Studying for a test, can't figure out my code won't work

The question asks to create a program that will read a first and last name from the
keyboard and create a string that consists of the first letter of the first name, followed by
the first four characters of the last name followed by a random two-digit integer (10-99).
You can assume that the last name will have at least four characters in it.
Here's my code:

public static void main(String[] args) {
String name1,name2;
Scanner scan = new Scanner (System.in);
Random rand = new Random ();
int num1;

num1 = rand.nextInt(89) + 10;
System.out.print ("Enter your first name: ");
name1 = scan.nextLine();
System.out.print ("Enter your last name: ");
name2 = scan.nextLine();
System.out.println (name1.charAt (0) + name2.charAt(0) + name2.charAt(1) + name2.charAt(2) + name2.charAt(3) +num1);

It runs w/o errors, asks for the first and last names, but the result has been a 3 digit number everytime! The last three times ran it gave me 589, 514, 509, and 496. When I remove all references to the name2.charAt(#), it DOES give the first character of name1.

What have I done wrong? I've looked through my textbook and didn't see any examples that are helpful...

Any input would be appreciated...
Thanks,
-C

You're adding a bunch of chars together. Chars can be seen as a subset of ints. Adding them together like that is like adding some ints together. You're going to get a number.

Look at the String and Char api for useful functions for String conversion, and add those instead. Adding Strings is actually a shortcut for creating a StringBuilder and appending the Strings. There is no such shortcut for chars.

While I'm at it, why use the charAt() function at all? Looks like a job for substring() to me.

Thanks KW, the use of substring was the trick. I'm new to java and programming so I'm still fumbling through things from time to time. I sometimes tend to make things harder for myself when I'm learning something new...LOL...

Thanks again,

-C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coolidge

Thanks KW, the use of substring was the trick. I'm new to java and programming so I'm still fumbling through things from time to time. I sometimes tend to make things harder for myself when I'm learning something new...LOL...

Thanks again,

-C

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That's true for everybody, so don't be too hard on yourself. You should see me trying to make a basic website with html and css.