Transcript Which is better?

Which is better?
Which is better?
•
Assume s1 and s2 are Strings:
A. if (s1 == s2) { ... }
B. if (s1.equals(s2)) { ... }
Answer: B
• s1 == s2 tests whether s1 and s2 reference the
same string; s1.equals(s2) tests whether they
reference equal strings
• String s1 = "ABC";
String s2 = s1;
String s3 = "ABC";
String s4 = "AB" + "C"
• All these strings are equal; but s4 is in a different
memory location than the others, so the == test
yields false
Which is better?
•
Assume String s1;
A. if (s1.equals("OK")) { ... }
B. if ("OK".equals(s1)) { ... }
Answer: B
• s1.equals("OK") sends a message to s1 asking if it is equal
to "OK"
• "OK".equals(s1) sends a message to "OK" asking if it is
equal to s1
– This is legal, because "OK" is a String
• If s1 is null, then:
s1.equals("OK") gives a NullPointerException
"OK".equals(s1) gives false
Which is better?
•
Assume int numbers[ ] = new int[100];
A. for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
numbers[i] = i;
B. for (int i = 0; i <= 99; i++)
numbers[i] = i;
Answer: A
• for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) is better than
for (int i = 0; i <= 99; i++)
• Three reasons:
– The first is more traditional
– The array size is 100, not 99, so it’s more obvious
where the number came from
• You have to do some arithmetic to get 99
– If you change the array size, a search for 100 won’t
find the loop that uses 99
Which is better?
•
Assume int numbers[ ] = new int[100];
A. for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
numbers[i] = i;
B. for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++)
numbers[i] = i;
Answer: B
• for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++)
is better than
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
• If you later decide to change the size of the
numbers array, you only need to do it in the
declaration; the for loop that uses length will
automatically adjust
Which is better?
•
Assume finished is a boolean variable:
A. if (finished == true) {...}
B. if (finished) {...}
Answer: B
• finished == true is redundant:
– If finished is true, then finished==true will be true
– If finished is false, then finished==true will be false
• The extra words don’t gain you anything
– finished==true might seem more readable to a
beginner, but you quickly learn to read the shorter form
– Brevity in programming, as in writing, is a virtue
– You can avoid the possible mistake of saying
if (finished = true) { ... }
Which is better?
•
Assume foo, bar, and larger are integers
A. if (foo > bar) larger = foo;
else larger = bar;
B. larger = foo > bar ? foo : bar;
Answer: neither
• For each of these, you have to look at the code
carefully to make sure it is correct
larger = Math.max(foo, bar);
is easier to read and more obviously correct
Which is better?
A. String s = "Hello";
B. String s = new String("Hello");
Answer: A
• "Hello" is special syntax to implicitly construct a
string
• String s = new String("Hello"); actually
constructs two strings: "Hello" constructs the first
string, then it is given as a parameter to an explicit
constructor, which constructs the second string
Which is better?
•
Suppose p is a Panel with a BorderLayout and
okButton is a Button:
A. p.add(okButton, BorderLayout.NORTH);
B. p.add(okButton, "North");
•
Note: BorderLayout.NORTH == "North"
Answer: A
• p.add(okButton, BorderLayout.NORTH); is
strongly recommended over the shorter form
p.add(okButton, "North") -- but why?
• Answer: better error detection
– If you type p.add(okButton, "north"), there is no
error, but it doesn’t do what you want
– If you type p.add(okButton, BorderLayout.North)
you will get a syntax error, because BorderLayout has
no such variable as North
Which is better?
•
Suppose n is an int and s is a String:
A. s = Integer.toString(n);
B. s = String.valueOf(n);
C. s = new Integer(n).toString();
D. s = n + "";
Answer: D
• I prefer D (s = n + ""; ) because:
– It’s a common idiom, therefore easily recognized
– It’s short
– It works for any type
Which is better?
•
Assume n is an integer:
A. if (n < 0) n = 0;
B. if (n < 0)
n = 0;
C. if (n < 0) {
n = 0;
}
Answer: C
• If, later on, you want to add a statement, it’s easy to
make this mistake with B:
– if (n < 0)
System.out.println("n was " + n);
n = 0;
• You won’t make this mistake with A or C
– With C (using braces), you don’t have to change anything
that’s already there
– However, A (all on one line) is often convenient
Which is better?
•
Assume n is an integer:
A. int factorial = 1;
for (int i = 2; i < n; i++) {
factorial *= n;
}
B. int factorial = 1;
int i = 1;
for (i = 2; i < n; i++) {
factorial *= n;
}
Answer: A
• In most cases, you don’t care about the index of a
for loop outside the loop
– You typically give it an initial value in the loop
– You typically already have its final value in some
variable or by some simple computation
• If you don’t need a variable, you shouldn’t have
that variable
– It doesn’t help anything, and it might get in the way
Conclusions
• There are various ways to do things
• One way may be better than another because:
–
–
–
–
It’s easier to read and understand
It’s more familiar—the way things are usually done
It’s less error prone, or provides better error detection
It’s more efficient
The End