MOOC.fi Week 4 continues!

Exercise 79 NumberStatistics

This exercise teaches that we could call methods within an object. Objects can call their own methods. In this exercise, we will have two objects amountOfNumbers and sum. We get to see sum() being called from the average method. This exercise wants:

• addNumber adds a new number to the statistics
• amountOfNumbers tells us how many numbers have been added to the statistics
• sum returns the sum of the added numbers (if no numbers added, the sum is 0)
• average returns the average of the added numbers (if no numbers added, the average is 0)
• create a program that asks the user to input numbers of type integer
• when gives -1, the program stops and prints the sum of the given numbers (excluding the -1)
• Change it to also calculates the sum of even and odd numbers in the user input (again -1 excluded)

Okay, we will start with non-main class, or NumberStatistics class. I will comment everything in the code block.

public class NumberStatistics {                           
    private int amountOfNumber;                     //create object  
    private int sum;                                //create object

    public NumberStatistics() {                 //constructor
        this.amountOfNumber = amountOfNumber;   //initialize object
        this.sum = sum;                         //initialize object
    }

    public void addNumber(int number){          //parameters number given by user
        amountOfNumber++;                       //counts the numbers given by user
        sum += number;                          //sum adds all numbers given by user
    }

    public int amountOfNumbers(){               //returns result of amountOfNumbers++
        return amountOfNumber;
    }

    public int sum(){                           //returns result of sum +=number                 
        return sum;
    }

    public double average(){                    //calculates average
        if (amountOfNumber != 0) {              //if amountOfNumber is not 0
            double average = (1.0 * sum())/amountOfNumber;
            return average;
        } return 0;
    }
}

What we have done so far:

• addNumber adds a new number to the statistics
• amountOfNumbers tells us how many numbers have been added to the statistics
• sum returns the sum of the added numbers (if no numbers added, the sum is 0)
• average returns the average of the added numbers (if no numbers added, the average is 0)

Three remaining tasks require executing, so better to do that in main class.

• create a program that asks the user to input numbers of type integer

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);

        NumberStatistics stats = new NumberStatistics();
        NumberStatistics even = new NumberStatistics();
        NumberStatistics odd = new NumberStatistics();

        int num = 0;
        System.out.println("Type numbers: ");

• when gives -1, the program stops and prints the sum of the given numbers (excluding the -1)

        while (num >= 0){
            num = Integer.parseInt(reader.nextLine());
        }

        System.out.println("sum: " + stats.sum());

• change it to also calculates the sum of even and odd numbers in the user input (again -1 excluded)

        while (num >= 0){
            num = Integer.parseInt(reader.nextLine());
            if (num % 2 == 0 && num >= 0) {
                stats.addNumber(num);
                even.addNumber(num);
            } else if (num % 2 != 0 && num >= 0){
                stats.addNumber(num);
                odd.addNumber(num);
            }
        }

        System.out.println("sum: " + stats.sum());
        System.out.println("sum of even: " + even.sum());
        System.out.println("sum of odd: " + odd.sum());
    }
}

This exercise is good practice with having two different class files. Main or executing class file, and non-main class creating objects and methods. I think I am getting there!

Randomness using Random()

Exercise 80 to Exercise 82 teaches on how to use a method Random(). It can be little hard to grasp at first. I get confused sometime in the few next exercises.

Dice

We will start with Exercise 80. It is the easiest for us beginners to understand how it works. There are main and non-main classes below. They have skeletons given, and non-main class is incomplete. Only one more line of coding in non-main class needed to complete it:

        
public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Dice dice = new Dice(6);

        int i = 0;
        while ( i < 10 ) {
            System.out.println( dice.roll() );
            i++;
        }
    }
}
        
      

        
import java.util.Random;

public class Dice {
    private Random random;
    private int numberOfSides;

    public Dice(int numberOfSides){
        this.numberOfSides = numberofSides;
        random = new Random();

    }

    public int roll() {
          // we'll get a random number in the range 1-numberOfSides<
    }
}
        
      

Main Class is the executing class, and what’s going on in there is a constructor Dice creates a object named dice. Its parameter is 6 or Dice(6). i is a counter variable and initialized with a 0. It increments up to 9, or actually 10 times since it starts with 0. Prints what dice.roll() produced until i reaches to 10 times. Nothing is needed to be added in this Main class.

One line of coding is needed to add to this Dice Class. We have an encapsulation of two different private variables random and numberOfSides. The type of random is Random which is new to me. The constructor Dice(), with int numberOfSides as its parameter, initialized both private variables. random is assigned as a Random(), but what happens is that constructor or object to be made, Dice() is now acting as a Random(). I assume numberOfSides as a parameter is to be the maximum or the highest number possible to be randomized.

public int roll() is a method created to randomize a number when being executed. Now this I have a hard time with. Truthfully, I would have never solved it had I not googled up for a solution. There is a new method in Scanner that I have yet to learn and it is .nextInt(). I have always been using .nextLine() or Integer.parseInt(reader.nextLine). So this .nextInt() is new to me. Let’s see the solution.

public int roll() {
    // create here a random number belongig to range 1-numberOfSided
    return random.nextInt(numberOfSides) + 1;
}

So the method .roll() is created, and its function is to return the number that random.nextInt(numberOfSides) + 1; has randomized. Notice how there is a + 1, if I did not include that, then 0 will occur. I don’t want a 0. I try to understand more about Random() and Oracle website will give a documentation to just about every method out there for Java, but it doesn’t a great job explaining in laymen term. I think stackoverflow is better and easier to understand. I added + 1 as a minimum number.