[Chapter 3] Classes and Objects in Java

Java is an object-oriented language. "Object-oriented" is a term that has become so commonly used as to have practically no concrete meaning. This chapter explains just what "object-oriented" means for Java. It covers:

If you are a C++ programmer, or have other object-oriented programming experience, many of the concepts in this list should be familiar to you. If you do not have object-oriented experience, don't fear: This chapter assumes no knowledge of object-oriented concepts.

We saw in the last chapter that close analogies can be drawn between Java and C. Unfortunately for C++ programmers, the same is not true for Java and C++. Java uses object-oriented programming concepts that are familiar to C++ programmers, and it even borrows from C++ syntax in a number of places, but the analogies between Java and C++ are not nearly as strong as those between Java and C. [1] C++ programmers may have an easier time with this chapter than C programmers will, but they should still read it carefully and try not to form preconceptions about Java based on their knowledge of C++.

3.1 Introduction to Classes and Objects

A class is a collection of data and methods that operate on that data. [2] The data and methods, taken together, usually serve to define the contents and capabilities of some kind of object.

[2] A method is the object-oriented term for a procedure or a function. You'll see it used a lot in this book. Treat it as a synonym for "procedure."

For example, a circle can be described by the x, y position of its center and by its radius. There are a number of things we can do with circles: compute their circumference, compute their area, check whether points are inside them, and so on. Each circle is different (i.e., has a different center or radius), but as a class, circles have certain intrinsic properties that we can capture in a definition. Example 3.1 shows how we could partially define the class of circles in Java. Notice that the class definition contains data and methods (procedures) within the same pair of curly brackets. [3]

[3] C++ programmers should note that methods go inside the class definition in Java, not outside with the :: operator as they usually do in C++.

Example 3.1: The Class of Circles, Partially Captured in Java Code

public class Circle {
    public double x, y;   // The coordinates of the center
    public double r;      // The radius
    // Methods that return the circumference and area of the circle
    public double circumference() { return 2 * 3.14159 * r; }
    public double area() { return 3.14159 * r*r; }
}

Objects Are Instances of a Class

Now that we've defined (at least partially) the class Circle, we want to do something with it. We can't do anything with the class of circles itself--we need a particular circle to work with. We need an instance of the class, a single circle object.

By defining the Circle class in Java, we have created a new data type. We can declare variables of that type:

Circle c;

But this variable c is simply a name that refers to a circle object; it is not an object itself. In Java, all objects must be created dynamically. This is almost always done with the new keyword:

Circle c;
c = new Circle();

Now we have created an instance of our Circle class--a circle object--and have assigned it to the variable c, which is of type Circle.

Accessing Object Data

Now that we've created an object, we can use its data fields. The syntax should be familiar to C programmers:

Circle c = new Circle();
c.x = 2.0;  // Initialize our circle to have center (2, 2) and radius 1.0.
c.y = 2.0;
c.r = 1.0;

Using Object Methods

This is where things get interesting! To access the methods of an object, we use the same syntax as accessing the data of an object:

Circle c = new Circle();
double a;
c.r = 2.5;
a = c.area();

Take a look at that last line. We did not say:

a = area(c);

We said:

a = c.area();

This is why it is called "object-oriented" programming; the object is the focus here, not the function call. This is probably the single most important feature of the object-oriented paradigm.

Note that we don't have to pass an argument to c.area(). The object we are operating on, c, is implicit in the syntax. Take a look at Example 3.1 again: you'll notice the same thing in the definition of the area() method--it doesn't take an argument. It is implicit in the language that a method operates on an instance of the class within which it is defined. Thus our area() method can use the r field of the class freely--it is understood that it is referring to the radius of whatever Circle instance invokes the method.

How It Works

What's going on here? How can a method that takes no arguments know what data to operate on? In fact, the area() method does have an argument! area() is implemented with an implicit argument that is not shown in the method declaration. The implicit argument is named this, and refers to "this object"--the Circle object through which the method is invoked. this is often called the "this pointer." [4]

[4] "this pointer" is C++ terminology. Since Java does not support pointers, I prefer the term "this reference."

The implicit this argument is not shown in method signatures because it is usually not needed--whenever a Java method accesses the fields in its class, it is implied that it is accessing fields in the object referred to by the this argument. The same is true, as we'll see, when a method in a class invokes other methods in the class--it is implicit that the methods are being invoked for the this object.

We can use the this keyword explicitly when we want to make explicit that a method is accessing its own variables and/or methods. For example, we could rewrite the area() method like this:

public double area() { return 3.14159 * this.r * this.r; }

In a method this simple, it is not necessary to be explicit. In more complicated cases, however, you may find that it increases the clarity of your code to use an explicit this where it is not strictly required.

An instance where the this keyword is required is when a method argument or a local variable in a method has the same name as one of the fields of the class. In this case, you must use this to access the field. If you used the field name alone, you would end up accessing the argument or local variable with the same name. We'll see examples of this in the next section.