Displaying Text with printf

A new feature of J2SE 5.0 is the System.out.printf method for displaying formatted datathe f in the name printf stands for "formatted." Figure 2.6 outputs the strings "Welcome to" and "Java Programming!" with System.out.printf.

Figure 2.6. Displaying multiple lines with method System.out.printf.

(This item is displayed on page 46 in the print version)

 1 // Fig. 2.6: Welcome4.java
 2 // Printing multiple lines in a dialog box.
 3
 4 public class Welcome4
 5 {
 6 // main method begins execution of Java application
 7 public static void main( String args[] )
 8 {
 9 System.out.printf( "%s
%s
", 
10  "Welcome to", "Java Programming!" );
11
12 } // end method main
13
14 } // end class Welcome4
 
Welcome to
Java Programming!
 

Lines 910

 System.out.printf( "%s
%s
",
 "Welcome to", "Java Programming!" );

call method System.out.printf to display the program's output. The method call specifies three arguments. When a method requires multiple arguments, the arguments are separated with commas (,)this is known as a comma-separated list.

Good Programming Practice 2.9

Place a space after each comma (,) in an argument list to make programs more readable.

Remember that all statements in Java end with a semicolon (;). Therefore, lines 910 represent only one statement. Java allows large statements to be split over many lines. However, you cannot split a statement in the middle of an identifier or in the middle of a string.

Common Programming Error 2.7

Splitting a statement in the middle of an identifier or a string is a syntax error.

Method printf's first argument is a format string that may consist of fixed text and format specifiers. Fixed text is output by printf just as it would be output by print or println. Each format specifier is a placeholder for a value and specifies the type of data to output. Format specifiers also may include optional formatting information.

Format specifiers begin with a percent sign (%) and are followed by a character that represents the data type. For example, the format specifier %s is a placeholder for a string. The format string in line 9 specifies that printf should output two strings and that each string should be followed by a newline character. At the first format specifier's position, printf substitutes the value of the first argument after the format string. At each subsequent format specifier's position, printf substitutes the value of the next argument in the argument list. So this example substitutes "Welcome to" for the first %s and "Java Programming!" for the second %s. The output shows that two lines of text were displayed.

We introduce various formatting features as they are needed in our examples. Chapters 28 presents the details of formatting output with printf.

Introduction to Computers, the Internet and the World Wide Web

Introduction to Java Applications

Introduction to Classes and Objects

Control Statements: Part I

Control Statements: Part 2

Methods: A Deeper Look

Arrays

Classes and Objects: A Deeper Look

Object-Oriented Programming: Inheritance

Object-Oriented Programming: Polymorphism

GUI Components: Part 1

Graphics and Java 2D™

Exception Handling

Files and Streams

Recursion

Searching and Sorting

Data Structures

Generics

Collections

Introduction to Java Applets

Multimedia: Applets and Applications

GUI Components: Part 2

Multithreading

Networking

Accessing Databases with JDBC

Servlets

JavaServer Pages (JSP)

Formatted Output

Strings, Characters and Regular Expressions

Appendix A. Operator Precedence Chart

Appendix B. ASCII Character Set

Appendix C. Keywords and Reserved Words

Appendix D. Primitive Types

Appendix E. (On CD) Number Systems

Appendix F. (On CD) Unicode®

Appendix G. Using the Java API Documentation

Appendix H. (On CD) Creating Documentation with javadoc

Appendix I. (On CD) Bit Manipulation

Appendix J. (On CD) ATM Case Study Code

Appendix K. (On CD) Labeled break and continue Statements

Appendix L. (On CD) UML 2: Additional Diagram Types

Appendix M. (On CD) Design Patterns

Appendix N. Using the Debugger

Inside Back Cover



Java(c) How to Program
Java How to Program (6th Edition) (How to Program (Deitel))
ISBN: 0131483986
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 615

Flylib.com © 2008-2020.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net