Using of Loops then If and Else

Question

I have a ToString() method I need to run but need to use loops instead of if and else statements. How should i do it?

public String toString() 
    {

        if (collectedDots == 0)
            return "Player[]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
        else if (collectedDots == 1)
            return "Player["+"*"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
        else if (collectedDots == 2)
            return "Player["+"**"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
        else 
            return "Player["+"***"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";

    }

Why do you want to use loop here. Switch case would be a better option to use in this case — ankhuri, Apr 23 '14 at 02:48
_How would I do it?_ It's about printing a specific number of characters. Give it a thought. After all, it's _your_ homework. — devnull, Apr 23 '14 at 02:49
@ankhuri `switch` is not ideal, because (1) it limits the number of `collectedDots` to the highest `case` in your switch, and (2) it makes you repeat essentially the same concatenation code several times. — Sergey Kalinichenko, Apr 23 '14 at 02:55
for fun, `for(;condition;){statment; break;}` works as an if statement but never needed — Old Badman Grey, Apr 23 '14 at 02:55
First off, use a temp for `Math.abs(y)` to remove that clutter and let you see more clearly what you're doing. — Hot Licks, Apr 23 '14 at 02:57

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 23 '14 at 02:49

you can use switch instead of if

switch(collectedDots )
{
case 0:        return "Player[]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
case 1:        return "Player["+"*"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
case 2:        return "Player["+"**"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
default:         return "Player["+"***"+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";
}

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 23 '14 at 02:50

0

Write a loop that produces a string of collectedDots asterisks:

String asterisks = "";
// Here is your loop. It iterates "collectedDots" times
for (int i = 0 ; i != collectedDots ; i++) {
    // Append an asterisk to the string "asterisks"; I assume that you know how to do that
}

With asterisks string in hand, the rest of your toString becomes trivial:

return "Player["+asterisks+"]"+"("+x+","+Math.abs(y)+")";

answered Apr 23 '14 at 02:50

Sergey Kalinichenko

714,442
84
1,110
1,523

Append an asterisk to the string "asterisks"; no idea – user3562745 Apr 23 '14 at 02:54
@user3562745 Well, `asterisks = asterisks + "*"` will do it - you've used string concatenation `+` in your code, so I assumed that you know how to append a character to a string. – Sergey Kalinichenko Apr 23 '14 at 02:58
`i != collectedDots` is not good design. While it works, it isn't as clear as `i < collectedDots`. – Dan Harms Apr 23 '14 at 03:01

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 23 '14 at 02:51

0

Spent more time looking at your out put.

Did your teacher teach how to print the following pattern in class?

(nothing)

A

AA

AAA

public static void main(String[] args) {
    StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
    for(int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
        System.out.println(stringBuilder.toString());
        stringBuilder.append("*");
    }
}

answered Apr 23 '14 at 02:51

Mingtao Zhang

148
10

No i want taught that append?? – user3562745 Apr 23 '14 at 02:55
those are the behind the scenes and efficient use of `str+="*";` though that could be used too – Old Badman Grey Apr 23 '14 at 02:58

Using of Loops then If and Else

3 Answers3