of syntax or declaring variables, for example

The for Statement The for Statement

Th f t t t i t l d t t th h

• The for statement is most commonly used to step through an integer variable in equal increments

• It begins with the keyword for, followed by three g y y

expressions in parentheses that describe what to do with one or more controlling variables

– The first expression tells how the control variable or variables are p initialized or declared and initialized before the first iteration – The second expression determines when the loop should end, based

on the evaluation of a Boolean expression before each iteration – The third expression tells how the control variable or variables are

updated after each iteration of the loop body

The for Statement Syntax The for Statement Syntax

f (I iti li i B l E i U d t )

for (Initializing; Boolean_Expression; Update) Body

• The Body may consist of a single statement or a list of statements enclosed in a pair of braces ({ })

• Note that the three control expressions are separated by two, not three, semicolons

• Note that there is no semicolon after the closing parenthesis

at the beginning of the loop

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Semantics of the for Statement

for Statement Syntax and Alternate Semantics for Statement Syntax and Alternate Semantics

for Statement Syntax and Alternate Semantics

The Comma in for Statements The Comma in for Statements

A f l t i lti l i iti li ti ti

• A for loop can contain multiple initialization actions separated with commas

– Caution must be used when combining a declaration with multiple ti

actions

– It is illegal to combine multiple type declarations with multiple actions, for example

T id ibl bl it i b t t d l ll i bl t id

– To avoid possible problems, it is best to declare all variables outside the forstatement

• A for loop can contain multiple update actions, separated

ith l

with commas, also

– It is even possible to eliminate the loop body in this way

• However, a for , loop can contain only one Boolean p y

expression to test for ending the loop

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Infinite Loops Infinite Loops

• A while , do-while , or for loop should be designed so that the value tested in the Boolean expression is changed in a way that eventually expression is changed in a way that eventually makes it false, and terminates the loop

• If the Boolean expression remains true, then the If the Boolean expression remains true, then the loop will run forever, resulting in an infinite loop

– Loops that check for equality or inequality (== or !=)

i ll t thi d h ld b

are especially prone to this error and should be avoided if possible

Nested Loops Nested Loops

L b t d j t lik th J t t

• Loops can be nested, just like other Java structures

– When nested, the inner loop iterates from beginning to end for each single iteration of the outer loop

int rowNum, columnNum;

for (rowNum = 1; rowNum <=3; rowNum++) {

for (columnNum = 1; columnNum <=2;

columnNum++))

System.out.print(" row " + rowNum +

" column " + columnNum);

System.out.println();

}

The break and continue Statements The break and continue Statements

• The break statement consists of the keyword break followed by a semicolon

– When executed, the break, statement ends the nearest enclosing switch or loop statement

• The continue statement consists of the keyword continue followed by a semicolon

continue followed by a semicolon

– When executed, the continuestatement ends the current loop body iteration of the nearest enclosing loop statement – Note that in aNote that in a forforloop, theloop, the continuecontinuestatement transfersstatement transfers

control to the update expression

• When loop statements are nested, remember that any break or continue statement applies to the innermost break or continue statement applies to the innermost,

The Labeled break Statement The Labeled break Statement

• There is a type of break statement that, when used in nested loops, can end any containing loop, not just the innermost loop

innermost loop

• If an enclosing loop statement is labeled with an Identifier, then the following version of the break statement will exit the labeled loop, even if it is not the innermost enclosing loop:

break someIdentifier;

• To label a loop, simply precede it with an Identifier and a

colon:

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The exit Statement The exit Statement

A b k ill d l i h

• A break statement will end a loop or switch statement, but will not end the program

Th i ill i di l d h

• The exit statement will immediately end the program as soon as it is invoked:

S t it(0)

System.exit(0);

• The exit statement takes one integer argument

B t diti t i d t i di t l

– By tradition, a zero argument is used to indicate a normal ending of the program

Loop Bugs Loop Bugs

Th ki d f l

• The two most common kinds of loop errors are unintended infinite loops and off‐by‐one errors

A ff b i h l t th l b d

– An off‐by‐one error is when a loop repeats the loop body one too many or one too few times

• This usually results from a carelessly designed Boolean test y y g expression

– Use of == in the controlling Boolean expression can lead to an infinite loop or an off by one error

an infinite loop or an off‐by‐one error

• This sort of testing works only for characters and integers, and should never be used for floating‐point

Tracing Variables Tracing Variables

T i i bl i l t hi i bl

• Tracing variables involves watching one or more variables change value while a program is running

• This can make it easier to discover errors in a program and p g debug them

• Many IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) have a built‐in utility that allows variables to be traced without built in utility that allows variables to be traced without making any changes to the program

• Another way to trace variables is to simply insert temporary output statements in a program

output statements in a program

System.out.println("n = " + n); // Tracing n – When the error is found and corrected, the trace statements can

i l b t d t

simply be commented out

General Debugging Techniques General Debugging Techniques

• Examine the system as a whole – don’t assume the Examine the system as a whole don t assume the bug occurs in one particular place

• Try different test cases and check the input values

• Comment out blocks of code to narrow down the

ff di d

offending code

• Check common pitfalls

• Take a break and come back later

• DO NOT make random changes just hoping that the DO NOT make random changes just hoping that the

change will fix the problem!

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Debugging Example (1 of 9) Debugging Example (1 of 9)

• The following code is supposed to present a The following code is supposed to present a menu and get user input until either ‘a’ or ‘b’

is entered is entered.

String s = "";

char c = ' ';

Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);

do {

System.out.println("Enter 'A' for option A or 'B' for option B.");

s = keyboard.next();

s.toLowerCase();

c = s.substring(0,1);

}

while ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b'));

Debugging Example (2 of 9) Debugging Example (2 of 9)

Result: Syntax error:

c = s.substring(0,1); : incompatible types found: java.lang.String

• Using the “random change” debugging

j g g

required: char

Using the random change debugging technique we might try to change the data type of c to String to make the types type of c to String, to make the types match

• This results in more errors since the rest of the code treats c like a char

Debugging Example (3 of 9) Debugging Example (3 of 9)

• First problem: substring returns a String, use First problem: substring returns a String, use charAt to get the first character:

String s = "";

char c = ' ';

Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);

do {

s ke boa d ne t() s = keyboard.next();

s.toLowerCase();

c = s.charAt(0);

}

Debugging Example (4 of 9) Debugging Example (4 of 9)

do { {

System.out.println("String s = " + s);

s toLowerCase();

s.toLowerCase();

System.out.println("Lowercase s = " + s);

c = s.charAt(0);

System.out.println("c = " + c);

} }

while ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b'));

Sample output:

E t 'A' f ti A 'B' f ti B

Enter 'A' for option A or 'B' for option B.

A

String s = A Lowercase s = A

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Debugging Example (5 of 9) Debugging Example (5 of 9)

• The following code is supposed to present a The following code is supposed to present a menu and get user input until either ‘a’ or ‘b’

is entered is entered.

do {

s = s.toLowerCase();

c = s.charAt(0);

}

while ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b'));

However, it’s still stuck in an infinite loop. What to try next?

Debugging Example (6 of 9) Debugging Example (6 of 9)

• Could try the following “patch” Could try the following patch

do { {

s = s.toLowerCase();

c = s.charAt(0);

if ( c == 'a') break;

if (c == 'b') break;

}

while ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b'));

Thi k b t it i l ! C id d di t it it d ’t fi th

This works, but it is ugly! Considered a coding atrocity, it doesn’t fix the underlying problem. The boolean condition after the while loop has also become meaningless. Try more tracing:

Debugging Example (7 of 9) Debugging Example (7 of 9)

do { {

c = s.charAt(0);( );

System.out.println("c != 'a' is " + (c != 'a'));

System.out.println("c != 'b' is " + (c != 'b'));

System.out.println("(c != 'a') || (c != 'b')) is "

+ ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b')));(( ) || ( )));

}

while ((c != 'a') || (c != 'b'));

Sample output:

Enter 'A' for option A or 'B' for option B.

A

c != 'a' is false c != 'b' is true c != b is true

(c != 'a') || (c != 'b')) is true

Debugging Example (8 of 9) Debugging Example (8 of 9)

• Fix: We use && instead of || Fix: We use && instead of ||

do { {

c = s.charAt(0);

}

while ((c != 'a') && (c != 'b'));

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Debugging Example (9 of 9) Debugging Example (9 of 9)

• Even better: Declare a boolean variable to control the do‐while loop. This makes it clear when the loop exits if we pick a meaningful variable name. p g

boolean invalidKey;

do { {

c = s.charAt(0);

c s.charAt(0);

if (c == 'a')

invalidKey = false;

else if (c == 'b') invalidKey = false;

invalidKey false;

else

invalidKey = true;

}

while (invalidKey);

Assertion Checks Assertion Checks

A i i h ( ) hi b

• An assertion is a sentence that says (asserts) something about the state of a program

– An assertion must be either true or false, and should be true if aAn assertion must be either true or false, and should be true if a program is working properly

– Assertions can be placed in a program as comments

• Java has a statement that can check if an assertion is true

assert Boolean_Expression;

– If assertion checking is turned on and the g Boolean Expression_ p evaluates to false, the program ends, and outputs an assertion failed error message

– Otherwise, the program finishes execution normally, p g y

Assertion Checks Assertion Checks

A th l t i i ti i

• A program or other class containing assertions is compiled in the usual way

• After compilation a program can run with assertion

• After compilation, a program can run with assertion checking turned on or turned off

– Normally a program runs with assertion checking turned y p g g off

• In order to run a program with assertion checking turned on use the following command (using the turned on, use the following command (using the actual ProgramName ):

java –enableassertions ProgramName java enableassertions ProgramName

Preventive Coding Preventive Coding

• Incremental Development

– Write a little bit of code at a time and test it before moving on

• Code Review

– Have others look at your code

• Pair Programming

– Programming in a team, one typing while the Programming in a team, one typing while the

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Generating Random Numbers Generating Random Numbers

• The Random class can be used to generate pseudo‐random numbers

p

– Not truly random, but uniform distribution based on a mathematical function and good enough in on a mathematical function and good enough in most cases

• Add the following import

import java.util.Random;

• Create an object of type Random

R d d R d ()

Random rnd = new Random();

Generating Random Numbers Generating Random Numbers

• To generate random numbers use the nextInt() method to get a random number from 0 to n‐1

int i = rnd.nextInt(10); // Random number from 0 to 9

• Use the nextDouble() method to get a random () g number from 0 to 1 (always less than 1)

double d = rnd.nextDouble(); // d is >=0 and < 1