Chapter 6 Methods

Modified from:
-W3Schools.com
-Introduction to Java Programming, Liang, 10 th Edition

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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Introduction
 In this lecture, we will explore the concept of
methods in Java programming. Methods play a
crucial role in organizing and structuring code,
promoting code modularity, reusability, and
maintenance. Throughout this lecture, we will
cover various topics including method
definition, method creation, method calling,
return values, and tracing a method invocation.
Understanding these concepts will enhance
your ability to write efficient and well-
structured Java code.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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Outline
 Method definition
 Method creation
 Method calling
 Return values
 Tracing a method invocation

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Opening Problem
Find the sum of integers from 1 to 10, from 20 to 30, and
from 35 to 45, respectively.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Problem
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 20; i <= 30; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 35; i <= 45; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " + sum);

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Problem
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 20; i <= 30; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " + sum);

sum = 0;
for (int i = 35; i <= 45; i++)
sum += i;
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " + sum);

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Method definition
 A method is a block of code which only runs
when it is called.
 You can pass data, known as parameters, into a
method.
 Methods are used to perform certain actions, and
they are also known as functions.
 Why use methods? To reuse code: define the code
once, and use it many times.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Solution
public static int sum(int i1, int i2) {
int sum = 0;
for (int i = i1; i <= i2; i++)
sum += i;
return sum;
}

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println("Sum from 1 to 10 is " + sum(1, 10));
System.out.println("Sum from 20 to 30 is " + sum(20, 30));
System.out.println("Sum from 35 to 45 is " + sum(35, 45));
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Create a Method
- A method must be declared within a class.
- It is defined with the name of the method, followed by
parentheses ().
- Java provides some pre-defined methods, such
as System.out.println(),
-but you can also create your own methods to perform certain
actions.
Example
Create a method inside Main class:
public class Main {
static void myMethod() {
// code to be executed
}
} Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
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rights reserved.
 Call a Method
To call a method in Java, write the method's name followed by two
parentheses () and a semicolon;
In the following example, myMethod() is used to print a text (the action), when it
is called:
Example
Inside main, call the myMethod() method:
public class Main {
static void myMethod() {
System.out.println("I just got executed!");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
myMethod();
}
}
// Outputs "I just got executed!"
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Method Example 2
Define a method Invoke a method

return value method formal

modifier type name parameters
int z = max(x, y);
method
public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
header
actual parameters
int result; (arguments)
method
body parameter list
if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
else
method
result = num2; signature

return result; return value

}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Return Values
The void keyword, used in the examples above, indicates that the method should
not return a value. If you want the method to return a value, you can use a
primitive data type (such as int, char, etc.) instead of void, and use
the return keyword inside the method:

Example
public class Main {
static int myMethod(int x) {
return 5 + x;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(myMethod(3));
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Return Values (cont.)
This example returns the sum of a method's two parameters:
Example
public class Main {
static int myMethod(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(myMethod(5, 3));
}
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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 Return Values (cont.)
You can also store the result in a variable (recommended, as it is easier
to read and maintain):

Example
public class Main {
static int myMethod(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int z = myMethod(5, 3);
System.out.println(z);
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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animation

Trace Method Invocation

i is now 5

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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animation

Trace Method Invocation

j is now 2

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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animation

Trace Method Invocation

invoke max(i, j)

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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animation

Trace Method Invocation

invoke max(i, j)
Pass the value of i to num1
Pass the value of j to num2

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
18
animation

Trace Method Invocation

declare variable result

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
19
animation

Trace Method Invocation

(num1 > num2) is true since num1 is
5 and num2 is 2

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
20
animation

Trace Method Invocation

result is now 5

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
21
animation

Trace Method Invocation

return result, which is 5

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
22
animation

Trace Method Invocation

return max(i, j) and assign the
return value to k

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
23
animation

Trace Method Invocation

Execute the print statement

public static void main(String[] args) { public static int max(int num1, int num2) {
int i = 5; int result;
int j = 2;
int k = max(i, j); if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
System.out.println( else
"The maximum between " + i + result = num2;
" and " + j + " is " + k);
} return result;
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
24
 References
 Y. Daniel Liang, 2019, Intro to Java
Programming, Comprehensive Version, Student
Value Edition 12th Edition. Pearson, ISBN-10 :
0136520154 ISBN-13: 978-0136520153.

 Introduction to Java,
https://www.w3schools.com/java/java_intro.asp,
Last Updated 2024, Last Accessed March 2024

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Tenth Edition, (c) 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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