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How to Perform Percentage on item list Enum? [closed]

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I'm looking for some tip on how to do a percentage thing for my game I want all flowers in a range of 1-98 and white/black flowers 99-100 to make it more rarerity thanks for the help :)
public enum FlowerSuit {
WHITE_FLOWERS("white", ":white:", "470419377456414720", 1),
YELLOW_FLOWERS("yellow", ":yellow:", "470419561267855360", 1 ),
RED_FLOWERS("red", ":red:", "470419583250202644", 1),
RAINBOW_FLOWERS("rainbow", ":rainbow:", "470419602841665536", 1),
PASTEL_FLOWERS("pastel", ":pastel:", "470419629450199040", 1),
ORANGE_FLOWERS("orange", ":orange:", "470419647900942366", 1),
BLUE_FLOWERS("blue", ":blue:", "470419688753594368", 1),
BLACK_FLOWERS("black", ":black:", "470419706751352842", 1);
private final String displayName;
private final String emoticon;
private int value;
private final String id;
FlowerSuit(String displayName, String emoticon, String id, int value ) {
this.displayName = displayName;
this.emoticon = emoticon;
this.value = value;
this.id = id;
}
public String getDisplayName() {
return displayName;
}
public String getEmoticon() {
return emoticon;
}
public String getId() {
return id;
}
public int getValue() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return value;
}
}

This is how I'd do it, but it can probably be improved, for starters by using Java 8 streams etc.
public enum FlowerSuit {
WHITE_FLOWERS("white", ":white:", "470419377456414720", 1,3),
YELLOW_FLOWERS("yellow", ":yellow:", "470419561267855360", 1,2),
RED_FLOWERS("red", ":red:", "470419583250202644", 1,2),
RAINBOW_FLOWERS("rainbow", ":rainbow:", "470419602841665536", 1,2),
PASTEL_FLOWERS("pastel", ":pastel:", "470419629450199040", 1,2),
ORANGE_FLOWERS("orange", ":orange:", "470419647900942366", 1,2),
BLUE_FLOWERS("blue", ":blue:", "470419688753594368", 1,2),
BLACK_FLOWERS("black", ":black:", "470419706751352842", 1,1);
private static Random random = new Random();
private final String displayName;
private final String emoticon;
private int value;
private final String id;
private final int freq;
private FlowerSuit(String displayName, String emoticon, String id, int value, int freq ) {
this.displayName = displayName;
this.emoticon = emoticon;
this.value = value;
this.id = id;
this.freq = freq;
}
public String getDisplayName() {return displayName;}
public String getEmoticon() {return emoticon;}
public String getId() {return id;}
public int getValue() {return value;}
/**
* Choose a flower
* white has a 3 in 16 (about a 5:1) chance of being picked
* Black has a 1 in 16 chance, everything else 2/16
* #return
*/
public static FlowerSuit pick() {
//first sum all the chances (currently it's 16)
int sum = 0;
for (FlowerSuit f:FlowerSuit.values()) sum+= f.freq;
//now choose a random number
int r = FlowerSuit.random.nextInt(sum) + 1;
//now find out which flower to pick
sum = 0;
for (FlowerSuit f:FlowerSuit.values()) {
sum += f.freq;
if (r<=sum) return f;
}
//code will never get here
return FlowerSuit.WHITE_FLOWERS;
}
public static void main(final String[] args) throws Exception {
//Test it
Map<FlowerSuit,Integer>count = new HashMap<FlowerSuit,Integer>();
for (int a=0;a<1000000;a++) {
FlowerSuit f = FlowerSuit.pick();
Integer i = (count.get(f)!=null)?count.get(f):new Integer(0);
i = new Integer(i+1);
count.put(f,i);
}
int sum = 0;
for (Map.Entry<FlowerSuit,Integer>e:count.entrySet()) sum+=e.getValue();
float f = Float.valueOf(sum);
for (Map.Entry<FlowerSuit,Integer>e:count.entrySet()) {
System.out.println(e.getKey() + " was chosen " + ((e.getValue() / f) * 100f) + "% of the time");
}
}
}
gives
BLUE_FLOWERS was chosen 12.4986% of the time
PASTEL_FLOWERS was chosen 12.4707% of the time
WHITE_FLOWERS was chosen 18.7365% of the time
BLACK_FLOWERS was chosen 6.2632003% of the time
ORANGE_FLOWERS was chosen 12.4986% of the time
RED_FLOWERS was chosen 12.5241995% of the time
YELLOW_FLOWERS was chosen 12.501401% of the time
RAINBOW_FLOWERS was chosen 12.5068% of the time

You can use a TreeMap to map all of the integers from 0 to 99 to a particular FlowerSuit. Take advantage of the floorEntry method to choose a FlowerSuit for each number. It might look something like this.
public class FlowerChooser {
private static final NavigableMap<Integer, FlowerSuit> FLOWER_SUITS;
private static final Random RANDOMS = new Random();
public FlowerChooser() {
FLOWER_SUITS = new TreeMap<>();
FLOWER_SUITS.put(0, FlowerSuit.RED_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(14, FlowerSuit.ORANGE_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(28, FlowerSuit.YELLOW_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(42, FlowerSuit.GREEN_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(56, FlowerSuit.BLUE_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(70, FlowerSuit.INDIGO_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(84, FlowerSuit.VIOLET_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(98, FlowerSuit.WHITE_FLOWERS);
FLOWER_SUITS.put(99, FlowerSuit.BLACK_FLOWERS);
}
public FlowerSuit randomFlowerSuit() {
int index = RANDOMS.nextInt(100);
return FLOWER_SUITS.floorEntry(index).getValue();
}
}
Create just one object of this class, then whenever you want a FlowerSuit, call the randomFlowerSuit method.
The randomFlowerSuit method picks a random number from 0 to 99, then finds an appropriate entry in the map. The floorEntry method chooses an entry whose key is less than or equal to the chosen number. This means that numbers from 0 to 13 get mapped to red, 14 to 27 get mapped to orange, and so on. The only number that gets mapped to white is 98, and the only number that gets mapped to black is 99.

No matter what solution you implement, you want to include a frequency measure in your enum. As an example, you can do something like this:
public enum FlowerSuit {
WHITE_FLOWERS("white", ":white:", "470419377456414720", 1, 1),
YELLOW_FLOWERS("yellow", ":yellow:", "470419561267855360", 1, 20),
// More declarations here
// Add this variable
private final int frequency;
// Do just as you did before in the constructor, but with the frequency
FlowerSuit(String displayName, String emoticon, String id, int value, int frequency){
this.frequency = frequency;
// More assignments here
}
public int getFrequency(){
return frequency;
}
// More getters here
}
This addition is critical, and no matter what method you use to weight flower selection, you will want this addition to your FlowerSuit enum.
Now, we can explore a few different ways to perform this selection.
Note 1: I use ThreadLocalRandom for random numbers in a range, which is from java.util.concurrent.ThreadLocalRandom.
Note 2: For each of these, make a single instance of FlowerPicker, and use the pickFlower() method to pick the next flower. This avoid running costly setup code over and over.
Method 1: Bag of Flowers
This method is probably the easiest to implement. It entails creating a list of enums where each is represented frequency times, and then selecting a random entry from this list. It is similar to throwing a bunch of flowers in a bag, shaking it, and then reaching your hand in and grabbing the first flower you touch. Here's the implementation:
public class FlowerPicker(){
private ArrayList<FlowerSuit> bag;
public FlowerPicker(){
// Get all possible FlowerSuits
FlowerSuit[] options = FlowerSuit.values();
// You can use an array here or an array list with a defined length if you know the total of the frequencies
bag = new ArrayList<FlowerSuit>();
// Add each flower from options frequency times
for (FlowerSuit flower : options)
for (int i=0; i<flower.getFrequency(); i++)
bag.add(flower);
}
public FlowerBag pickFlower(){
// Now, select a random flower from this list
int randomIndex = ThreadLocalRandom.current().nextInt(0, bag.size());
return bag.get(randomIndex);
}
}
This method has the advantage of being simple enough to understand very easily. However, it can be inefficient if your frequencies are extremely specific (like if you want a rainbow flower to be returned 499,999,999 times out of 1,000,000,000). Let's move on to the next method.
Note 1: You could make this better by reducing the fractions representing the frequency of being chosen, but I'll leave this to you.
Note 2: You could also make this slightly better by storing identification numbers, not FlowerSuit objects in the bag list.
Method 2: Navigable Map
This method is a little bit more difficult. It uses a [NavigableMap][1], which is an implementation of [TreeMap][2]. This method is fairly similar to the Bag of Flowers method, but it is a little bit more efficient. Put simply, it uses the TreeMap to give each FlowerSuit a range of numbers that can be selected to return that FlowerSuit. Here's a full example:
public class FlowerPicker(){
private NavigableMap<Double, FlowerSuit> map;
public FlowerPicker(){
// Get all possible FlowerSuits
FlowerSuit[] options = FlowerSuit.values();
map = new TreeMap<Double, FlowerSuit>();
int runningTotal = 0;
// Add each flower with the proper range
for (FlowerSuit flower : options){
runningTotal += flower.getFrequency();
map.put(runningTotal, flower);
}
}
public FlowerBag pickFlower(){
// Now, select a random number and get the flower with this number in its range
int randomRange = ThreadLocalRandom.current().nextInt(0, bag.size());
return map.higherEntry(randomRange).getValue();
}
}
This is a solid method, and it scales well for very specific frequencies. If you have a bunch of different types of flowers, it will be slightly worse, but this method is still a good option at large scales. There's one more option though.
Method 3: Enumerated Distribution
This method is really nice because you barely have to do anything. However, it uses [EnumeratedDistribution][3] from Apache Commons. Enumerated Distribution requires a list of pairs of objects and weights. Anyway, lets jump into it:
public class FlowerPicker(){
private EnumeratedDistribution distribution;
public FlowerPicker(){
// Get all possible FlowerSuits
FlowerSuit[] options = FlowerSuit.values();
List<Pair<FlowerSuit, Double>> weights = new List<Pair<FlowerSuit, Double>>();
// Add each flower and weight to the list
for (FlowerSuit flower : options){
weights.add(new Pair(flower, flower.getFrequency()));
// Construct the actual distribution
distribution = new EnumeratedDistribution(weights);
}
public FlowerBag pickFlower(){
// Now, sample the distribution
return distribution.sample();
}
}
This is my favorite method, simply because so much of it is done for you. Many problems like this have been solved, so why not use solutions that always exist? However, there is some value to writing the solution yourself.
In conclusion, each of these methods are perfectly fine to use at your scale, but I would recommend the second or third method.

Use of static classes to represent different forms of currency

I coded myself an issue last night while developing a small game. The other day, I convinced myself that I should devote some of my spare time to something productive, so instead of gaming I decided I would start working on a text-based rpg. I came, then, to the issue of representing currency in game. Now, because this is just for fun, I'd like to challenge myself a bit. Instead of just representing currency as a single value ( eg: a single type of coin called "gold piece" isn't the only kind of coin in the game .)
What I decided to do was create 4 types of coin - pence, copper, denar, and oren. All 4 of the coins have values such as weight, volume, material, and name. Furthermore, the coins have exchange rates, which determine their relative values. The point of this was to permit different usages of what would otherwise be a boring old currency. My issue is that I am unsure how to implement it.
What I arrived at last night was 4 classes ( Pence, Copper, Denar, Oren, ) extending an abstract class Coin. Coin contains a lot of protected static elements, such as DENSITY, VOLUME, NAME, EXCHANGE for all 4 subclasses.
The constructors for the sub-classes look like this:
public Coppers() {
super();
super.metal = COPPER_METAL;
super.name = COPPER;
super.setVolume();
super.setDensity();
super.setWeight();
}
And the methods in the super class look like this:
protected void setDensity() {
switch( getMetal()) {
case "copper":
this.density = DENSITY_COPPER;
break;
case "silver":
this.density = DENSITY_SILVER;
break;
case "gold":
this.density = DENSITY_GOLD;
break;
default:
this.density = DENSITY_COPPER;
break;
};
}
This seems terribly... wrong. I'm not sure what the best practice would be. I asked my friends about using a static class to hold these values, and received mixed responses. The POINT of these classes though, is important. Imagine the player class has an object called Purse, which keeps track of the number of different types of coins. With their Purse, the player can exchange coins at banks, purchase goods, and sell goods for coins. It wouldn't make any sense to hold a Set of all instantiated coins, right? I just need the information, and the methods. Does implementing a static class make sense, then? How can I get all 4 coins working best, when they all share so many properties?

What you may do in this case is to use an Enum. You enumerate the constants you need, give them a type through their constructors.
Now that we have their type, we can compare it to the string you're handling within your code, if none of the types match, we set it to Density.COPPER by default.
Density density;
protected void setDensity (String metal) {
for (Density d : Density.values()) {
if (metal.equals(d.getType())) {
this.density = d;
return;
}
}
this.density = Density.COPPER;
}
enum Density {
COPPER("copper"),
SILVER("silver"),
GOLD("gold");
String type;
Density(String s) {
type = s;
}
public String getType() {
return type;
}
}

Let's work backwards here.
Imagine the player class has an object called Purse, which keeps track of the number of different types of coins. With their Purse, the player can exchange coins at banks, purchase goods, and sell goods for coins.
What this implies:
public class Purse {
private final List<Coin> coins = new ArrayList<>();
}
This tells me that enums are not sufficient (enough) here. An enum in this context describes multiple states; what you're looking for are actual objects which can hold values that you need to do some calculations on.
If our intention is to hold on to this currency, I don't see anything wrong with some central object to describe it.
In my mind, using an abstract class for this is probably fine, but you're missing a critical component: a factory to create the type of coin you want. You'll also want to reduce the responsibilities of the coin altogether - it's fine for a coin to know its value, but it shouldn't care what its value is relative to other coins; that's the responsibility of some kind of exchange object which intends to produce a number of coins based on the value of your given coin.
So let's write the constructor for the abstract class. If we're thinking of creating a generic coin, we need to know its volume, density, and weight. The name is provided by virtue of its class name, so you really shouldn't need to worry about that; you can extract it later.
If you want some sort of coin hierarchy, you can leverage Comparable; state the ordering there instead of through enumeration.
public abstract class Coin implements Comparable<Coin> {
protected final int volume;
protected final int density;
protected final int weight;
public Coin(int volume, int density, int weight) {
this.volume = volume;
this.density = density;
this.weight = weight;
}
public int getVolume() {
return volume;
}
public int getDensity() {
return density;
}
public int getWeight() {
return weight;
}
}
This describes the barebones Coin type.
For an example, let's describe the Copper type here as well. This code makes the assumption that coin of the same type is comparable otherwise it demotes itself (with Copper being at the bottom of the list).
Observe a few things:
We preserve a lot of the original logic from the parent class
We override compareTo (because we must), and we let that drive the chief way of ordering on coins.
This does not describe any sort of conversion since the coins really shouldn't need to know about that. They have no value between coins until it's time to actually convert them. Think foreign exchange.
public class Copper extends Coin {
public Copper(final int volume, final int density, final int weight) {
super(volume, density, weight);
}
#Override
public int compareTo(final Coin otherCoin) {
if(otherCoin instanceof Copper) {
return (volume - getVolume()) + (density - getDensity()) + (weight - getWeight());
}
// assume Coppers are worth the least
return Integer.MIN_VALUE;
}
}
The other currencies are left as an exercise for the reader.
The last thing I want to cover is some form of generator for all of your currencies. This is where a bit of reflection magic can really help to invoke the constructor you care about.
I've also made this return an Optional<T extends Coin> so that, in the event the generation fails for some reason, you have an optional to work with instead of null.
public class CoinFactory {
private CoinFactory() {
}
public static <T extends Coin> Optional<T> generateCoin(int weight, int volume, int density, Class<T> clazz) {
Optional<T> coin = Optional.empty();
try {
coin = Optional.of(clazz.getDeclaredConstructor(int.class, int.class, int.class)
.newInstance(weight, volume, density));
} catch (InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | InvocationTargetException | NoSuchMethodException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return coin;
}
}
You can use this main method to smoke test it:
public static void main(String[] args) {
final Optional<Copper> x = CoinFactory.generateCoin(10, 20, 30, Copper.class);
if(x.isPresent()) {
System.out.println(x.get());
}
}

Put a private Map in Coin for Density, with keys being "copper", "gold", and "silver", and the values being the DENSITY_ constants. setDensity() should simply run:
this.density = densityMap.get(getMetal());
Or better yet, scrap setDensity(), and instead simply have getDensity(), which returns densityMap.get(getMetal()).

Since the four kinds of coin don’t differ in behavior, one class is enough. I suggest this:
public enum Coin {
PENCE, COPPER, DENAR, OREN;
private static final String[] METAL = { "copper", "copper", "silver", "gold" };
private static final int[] VALUE = { 1, 12, 60, 360 };
public String getMetal() {
return METAL[ordinal()];
}
public int getValue() {
return VALUE[ordinal()];
}
}

Creating a method that works like ArrayList .add()

I'm writing a program that acts as a 'pocket' where the user is able to enter a kind of coin, such as, a quarter and the amount of quarters it has. I was assigned to do 3 different class, the Coin Class in which the coins and their values can be instatiated from, a Pocket Class, where I have to write a method that can add the coins of the user (basically the method would act like ArrayList .add() ) and the PocketClass tester. I have already written most of the code, but I am stuck as to how I could write the following method:
public void addCoin(String s, int i)
{
// s is type of coin, you are using s to instantiate a Coin and get value
// i is number of coins, you are using i to keep adding value to the totalValue
}
My question is how should I approach this? I am not quite clear on how to create method. Would I use a for-loop in order to keep track of the number of coins? I understand that the addCoin method works a lot like .add() from ArrayList.
Here is the code from my other classes:
public class Coin
{
private final String DOLLAR = "DOLLAR";
private final String QUARTER = "QUARTER";
private final String DIME = "DIME";
private final String NICKEL = "NICKEL";
private final String PENNY = "PENNY";
private int value;
private String coinName;
public Coin(String s,int count)//name of the coin and also the number of the coins you have
{
//Use if or switch statement to identify incoming string and provide value
double value=0;
if(DOLLAR.equalsIgnoreCase(s))
{
value=100.0;
}
else if(QUARTER.equalsIgnoreCase(s))
{
value=25.0;
}
else if(DIME.equalsIgnoreCase(s))
{
value=10.0;
}
else if(NICKEL.equalsIgnoreCase(s))
{
value=5.0;
}
else if(PENNY.equalsIgnoreCase(s))
{
value=1.0;
}
}
public int getValue()
{
return value;
}
}
and how the Pocket class is structured:
public class Pocket
{
private int currentValue;
private int totalValue;
private Coin quarter;
private Coin dime;
private Coin nickle;
private Coin penny;
public Pocket()
{ //Set initial value to zero
totalValue = 0;
currentValue = 0;
}
public void addCoin(String s, int i)
{
// s is type of coin, you are using s to instantiate a Coin and get value
// i is number of coins, you are using i to keep adding value to the totalValue
}
public int getValue()
{
return totalValue;
}
public void printTotal()
{
//print out two different output
}
}

I'm assuming you're adding the addCoin method in the Pocket class.
If you intend to keep track of the number of coins of each type within a Pocket, the simplest way to do so would be to declare a Hashmap that is keyed by the coin type (say, a "quarter" or a "dollar") and valued by the number of coins of that type. An invocation of the addCoin(type, count) method, say addCoin("dollar", 5) can then check if the hashmap already contains a key named "dollar" and if present, increment it's value by count.

I would suggest storing coins in a list so that you can add unlimited number of them.
Example:
class Coin{
//Same as your code....
public Coin(String coinType){
//..Same as your code, but removed number of coins
}
}
public class Pocket
{
private int currentValue;
private int totalValue;
//Create a list of coins to store unlimited number of coins
// A pocket can half 5 dimes
List coins;
public Pocket(){
//Set initial value to zero
totalValue = 0;
currentValue = 0;
coins = new ArrayList<Coin>();
}
/**
* This method will take only one coin at a time
**/
public void addCoin(String s){
Coin c = new Coin(s);
coins.add(c);
totalValue+=c.getValue();
}
/**
* This method will take any number of coins of same type
**/
public void addCoin(String s, int c){
//Add each one to array
for(int i=0;i<c;i++)[
addCoin(s);
}
}
}
I am not in favor of keeping multiple coin values in one Coin object because of the fact it is not a true representation of an object. What does that mean is tomorrow if you want to store other Coin attributes like "Printed Year", "President Picture on the coin" etc, you will have hard time. In my opinion it is better to represent one real world object (one coin here) using one object instance in the program,

Creating a boolean method with 3 parameters (String, int [non-negative], double [positive only])

"A boolean method called originalStockUp that takes a product name (String), count of product now in stock [int must be non-negative], and marketValue of each product [double- positive only] as parameters. This method sets all the class variables properly upon call and returns a true unless the stock-room had previously been stocked for the first time. (i.e. this method returns a false if this method had previously been called.)" (Can not use class variable names as parameters).
For what I was given in quotations I need to set up a method header. I wasn't sure how to set the parameters so that int is a non-negative, and double is positive only.
What I thought of:
public static boolean originalStockUp(String, int, double)
Here are my variables (outside of the methods):
static int countOfProduct = -1;
static String productName = "Not set yet.";
static double marketValuePer = 0.0;
final static String MY_NAME = "Name";
Here is my main method if this helps any:
public static void main (String[] args)
{
showStock();
if (!originalStockUp("Yoyo", 500, 4.75))
reportErrorAndBomb("First call to stock up failed. Why?");
showStock();
if (originalStockUp("Pen", 1500, 1.01))
reportErrorAndBomb("Second call to stock up succeded. Why?");
if (stockCount() != 500)
reportErrorAndBomb("Inventory count is now off. (500)");
if (addStock(-100))
reportErrorAndBomb("You let me add -100?? Why?");
if (! addStock(100))
reportErrorAndBomb("Adding 100 failed. Why?");
if (getValue() != 4.75)
reportErrorAndBomb("How did our product value get off? ($4.74)");
setValue(4.85); //Inflation...
if (getValue() != 4.85)
reportErrorAndBomb("How did our product value get off? ($4.85)");
if (inventoryBalance() != 2910.00)
reportErrorAndBomb("Hmm issue with value of full inventory?");
if (stockCount() != 600)
reportErrorAndBomb("Inventory count is now off. (600)");
showStock();
//Just test the error reporter code.
reportErrorAndBomb("Bye bye - all actually went well!");
}//End Method: Main
}//End class: Program 4.
First time having to write a method that isn't main. Sorry if the question is too vague or basic.

I wasn't sure how to set the parameters so that int is a non-negative, and double is positive only.
You can't enforce that kind of constraint in the method signature in Java. (There are one or two programming languages that support types with range constraints ... but it is not a main-stream language feature.)
What you should do is add some code inside the method to validate the parameters it is called with, at runtime, and throw an exception if a range constraint is violated. For example:
if (param < 42) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("param is too small: " + param);
}
(In theory, you could use assert instead of explicitly testing / throwing. However, assertion checking is disabled by default, and you typically don't want it to be possible to "turn off" validation of inputs.)

That is partially correct, you should also name the parameters. If your question is how to access it from the main method, you can just do this:
public static void main(String[]args){
String firstitem = "Candy";
int numfirstitem = 10;
double pricefirstitem = 1.39;
//name , stock , price
boolean question = originalStockUp(firstitem, numfirstitem, pricefirstitem);
if(question == true){
System.out.println("true");
}else{
System.out.println("false");
}
//this will return true or false based on what you do in the method
}
public static boolean originalStockUp(String name, int stock, double price){
//...
}

In java it would be:
boolean originalStockUp(String productName, int countInStock, double marketValue) {
// ... code goes here
}
And then to execute the method you would use it like that:
boolean outcome = originalStockUp("The_Product", 17, 57.93);
public and static are not mandatory and they got additional meaning. Public makes method accessible for other classes: docs on public. Static makes it not require an instance: docs on static.

Utilizing Comparable for 2 Sort Criteria when Sorting an Array of Objects

I've been working at this for a couple hours now and I feel (I hope) I'm right on the verge of figuring it out. This program reads in a bunch of values from an external file and places them in an array of objects which seems to be working just fine.
The Objects properties are:
Bank Account #
Customer Name
Bank Account Balance
1. I can output them in order of Account # (That's how their read in from the file, no sorting is necessary)
2. I've setup a method from implementing Comparable to sort by Bank Account Balance and it's working fine.
3. I need a second sort method, to sort by Customer Name.
- The problem I'm having with this is based on the research I've done and what I've tried I've come to the conclusion that the only way to make this work will be to build my own Comparable Objects (sorry if my terminology is skewed.) I've attempted this as well multiple times with both Java Doc and some similar questions on SE.
When all is said and done I'm going to throw some Listeners into my checkbox group to allow the user to toggle the different sort methods.
Here's the chunks i'm working on:
public class bankAccounts implements Comparable<bankAccounts> {
/* PRIVATE FIELDS HERE, FOLLOWED BY TYPICAL GET AND SET METHODS */
/*SORTS BY ACCOUNT BALANCE WORKING GREAT*/
public int compareTo(bankAccounts b) {
if (accountBalance < b.accountBalance)
{
return -1;
}
if (accountBalance > b.accountBalance) {
return 1;
}
return 0;
}
/* BEGIN SNIPPET OF MAIN CLASS */
/*METHOD I CALL FROM MAIN CLASS, SORTS BY BALANCE ^^ AS SEEN ABOVE */
Arrays.sort(retrievedAccounts);
for (int i=0; i<retrievedAccounts.length; i++) {
String resultFull = Integer.toString(retrievedAccounts[i].getAccountNumber()) + retrievedAccounts[i].getAccountLastName() + Double.toString(retrievedAccounts[i].getAccountBalance());
box.append(resultFull + "\n");
}
/* NORMAL METHOD WHICH OUTPUTS IN ORDER OF ACCOUNT NUMBER, NO SORTING HAPPENING HERE */
for(int x = 0; x < retrievedAccounts.length; ++x)
{
String resultFull=Integer.toString(retrievedAccounts[x].getAccountNumber()) + retrievedAccounts[x].getAccountLastName() + Double.toString(retrievedAccounts[x].getAccountBalance());
box.append("\n\n\n" + resultFull + "\n\n");
}
I'm hoping someone will have some insight towards a next step which might allow me to finish this up. If you have suggestions to take this a completely different direction I'm open to that as well.

This is an idea haven't tested.
Create a another private method to store compareType
public class bankAccounts implements Comparable<bankAccounts> {
private int compareType = 0; // 0 - compare by balance 1-compare by name
In your compare method
public int compareTo(bankAccounts b) {
if(this.compareType == 0){
if (accountBalance < b.accountBalance)
{
return -1;
}
if (accountBalance > b.accountBalance) {
return 1;
}
return 0;
}else{
return customerName.compareTo(b.customerName)
}

Use an implementation of Comparator<bankAccounts> that compares the names of your objects and pass that into the Arrays.sort() method.
Use an anonymous class like this:
Arrays.sort(retrievedAccounts, new Comparator<bankAccounts>() {
public int compare(bankAccounts a, bankAccounts b) {
return a.getName().compareTo(b.getName());
}
});
This code assumes you have a getter method on bankAccounts for customer name called getName()
You would do well to follow java naming conventions:
class names start with a capital letter
class names are singular, not plurals