Object and Class in Java
In this page, we will learn about java objects and classes. In object-oriented
programming technique, we design a program using objects and classes.
Object is the physical as well as logical entity whereas class is the logical entity
only.
Object in Java
An entity that has state and behavior is known as an object e.g. chair, bike,
marker, pen, table, car etc. It can be physical or logical (tangible and
intangible). The example of intangible object is banking system.
An object has three characteristics:
o State: represents data (value) of an object.
o Behavior: represents the behavior (functionality) of an object such as
deposit, withdraw etc.
o Identity: Object identity is typically implemented via a unique ID. The
value of the ID is not visible to the external user. But, it is used internally
by the JVM to identify each object uniquely.
For Example: Pen is an object. Its name is Reynolds, color is white etc. known
as its state. It is used to write, so writing is its behavior.
Object is an instance of a class. Class is a template or blueprint from which
objects are created. So object is the instance (result) of a class.
Object Definitions:
o Object is a real world entity.
o Object is a run time entity.
o Object is an entity which has state and behavior.
o Object is an instance of a class.
Class in Java
A class is a group of objects which have common properties. It is a template or
blueprint from which objects are created. It is a logical entity. It can't be
physical.
A class in Java can contain:
o fields
o methods
o constructors
o blocks
o nested class and interface
Syntax to declare a class:
1. class <class_name>{
2. field;
3. method;
4. }
Instance variable in Java
A variable which is created inside the class but outside the method is known as
instance variable. Instance variable doesn't get memory at compile time. It gets
memory at run time when object (instance) is created. That is why, it is known
as instance variable.
Method in Java
In java, a method is like function i.e. used to expose behavior of an object.
Advantage of Method
o Code Reusability
o Code Optimization
new keyword in Java
The new keyword is used to allocate memory at run time. All objects get
memory in Heap memory area.
Object and Class Example: main within class
In this example, we have created a Student class that has two data members id
and name. We are creating the object of the Student class by new keyword and
printing the objects value.
Here, we are creating main() method inside the class.
File: Student.java
1. class Student{
2. int id;//field or data member or instance variable
3. String name;
4.
5. public static void main(String args[]){
6. Student s1=new Student();//creating an object of Student
7. System.out.println(s1.id);//accessing member through reference variable
8. System.out.println(s1.name);
9. }
10. }
Test it Now
Output:
0
null
Object and Class Example: main outside class
In real time development, we create classes and use it from another class. It is
a better approach than previous one. Let's see a simple example, where we are
having main() method in another class.
We can have multiple classes in different java files or single java file. If you
define multiple classes in a single java source file, it is a good idea to save the
file name with the class name which has main() method.
File: TestStudent1.java
1. class Student{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. }
5. class TestStudent1{
6. public static void main(String args[]){
7. Student s1=new Student();
8. System.out.println(s1.id);
9. System.out.println(s1.name);
10. }
11. }
Test it Now
Output:
0
null
3 Ways to initialize object
There are 3 ways to initialize object in java.
1. By reference variable
2. By method
3. By constructor
1) Object and Class Example: Initialization through
reference
Initializing object simply means storing data into object. Let's see a simple
example where we are going to initialize object through reference variable.
File: TestStudent2.java
1. class Student{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. }
5. class TestStudent2{
6. public static void main(String args[]){
7. Student s1=new Student();
8. s1.id=101;
9. s1.name="Sonoo";
10.
System.out.println(s1.id+" "+s1.name);//printing members with a white space
11. }
12. }
Test it Now
Output:
101 Sonoo
We can also create multiple objects and store information in it through
reference variable.
File: TestStudent3.java
1. class Student{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. }
5. class TestStudent3{
6. public static void main(String args[]){
7. //Creating objects
8. Student s1=new Student();
9. Student s2=new Student();
10. //Initializing objects
11. s1.id=101;
12. s1.name="Sonoo";
13. s2.id=102;
14. s2.name="Amit";
15. //Printing data
16. System.out.println(s1.id+" "+s1.name);
17. System.out.println(s2.id+" "+s2.name);
18. }
19. }
Test it Now
Output:
101 Sonoo
102 Amit
2) Object and Class Example: Initialization through
method
In this example, we are creating the two objects of Student class and initializing
the value to these objects by invoking the insertRecord method. Here, we are
displaying the state (data) of the objects by invoking the displayInformation()
method.
File: TestStudent4.java
1. class Student{
2. int rollno;
3. String name;
4. void insertRecord(int r, String n){
5. rollno=r;
6. name=n;
7. }
8. void displayInformation()
9. {
10. System.out.println(rollno+" "+name);}
11. }
12. class TestStudent4{
13. public static void main(String args[]){
14. Student s1=new Student();
15. Student s2=new Student();
16. s1.insertRecord(111,"Karan");
17. s2.insertRecord(222,"Aryan");
18. s1.displayInformation();
19. s2.displayInformation();
20. }
21. }
Test it Now
Output:
111 Karan
222 Aryan
Object and Class Example: Employee
Let's see an example where we are maintaining records of employees.
File: TestEmployee.java
1. class Employee{
2. int id;
3. String name;
4. float salary;
5. void insert(int i, String n, float s) {
6. id=i;
7. name=n;
8. salary=s;
9. }
10. void display(){System.out.println(id+" "+name+" "+salary);}
11. }
12. public class TestEmployee {
13. public static void main(String[] args) {
14. Employee e1=new Employee();
15. Employee e2=new Employee();
16. Employee e3=new Employee();
17. e1.insert(101,"ajeet",45000);
18. e2.insert(102,"irfan",25000);
19. e3.insert(103,"nakul",55000);
20. e1.display();
21. e2.display();
22. e3.display();
23. }
24. }
Test it Now
Output:
101 ajeet 45000.0
102 irfan 25000.0
103 nakul 55000.0
Object and Class Example: Rectangle
There is given another example that maintains the records of Rectangle class.
File: TestRectangle1.java
1. class Rectangle{
2. int length;
3. int width;
4. void insert(int l, int w){
5. length=l;
6. width=w;
7. }
8. void calculateArea(){System.out.println(length*width);}
9. }
10. class TestRectangle1{
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Rectangle r1=new Rectangle();
13. Rectangle r2=new Rectangle();
14. r1.insert(11,5);
15. r2.insert(3,15);
16. r1.calculateArea();
17. r2.calculateArea();
18. }
19. }
Test it Now
Output:
55
45
What are the different ways to create an object
in Java?
There are many ways to create an object in java. They are:
o By new keyword
o By newInstance() method
o By clone() method
o By deserialization
o By factory method etc.
We will learn these ways to create object later.
Anonymous object
Anonymous simply means nameless. An object which has no reference is known
as anonymous object. It can be used at the time of object creation only.
If you have to use an object only once, anonymous object is a good approach.
For example:
1. new Calculation();//anonymous object
Calling method through reference:
1. Calculation c=new Calculation();
2. c.fact(5);
Calling method through anonymous object
1. new Calculation().fact(5);
Let's see the full example of anonymous object in java.
1. class Calculation{
2. void fact(int n){
3. int fact=1;
4. for(int i=1;i<=n;i++){
5. fact=fact*i;
6. }
7. System.out.println("factorial is "+fact);
8. }
9. public static void main(String args[]){
10. new Calculation().fact(5);//calling method with anonymous object
11. }
12. }
Output:
Factorial is 120
Creating multiple objects by one type only
We can create multiple objects by one type only as we do in case of primitives.
Initialization of primitive variables:
1. int a=10, b=20;
Initialization of refernce variables:
1. Rectangle r1=new Rectangle(), r2=new Rectangle();//creating two objects
Let's see the example:
1. class Rectangle{
2. int length;
3. int width;
4. void insert(int l,int w){
5. length=l;
6. width=w;
7. }
8. void calculateArea(){System.out.println(length*width);}
9. }
10. class TestRectangle2{
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. Rectangle r1=new Rectangle(),r2=new Rectangle();//creating two objects
13. r1.insert(11,5);
14. r2.insert(3,15);
15. r1.calculateArea();
16. r2.calculateArea();
17. }
18. }
Test it Now
Output:
55
45
Real World Example: Account
File: TestAccount.java
1. class Account{
2. int acc_no;
3. String name;
4. float amount;
5. void insert(int a,String n,float amt){
6. acc_no=a;
7. name=n;
8. amount=amt;
9. }
10. void deposit(float amt){
11. amount=amount+amt;
12. System.out.println(amt+" deposited");
13. }
14. void withdraw(float amt){
15. if(amount<amt){
16. System.out.println("Insufficient Balance");
17. }else{
18. amount=amount-amt;
19. System.out.println(amt+" withdrawn");
20. }
21. }
22. void checkBalance(){System.out.println("Balance is: "+amount);}
23. void display(){System.out.println(acc_no+" "+name+" "+amount);}
24. }
25.
26. class TestAccount{
27. public static void main(String[] args){
28. Account a1=new Account();
29. a1.insert(832345,"Ankit",1000);
30. a1.display();
31. a1.checkBalance();
32. a1.deposit(40000);
33. a1.checkBalance();
34. a1.withdraw(15000);
35. a1.checkBalance();
36. }}
Test it Now
Output:
832345 Ankit 1000.0
Balance is: 1000.0
40000.0 deposited
Balance is: 41000.0
15000.0 withdrawn
Balance is: 26000.0
