Thread: Structure

Hi I'm doing some code and the use of the Curley braces is confusing me.

public class a
{
private String b;

public a(String b)
{
}

public String getb()
{
return b;
}
public void setb(String b)
{
this.b = b;
}

//but im getting an error in eclipse to
//add } to complete the class body??

Am I on the right track with the braces?
Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Gerardgrundy

Hi I'm doing some code and the use of the Curley braces is confusing me.

Your code with code tags:

public class a
{
	private String b;
 
public a(String b)	  // your indentation here is not good
{
}
 
	public String getb()
	{
	return b;
	}
	public void setb(String b)
	{
	this.b = b;
	}
 
	//but im getting an error in eclipse to 
	//add } to complete the class body??

This is easy to figure out yourself. For each opening curly brace, {, the must be a matching closing curly brace, }. If your indentation is good (and yours isn't), it should be readily apparent if things match well. Note that each method should have an opening and matching closing brace and same for every class. I strongly urge you to study how to indent your code correctly so that your code formatting automatically helps you debug your code. Note that Eclipse can do this formatting for you by highlighting the whole class, and then pressing alt-s f for source format.

Thanks for your quick reply. I gave the alt-s f a go and nothing happens. I've got some custom formatting set up with this quick key. Should the constructor be indented 4 spaces with the rest of the code underneath? Sorry the silly questions but I'm a total beginner.
Another question.
Do I need the {} under the constructor statement?
Regards Gerard

A constructor should be on the same indentation level as a method. Anything inside of a constructor or method should be indented at the next level. The format command in Eclipse won't work if your code doesn't compile, only if it does in fact compile. Whether your starting curly brace is on the same line as your method or constructor signature or on the next line is a matter of style and should be determined by your boss/teacher/coding team.

public class a
{
	private String b;
	// this is what I indented is this better?
	public a(String b)	
        {
        }
 
	public String getb()
	{
	return b;
	}
	public void setb(String b)
	{
	this.b = b;
	}
	//I added a curly here so that it compiles
}

Is this better?
Btw how did you get the code to have the colours like in eclipse?

Your braces appear to match, so that's good. As for code format, I'd indent the code within the blocks as well. I like to use 3 spaces (no tabs) since that works well with most forum formatters. For example:

// class names, A, should begin with a capital letter
public class A {  // I like this style better -- habit.
   private String b;
 
   public A(String b)	{
      this.b = b;
   }
 
   public String getB() {
      return b;
   }
 
   public void setB(String b) {
      this.b = b;
   }
 
}

public class a
{
	private String b;
        private String c
	// this is what I indented is this better?
	public a(String b, String c)
// do i need these curly braces below. why do i need them?	
        {
        }
 // getters and setters
	public String getB()
	{
	return b;
	}
	public void setB(String b)
	{
	this.b = b;
	}
        public String getC()
	{
	return c;
	}
	public void setC(String c)
	{
	this.c = c;
	}
 
}

Im adding another variable to the contractor. Why do I need the braces under the constructor line?

Im adding another variable to the contractor. Why do I need the braces under the constructor line?

The braces are required to mark the code block that belongs to the constructor. Anything contained within the braces will be executed when the constructor is called. For example you could add lines of code to set the variables...