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Thread: Isn't the result supposed to be 6?

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    Question Isn't the result supposed to be 6?

    public class Examp {
        public static void main(String[] args) {
           int i = 5;
           Examp examp_object = new Examp();
           examp_object.inc(i);
           System.out.println(i);
     
        }
        public void inc (int k) {
    	k++;
        }
     
    }

    For my surprise, the result is appearing to be 5. Why is that?


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    Super Moderator Norm's Avatar
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    Default Re: Isn't the result supposed to be 6?

    What do you mean by "result"?
    Remember that variables are passed to methods by value. The method inc can only change its copy of the variable, not the source of the value.
    If you don't understand my answer, don't ignore it, ask a question.

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    Default Re: Isn't the result supposed to be 6?

    Quote Originally Posted by obel1x View Post
    public class Examp {
        public static void main(String[] args) {
           int i = 5;
           Examp examp_object = new Examp();
           examp_object.inc(i);
           System.out.println(i);
     
        }
        public void inc (int k) {
    	k++;
        }
     
    }

    For my surprise, the result is appearing to be 5. Why is that?
    I'm kind of struggling with something similar, but in this case, I think what is happening is that you are sending the argument of i to the method inc. The method is then updating a local variable of the object examp_object which is actually an instance of itself, so i never actually changes because when you call the object which is the main method you end up resetting i back to 5?

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    Default Re: Isn't the result supposed to be 6?

    It's helpful in these little study programs to 1) make them as simple as possible, and 2) to over-instrument them to see what's going on. To simplify, eliminate the instance creation. It doesn't add to the study. To over-instrument, add a few print statements to check the values of variables of interest. In the end, something like:
    public class TestClass
    {
        public static void main(String[] args)
        {
           int i = 5;
           inc(i);
           System.out.println( "i in main() = " + i );
     
        } // end method main()
     
        public static void inc ( int k )
        {
            k++;
            System.out.println( "k in inc() = " + k );
     
        } // end method inc()
     
    } // end class TestClass

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