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Section 9.6 Worked Example: Writing Classes - Getters and Setters

Subgoals for Writing a Class.

  1. Name it
  2. Differentiate class-level static vs. instance/object-level variables
  3. Differentiate class-level static vs. instance/object behaviors/methods
  4. Define instance variables (that you want to be interrelated)
    1. Name
    2. Data Type
    3. private
  5. Define class variables static as needed
    1. Name
    2. Data Type
    3. public / private / final
  6. Create constructor (behavior) that creates initial state of object
    1. Overloaded constructor (with as many parameters)
    2. public
    3. Same name as class
    4. No return type
    5. Default - no parameters
    6. Logic - initialize all variables
    7. Repeat as needed, adding parameters
  7. Create 1 accessor and 1 mutator behaviors per attribute
    1. Accessors
      1. Name is get_<attr_name>
      2. Public
      3. Return type same data type as attribute
      4. No parameters
      5. Logic - return value
    2. Mutators
      1. Name is set_<attr_name>
      2. Public
      3. Return type is void
      4. Parameter is same data type as attribute
      5. Logic validates input parameter and sets attribute value
  8. Write toString method
    1. public
    2. Returns String
    3. No parameters
    4. Logic - convert needed attributes to a format that can be printed
  9. Write equals method
    1. public
    2. Returns boolean
    3. Parameter - instance of the class
    4. Logic - compare attributes for equity
  10. Create additional methods as needed

Subsection 9.6.1

You can watch this video or read through the content below it.
Problem: We will be writing a class to represent an instance of time, like a specific time in the day.
Now write the appropriate accessors (getters) and mutators (setters).

Subsection 9.6.2 SG7: Create 1 accessor and 1 mutator behaviors per attribute

There are 3 instance attributes, so we will need 3 getters and 3 setters
7A. Accessors
  1. Name is get_<attr_name>
  2. Public
  3. Return type same data type as attribute
  4. No parameters
  5. Logic - return value
public int getHr() {
       return hour;
}

public int getMin() {
   return minute;
}

public int getSec() {
   return second;
}
7B. Mutators
  1. Name is set_<attr_name>
  2. Public
  3. Return type is void
  4. Parameter is same data type as attribute
  5. Logic validates input parameter and sets attribute value
public void setHr(int hr) {
   if (hr >=0 && hr <= 23)
      hour = hr;
}

public void setMin(int min) {
   if (min >= 0 && min <= 59)
      minute = min;
}

public void setSec(int sec) {
   if (sec >= 0 && sec <= 59)
      second = sec;
}

Subsection 9.6.3

After writing getters and setters, this is a good time to review the structure of the class and refactor the overloaded constructor(s) to eliminate duplicate validation logic.
Figure 9.6.1.
public TimeType (int hr, int min, int sec) {
   setHr(hr);
   setMin(min);
   setSec(sec);
}
After working on the class definition, it is a good practice to test with a main driver program.
public static void main (String [] args) {
   TimeType now = new TimeType();
   now.setHr(14);
   now.setMin(30);
   now.setSec(45);
}

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