Programming is impossible without methods to comprehend the data given to the programmer. A method is something that is used to perform changes or additions to a given dataset. It allows the user to alter the data or reorganize it in a way that is more suitable to their needs. Methods that are used to obtain information about an object, are known as accessor methods. In this article, we will discuss string comprehension, which are the methods that a programmer can perform on a string in order to make it more convenient for their program (what strings are can be found in previous articles!).
Strings are a sequence of characters that are treated as objects in Java programming. The platform provides the String class to allow the user to create and manipulate strings. The following are widely used string methods that can be performed:
charAt() - This returns the character at the specified index
compareTo() - This compares two strings lexicographically (alphabetical order)
concat() - This adds a string to the end of another string
contains() - This checks whether a string contains a specified substring
endsWith() - This checks whether the string ends with the specified character
equals() - This compares two strings and returns true if they are equal and false if otherwise
getChars() - This copies characters from a string to an array of characters
indexOf() - This returns the position of the first occurrence of the specified string
intern() - This returns the index of the first occurrence of the specified string
isEmpty() - This checks whether a string is empty or not
length() - This returns the length of the string
matches() - This searches for a string match against an expression
replace() - This searches for a specified value and replaces them with the required replacement
split() - This splits a string into an array of substrings
substring() - This extracts a set of characters from a string
toUpperCase()/toLowerCase() This converts all letters in a string to uppercase/lowercase
Below are a few examples of how to use some of the above string methods.
isEmpty() - This can be used to check whether an input by a user has been fulfilled. For example, when the name of the user is required and they have forgotten to enter it, the isEmpty() method will return True and the user can be reminded to enter the required data.
length() - When a regulated, fixed-format string is required, this method may be used. For example, when the phone number of a user is required, the number of digits will be fixed depending on the country. The number of digits the user can enter can be verified using the length() method, and there will be an error if the input isn’t the exact length.
split() - This method can be used when a user wants to count the number of words in a sentence where a word limit is imposed. A sentence can be split with reference to the number of spaces. This method can be used to achieve this. A restriction on the number of words can be imposed with this.
The aforementioned methods allow programming with Java to become much simpler. Each of the methods has to be written in hundreds of lines of codes, however, the utilization of them, makes a programmer’s code much shorter and easier to comprehend.
Article was written for CyberClubNPSi
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