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Java Java Objects (Retired) Harnessing the Power of Objects Methods and Constants

William Forbes
William Forbes
21,469 Points
Posted by William Forbes
William Forbes
21,469 Points

Initialization to zero

Hello, For the attached code the prompt was to "add a private uninitialized field to the constructor, then initialize it to zero". For the field mBarsCount shown in the code would:

" private int mBarsCount; " be the same thing as " private int mBarsCount = 0; "

I thought an unitialized int would just be expressed as "private int mBarsCount; " In other words was the wording just confusing and could it have just said "add a private field and initialize it to zero", or is there a functional difference between intializing to zero vs not initializing the field?

THanks!!

1 Answer

Philip Gales
Philip Gales
15,193 Points
Philip Gales
Philip Gales
15,193 Points

I think you are missing the constructor part.

public class GoKart {
  public static final int MAX_BARS = 8;
  private int mBarsCount; // declares the field

  private String mColor;

  public GoKart(String color) {
    mColor = color;
  }

  public String getColor() {
    return mColor;
  }

  public void getBarsCount() {
    mBarsCount = 0; // initializes the field
  }
}