Java® Essentials For Dummies®

Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here Chapter 1 Installing and Using Java Tools Downloading and Installing the Java Development Kit Downloading the JDK Installing the JDK Perusing the JDK folders Setting the JAVA_HOME and path variables Confirming Your Java Version Chapter 2 Working with TextPad Downloading and Installing TextPad Editing Source Files Compiling a Program Running a Java Program Chapter 3 Java Programming Basics Looking at the Venerable Hello, World! Program Dealing with Keywords Working with Statements Types of statements White space Working with Blocks Creating Identifiers Crafting Comments End-of-line comments Traditional comments Introducing Object-Oriented Programming Understanding classes and objects Understanding static methods Creating an object from a class Viewing a program that uses an object The HelloApp2 class The Greeter class So what’s the difference? Importing Java API Classes Chapter 4 Working with Variables and Data Types Declaring Variables Declaring two or more variables in one statement Declaring class variables Declaring instance variables Declaring local variables Initializing Variables Initializing variables with assignment statements Initializing variables with initializers Using Final Variables (Constants) Working with Primitive Data Types Integer types Floating-point types The char type The Boolean type Using wrapper classes Using reference types Working with Strings Declaring and initializing strings Combining strings Converting primitives to strings Converting strings to primitives Understanding Scope Chapter 5 Working with Numbers and Expressions Working with Arithmetic Operators Using Compound Assignment Operators Using the Math Class Using constants of the Math class Working with mathematical functions Creating random numbers Rounding functions Formatting Numbers Chapter 6 Making Choices Using Simple Boolean Expressions Using if Statements Simple if statements if-else statements else-if statements Using Mr. Spock’s Favorite Operators (Logical Ones, of Course) Using the ! operator Using the & and && operators Using the | and || operators Combining logical operators Using the switch Statement Viewing an example else-if program Creating a better version of the example program Chapter 7 Going Around in Circles (or, Using Loops) Using Your Basic while Loop The while statement A counting loop Breaking Out of a Loop Using the continue Statement Running do-while Loops Using the Famous for Loop Understanding the formal format of the for loop Scoping out the counter variable Counting even numbers Counting backward Chapter 8 Adding Some Methods to Your Madness The Basics of Making Methods Methods That Return Values Declaring the method’s return type Using the return statement to return the value Using a method that returns a type You gotta have a proper return statement Methods That Take Parameters Chapter 9 Handling Exceptions Understanding Exceptions Catching Exceptions A simple example Another example Handling Exceptions with a Preemptive Strike Catching All Exceptions at Once Using a finally Block Chapter 10 Making Your Own Classes Declaring a Class Picking class names Knowing what goes in the class body Seeing where classes live Working with Members Understanding fields Understanding instance methods Understanding visibility Using Getters and Setters Creating Constructors Creating basic constructors Creating default constructors Calling other constructors Chapter 11 Using Subclasses and Inheritance Introducing Inheritance Motorcycles, trains, and automobiles Game play A businesslike example Inheritance hierarchies Creating Subclasses Overriding Methods Protecting Your Members Using the this and super Keywords in Your Subclasses Understanding Inheritance and Constructors Using the final Keyword Final methods Final classes Chapter 12 Using Arrays Understanding Arrays Creating Arrays Initializing an Array Using for Loops with Arrays Solving a homework problem with an array Using the enhanced for loop Using Arrays with Methods Using Varargs Using Two-Dimensional Arrays Creating a two-dimensional array Accessing two-dimensional array elements Initializing a two-dimensional array Using jagged arrays Chapter 13 Ten Techniques for Easier Java Coding Compiling a Java Program from the Command Line Running a Java Program from the Command Line Casting Numeric Data Printing Data with System.out Getting Input with the JOptionPane Class Using the Unary Plus and Minus Operators Using the Increment and Decrement Operators Using the Conditional Operator Comparing Strings Nesting Your Loops Index EULA