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Java Java Objects (Retired) Creating the MVP For Each Loop

Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points
Posted by Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points

Help with getTileCount in the scrabble exercise

I'm confused by the method type. I'm creating a getTileCount method to return an integer ("count"), but the error I'm getting prompts me that the method should accept a char instead of an int

ScrabblePlayer.java 
public class ScrabblePlayer {
  private String mHand;

  public ScrabblePlayer() {
    mHand = "";
  }

  public String getHand() {
   return mHand;
  }

  public void addTile(char tile) {
    // Adds the tile to the hand of the player
    mHand += tile;
  }

  public boolean hasTile(char tile) {
   return mHand.indexOf(tile) > -1;
  }

  public int getTileCount(int count)
  {
    count = 0;
    {
      for (char letter: mHand.toCharArray())
      {
        if (mHand.indexOf(letter) >= 0)
        count += 1;
      }
    }
    return count;
  }
}

2 Answers

Nico Julian
Nico Julian
23,657 Points
Nico Julian
Nico Julian
23,657 Points

Hi,

The getTileCount should return an int like you have it, but it should take a char as an argument. That way, when you call it and pass it a letter, it will return the count for specifically that letter. Using indexOf will only tell you if the letter is present in the player's hand, but not how many they actually have. When you use the for loop to iterate all the tiles the player has, you can check each letter to see if it matches the one you passed the method; if it matches, it'll increase the count by one.

public int getTileCount(char letter) {
   int count = 0; 
   for (char tile: mHand.toCharArray()) {
      if (tile == letter) {
         count += 1;
      }
   }
   return count;
}
Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points
Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points

Thank you so much....I didn't realize you could pass an argument that wasn't the same type as the method. That's what I kept getting hung up on

julian itwaru
julian itwaru
972 Points
julian itwaru
julian itwaru
972 Points

instead of count += 1, you could just use count++

Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points
Mike B
Mike B
10,424 Points

Thanks....I'm always forgetting about that shortcut!