Adding File objects to an Array - java

I seem to be having an issue with not properly syntaxing my code, but as I've just started out with learning I seem to be missing the error. It's a homework assignment, where I need to use an Array of JxploreFile-objects. This is the part of the code I'm having trouble with:
private JxploreFile[] getSubFolders()
{
File subFiles[];
subFiles = file.listFiles();
File subFolders[];
int p = 0;
for(int i = 0; i < subFiles.length; i++)
{
if(subFiles[i].isDirectory() == true)
{
Array.set(subFolders, p, subFiles[i]);
}
}
JxploreFile foldersToReturn[] = new JxploreFile[subFolders.length];
for(int i=0; i < subFolders.length; i++)
{
foldersToReturn[i] = new JxploreFile(subFolders[i]);
}
return foldersToReturn;
}
Specifically, the for-loop where I'm trying to add the files marked as .isDirectory into a new Array. I've also tried other methods by placing each new file coming from the subFiles Array manually into the subFolders Array by declaring indexnumbers, but this also turned out faulty. At this point I'm out of ideas and I hope there is someone who can point me out the obvious, as I'm probably missing something reallly basic.
Edit:
I'm sorry for the incomplete post, It's the first time I actually post here as I usually try to filter my own problems out of the posts of others. The error I got was indeed that 'subFolders' had not been initialized yet, which I didn't understood because on the sixth line I wrote
File subFolders[];
which as far as I know should declare the variable subFolders to become an Array, or is this where I went wrong?
Also, my question might not have been specific enough, I'm looking for what causes the error (which I didn't mention at all): why 'subFiles' wasn't initialized.

The array subFolders has not been initialized properly. In order to use the array in the Array.set method it must be initialized and allocated with a size.
An alternative approach for this is to use a List instead. Lists are good when you are working with data that is more dynamic e.g. when you do not know the size of the array. Then you can simplify your code like this:
File[] subFiles = file.listFiles();
// Create the list
List<JxploreFile> subFolders = new ArrayList<>();
// Add all the sub folders (note that "file" is a bit magic since it
// is not specified anywhere in the original post
for (File subFile : file.listFiles()) {
if (subFile.isDirectory()) {
subFolders.add(new JxploreFile(subFile));
}
}
// Return an array
return subFolders.toArray(new JxploreFile[subFolders.size()]);
You can also simplify the whole thing even further by using a Java 8 stream like this:
return Arrays.stream(file.listFiles())
.filter(File::isDirectory)
.toArray(JxploreFile[]::new);
For more info:
Creating Objects in Java
Arrays

There is no question in your post, but anyway here the problems I found in your code :
File subFolders[];
int p = 0;
for(int i = 0; i < subFiles.length; i++)
{
if(subFiles[i].isDirectory() == true)
{
Array.set(subFolders, p, subFiles[i]);
}
}
when calling Array.set you never initialized subFolders which will throw a NullPointerException.
Also, you dont need to do
if(subFiles[i].isDirectory() == true)
you can simply do
if(subFiles[i].isDirectory())
as subFiles[i].isDirectory() is already a condition.

Related

Including new elements in for:each

Before I start my question, i'd like to mention that i DID read up some other topics and i tried around a bit but im just really confused atm so i figured i'd just ask.
So what i wanna do is use for each through a Set and within that for each, add elements to that set and also iterate through those.
The solution I found elsewhere was the following:
for(Object obj : new HashSet<Object>(oldSet))
I tried that, however I keep missing some of the last elements i'd like to match so im not really sure if this is the right approach in the first place?
To be specific, this is basically what my code looks like:
for(Position pos : new HashSet<Position>(oldSet){
for(Delta delta : deltas){
if(board.getTokenAt(pos.plus(delta).equals(initial){
hitList.add(pos.plus(delta);
oldSet.add(pos.plus(delta);
}
}
oldSet.remove(pos);
}
Again, I'd just like to know if my approach is wrong or there must be an error elsewhere in my code so i know what to look at.
Thanks beforehand!
You can't really add to a data structure while iterating over it, that is almost guaranteed to have unexpected results.
However, there is a simple enough solution to your issue. Just process each item recursively when you find that it needs to be added, and add it to a separate List. At the end of iteration, add everything in the List to the main Set. This avoids the issue of adding during iteration while still allowing you to to process the newly added items.
It would look something like this:
List<Position> toAdd = new LinkedList<>();
for(Position pos : oldSet){
for(Delta delta : deltas){
addIfGoodAndRecurse(pos, delta, toAdd);
}
}
And then you can use this helper method to add the item if it meets your conditions and also recursively process added items. Note you will need to change the method signature to pass in your board, initial, and hitList if they are local variables. I didn't know their types or whether they were global variables or fields, so I couldn't really add them in the example.
private void addIfGoodAndRecurse(Position pos, Delta delta, List<Position> toAdd) {
Position toCheck = pos.plus(delta);
if(board.getTokenAt(toCheck.equals(initial))) {
hitList.add(toCheck);
toAdd.add(toCheck);
for (Delta recursionDelta : deltas) {
addIfGoodAndRecurse(toCheck, recursionDelta, toAdd);
}
}
}
I don't have your code, so I can't test this. The idea should work fine, but you may need to make slight modifications.
You can iterate through new elements added to a list that you're iterating if you add them to the end of the list and iterate through it using an index and the get() method, not through an Iterator. You can also use the Set as you are doing now, but only to make sure you only add unique items to your collection.
List<Position> list = new ArrayList<>(oldSet);
for (int i = 0; i < list.length; ++i) { // NB list.length could be different each time
Position pos = list.get(i);
for(Delta delta : deltas){
if(board.getTokenAt(pos.plus(delta).equals(initial){
hitList.add(pos.plus(delta));
if (oldSet.add(pos.plus(delta))) // Check if it already exists in the list
list.add(pos.plus(delta));
}
}
oldSet.remove(pos);
}

Java is not assigning values to my variables correctly, with linked lists

public void returnRental(Customer cust){
Rental toDelete = null; //Rental to be removed from list.
LinkedList<Video> toReturn = null; //List of videos to be added to inventory.
//Find appropriate rental according to customer name.
for(int i = 0; i < rentals.size(); i++){
if(cust.getName() == rentals.get(i).getRentee().getName()){
toReturn = rentals.get(i).getRented();
toDelete = rentals.get(i);
}
}
here is the snippet of code that is giving me problems. I've debugged it in eclipse quite a bit which ended up just confusing me more. It hits the if, and passes the condition. But once it gets to assigning values to "toReturn" it assigns it an empty list with size 0. Where as I check my rentals Linked list and the correct value are there, but for some reason it is not getting assigned to my variables correctly :( The same happens to "toDelete" but this isn't a list, it is one instance of my class Rental. (The linked list is a list of rentals, which contains a linked list of videos)
No errors are thrown...
Its a little difficult to explain, if you need more information please let me know and i'll clarify.
I'm at a loss, possibly because I'm not iterating through my linked list correctly?
Replace
if (cust.getName() == rentals.get(i).getRentee().getName()){
by
if (cust.getName().equals(rentals.get(i).getRentee().getName())){
You can't compare strings with == (except if your algorithm can ensure this is the same instance, which is almost never the case).
But the missing equals is not the only bug. It may be inside getRented() or elsewhere (you don't show what you do with toReturn and toDelete, so it's not clear if you don't have problems here).
Now, to go on chasing your bugs, you should either
debug, and put a breakpoint in your loop to check the state of rentals.get(i) and the execution at this point
if you can't debug, put a lot of System.println, so that you know what you have...
I've upvoted dystroy's answer because incorrect string comparison is always wrong.
But because that would fail differently (customer names not matching rentee names), I'm wondering if your issue is really caused by either of the following:
a problem in getRented(); or
cust having a null name on call, which would match a Rentee with a null name.
Possibly, your if condition is being hit more than once. First of all, check if this is actually happening. If so, check your logic and determine if you want to stop at the first occurence or at the last (this case seems to be the latter).
If you want to stop at the first occurence, break the iteration:
for(int i = 0; i < rentals.size(); i++){
if(cust.getName() == rentals.get(i).getRentee().getName()){
toReturn = rentals.get(i).getRented();
toDelete = rentals.get(i);
break;
}
}
for(int i = 0; i < rentals.size(); i++){
if(cust.getName().equals( rentals.get(i).getRentee().getName())){
toReturn.addAll(rentals.get(i).getRented());
//assumming it returns the list of Video object
toDelete = rentals.get(i);
}
}

how do i use a hashmap keys to an array of strings?

im currently working on a multiple class assignment where i have to add a course based on whether the prerequisites exist within the program.
im storing my courses within the program class using a hashmap. (thought i would come in handy) however, im having a bit of trouble ensuring that these preReqs exist.
here is some code ive currently got going
public boolean checkForCourseFeasiblity(AbstractCourse c) throws ProgramException
{
AbstractCourse[] tempArray = new AbstractCourse[0];
tempArray= courses.keySet().toArray(tempArray);
String[] preReqsArray = new String[1];
preReqsArray = c.getPreReqs();
//gets all course values and stores them in tempArray
for(int i = 0; i < preReqsArray.length; i++)
{
if(courses.containsKey(preReqsArray[i]))
{
continue;
}
else if (!courses.containsKey(preReqsArray[i]))
{
throw new ProgramException("preReqs do not exist"); //?
}
}
return true;
}
ok so basically, tempArray is storing all the keySets inside the courses hashmap and i need to compare all of them with the preReqs (which is an array of Strings). if the preReqs exist within the keyset then add the course, if they dont do not add the course. return true if the course adds otherwise through me an exception. keep in mind my keysets are Strings e.g. a keyset value could be "Programming1" and the required prerquisite for a course could be "programming1". if this is the case add then add the course as the prereq course exists in the keyset.
i believe my error to be when i initialize mypreReqsArray with c.getPreReqs (note: getPreReqs is a getter with a return type String[]).
it would be really great if someone could aid me with my dilemma. ive tried to provide as much as possible, i feel like ive been going around in circles for the past 3 hours :(
-Thank you.
Try something like this, you don't need tempArray. The "for each" loop looks lots nicer too. If you want to throw an Exception I would put that logic in the place that calls this method.
public boolean checkForCourseFeasiblity(AbstractCourse c)
{
for(String each : c.getPreReqs())
{
if(! courses.containsKey(each))
{
return false;
}
}
return true;
}

What should be the description for this method?

OK this method reads a dirctor, verify the file paths are ok and then pass each file to a method and updates a Map object.
But how can i explain this for java doc. I want to create a java doc and how should i explain this method for the documentation purpose. Please tell me, if you can help me with this example, i can work for my whole project. thank you:
private void chckDir() {
File[] files = Dir.listFiles();
if (files == null) {
System.out.println("Error");
break;
}
for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
File file = new File(files[i].getAbsoluteFile().toString());
Map = getMap(file);
}
}
Your method doesn't do what you said In your first sentence (doesn't verify file paths, and throws the result of getMap() away), but there's nothing wrong with putting that kind of sentence im the Javadoc.
There are some issues with your code:
The break statement will give a compilation error, I think. It should be a return.
It is bad style to name a field with a capital letter as the first character. If Dir and Map are field names, they should be dir and map respectively.
The statement Map = getMap(file); is going to repeatedly replace the Map field, and when you exit the loop, the field will refer to the object returned by the last getmap call. This is probably wrong.
Finally, change the file declaration as follows. (There is no need to create a new File object ... because getAbsoluteFile() reurns a File)
File file = files[i].getAbsoluteFile();

Tutorials for Java errors and syntax

I am asking for help on self-help, which is kind of an oxymoron. How do I bug you nice folks less by solving more of my own problems?
I am in my last week of Java programming and I am having a huge hurdle with learning Java. I have read all the books but I keep getting hung up on tiny little issues. It is like trying to build a house of cards. I only know about the parts of the syntax and the uses that the book shows. When I am combining things, I run into horrible hurdles. I try for hours of tinkering to figure them out. The sun docs only show basic uses that don't seem to help
Here is what I would like:
When I am trying something and it doesn't work like the following manipulations of an array list, I want to find a place or program that can show examples code of things like adding an additional class instance to an arrayList. Where can I learn concisely about this without having to ask a question or 2 for every syntax error? Where is the Google for Java? Is there a program that will take your errors and show you how to fix them (or offer suggestions)?
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:101: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:110: array required, but java.util.ArrayList found
if (p != dvdlist[i]) {
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:111: array required, but java.util.ArrayList found
temp[i-adj] = dvdlist[i];
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:115: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
Here is my code for this class if anyone is interested in looking at it for me:
//Contruct inv and allow for methods add, get, size, sort, and value
import java.util.*;
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
public class Inventory
{// class Inventory
private ArrayList<RatedDVD> dvdlist;// declare dvdlist as ArrayList of RatedDVD
private int numDVDs;
public Inventory()
{// method Inventory
dvdlist = new ArrayList<RatedDVD>();
}// end method
// add & get
public RatedDVD get(int i){return dvdlist.get(i);}// method get
public void add(DVD d){
dvdlist = dvdlist d;
sort();
}// method add
public double value()
{// method value
double total = 0.0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++)
{// for every pass thru dvdlist add total
// [DEBUG] consider enhanced for
total += get(i).feeValue();
}
return total;
}// end method value
public void sort()
{// method sort
// [DEBUG] consider optimization
int n = dvdlist.size();
for (int search = 1; search < n; search++)
{// for do the following and increment till dvdlist has been searched
for (int i = 0; i < n-search; i++)
{// for step through comparison for entire dvdlist
if (dvdlist.get(i).getName().compareToIgnoreCase(dvdlist.get(i+1).getName()) > 0)
{// if swap necessary then swap
RatedDVD temp = dvdlist.get(i);
dvdlist.set(i,dvdlist.get(i+1));
dvdlist.set(i+1,temp);
}// end if swap
}// end for compareto
}// end outer for
}// end method sort
public int size(){return dvdlist.size();}// method size
public void save() {
save(true);
}
// save it to C:\data\inventory.dat
public void save(boolean saveagain) {
try {
BufferedWriter w = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("c:\\data\\inventory.dat"));
for (int i = 0; i < size(); i++) {
RatedDVD dvd = get(i);
w.write( dvd.getItem() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getName() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getRating() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getUnits() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getPrice() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.value() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.fee() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.feeValue() + "\n");
w.newLine();
}
// total value of it
//w.write( value() + "\n");
w.close();
} catch (Exception ex) {
if (saveagain) {
new File("c:\\data\\").mkdir(); // make file if doesn't exist
save(false);
}
}
}
public int search(String name) {
for (int i = 0; i < size(); i++) { // check if name string is equal
if (get(i).getName().equalsIgnoreCase(name)) return i;
}
return -1; // we didn't find anything
}
// add a new dvd to the end, increasing the array size
public void add(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()+1];
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
temp[i] = dvdlist[i];
}
temp[temp.length-1] = p; // add it at the end
dvdlist = temp;
}
// remove a DVD from the array, and shrink the array size
public void delete(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()-1];
int adj = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
if (p != dvdlist[i]) {
temp[i-adj] = dvdlist[i];
}
else adj = 1;
}
dvdlist = temp;
}
public int highestNumber() {
int numb = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
if (get(i).getItem() > numb) {
numb = get(i).getItem();
}
}
return numb;
}
}// end class inventory
The dvdlist is an ArrayList, which implements the Collection interface, not an Array (BTW, and this is known as the "program to an interface, not an implementation" principle, you should decalare dvdlist as a java.util.List):
private ArrayList<RatedDVD> dvdlist;// declare dvdlist as ArrayList of RatedDVD
Have a look at the methods on the Collection interface, you'll find everything you need for adding and removing elements.
So, to add a RatedDVD, you don't need to use a temporary array of RatedDVD that won't fit anyway into an ArrayList like you're doing here:
// add a new dvd to the end, increasing the array size
public void add(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()+1];
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
temp[i] = dvdlist[i];
}
temp[temp.length-1] = p; // add it at the end
dvdlist = temp;
}
Instead, just call the add(Object o) method on dvdlist.
To delete a RatedDVD instance, use the remove(Object o) method on dvdlist.
For the search() method, consider using contains(Object o) on dvdlist.
If you need to iterate over a collection, use an Iterator:
for (Iterator iter = dvdlist.iterator(); iter.hasNext();) {
RatedDVD ratedDVD = (RatedDVD) iter.next();
//rest of the code block removed
}
Or even faster now with Java 5+ and Generics:
for (RatedDVD ratedDVD : dvdlist) {
// rest of the code here
}
Really, you need to dig the the Collection Framework.
The compiler errors seem to be quite descriptive of what you're doing wrong, but I can see why you might be confused about how to do it right. You seem to be misunderstanding how an ArrayList is meant to be used. If you look at the docs, you will see it has methods add() and remove() that do the operations you've created add() and delete() methods for. You're attempting to treat the ArrayList as if it is a raw array. Don't do that; use the methods provided by the API. Not only will this solve your errors, but it will make your code cleaner and clearer to future programmers.
Actually, the compiler error is very clear:
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:101: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
It says "incompatible types" and that it expected a java.util.ArrayList but found instead a RatedDVD[].
Your problem is simply that, unlike in languages like Python, Java does not treat lists and arrays interchangeably. They are completely different things - arrays are special language-level constructs, while ArrayList is a class like any other.
So you cannot assign an array to a variably of type list. You either have to decide on using only one of these two types throughout your program, or you have to convert between them manually, using methods such as java.util.Arrays.asList() and List.toArray().
It seems that you're trying to do too advanced things too fast - you should probably look at Sun's Java tutorials first - though they are quite comprehensive and can also be used as a reference for looking up language details. There is also a section about conversion between collections and arrays.
I suggest you use an IDE (like Eclipse, entirely free). It will help you through the API syntax by making suggestions as you type, and show you errors when you type them, so that you can pinpoint exact syntax errors and ask about them. In terms of asking, that is what StackOverflow is for.
Others beat me to your specific syntax question, so I'm just limiting my answer to the general question of how you get help.
To resolve compiler errors, usually it's best to start with the first one and fix it first. After fixing that, the rest of the compiler errors might also be solved, or they might be different kinds of errors.
To understand what some compiler error means, there is an article called Compile and Runtime Errors in Java (PDF) that goes through different kinds of error messages and gives examples of what kind of code may cause them. And as for runtime error messages, Java Glossary has quite a big list of them. They also have a list of compile-time error messages.
So, your problem here is that you're trying to access an ArrayList like an array, which is incorrect because Java doesn't do stuff like that. You need to use list.get(i) to get the ith element in an Array. Similarly, when you tried to set an ArrayList variable to an array, the compiler got mad at you. You need to create a new ArrayList with the contents of temp and then set dvdlist to that, eg. dvdlist = new ArrayList<RatedDVD>(temp);.
As for your continued problems: There is an API Specification for Java which tells you basically how to use all the classes that are included in the Java API. For example, ArrayList is a generic collection which has certain methods and constructors that you need to use. Java does not have operator overloading, so you can't just access elements in a List using array syntax. Also, arrays are their own data type so you can't just treat an ArrayList as an array and vice versa.
It looks like you are confused about the difference between an array and an ArrayList. An array is a static list of elements, and is constructed using the [] symbols. An ArrayList is an object in the Collections system in Java that acts like a size-modifiable array - i.e. it can be indexed into, and can be added onto, inserted into, etc. They are not interchangable.
As to where you can look, etc. If this is your first programming experience, you are not alone. Many compiler errors are less than helpful. One suggestion I can give you that I learned through many years of trial and error - start small and build up. Get a main method that compiles. Then add the first little piece (creating a class for instance). Then add the next piece, and so on. Test as you go, etc. You can google for particular compiler errors - I have been surprised what I have found. Beyond that, a lot of it is trial and error - these are things you learn from experience, and a lot of the speed of "old hands" comes from the long experience of seeing what you can do wrong over and over again, not any sort of innate intelligence. I totally understand your frustration - I felt that way when I was starting out about 15 years ago now (but I was on Borland Pascal - yuck).
One of the biggest issues beginning programmers seem to have is not being able to read and interpret error messages very well.
You would be well served by carefully examining the errors that javac (or any compiler/interpreter) provides. Maybe even start by making some mistakes that you understand in your code (ie, assign an incorrect typed value to a variable, extend a loop beyond the bounds) and see how your compiler handles these.
Try to think in object oriented terms...
It looks to me that something (classwork, I guess) has pushed you into writing an object-oriented program but it's possible that you haven't yet accepted that you will need to think in those terms.
In Java most things are objects, but Java supports primitive types, and arrays of both. It's possible to program in Java in a flat, procedural, mutable way, but also possible to write in an object-oriented functional way. It's possible to do both and get confused, which is where you may be right now.
You are trying to mix the two styles. This isn't always a bad thing, but for coursework we can safely bet the farm that your instructor will want to see more objects and fewer arrays, unless those arrays are the private internal implementation of an object.
So think of the data structures as black boxes with methods, and then see how what you are doing is implementing one yourself.
You have probably been here, but these are the things that you can do with an ArrayList. And you have an ArrayList<RatedDVD> which further restricts what you can do with it. Try to understand this first, and then fix the program to work with the available operations on an ArrayList object.

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