constructors

[craigtb]

if you had something like this

class Blah
{

   void Blah()
   {
   }
  
   Blah()
   {
   }
}

I know Blah() is a constructor, but the class Blah is not right?

[Twey]

The second Blah() is a constructor, yes.

Of course the class isn't a constructor. A constructor is a method that sets up an instance of its class to be ready for use.

[craigtb]

SO it has 2 constructors right?
I read somethign about what the void meant and didnt really understand it, can you try and explain it to me?
Also what does encapsulated mean?

[Twey]

SO it has 2 constructors right?

No, only one constructor. The other method has a return type, so it's just a standard instance method.

I read somethign about what the void meant and didnt really understand it, can you try and explain it to me?

It's the return type declared when a method doesn't return a value.

Also what does encapsulated mean?

encapsulate

v 1: enclose in a capsule or other small container

I can't be any more specific without context.

[craigtb]

Would this be tightly encapsulated?

so void Blah() is not a constructor since it does not return a value?

if im not mistaken an instance variable would be like String or int right?

[Twey]

Would this be tightly encapsulated?

"Tight encapsulation" refers to making the innards of the class as inaccessible to outside objects as possible. The idea is that this promotes the design of classes with consistent and powerful interfaces (I don't use the term in its Java sense) whose use requires no knowledge of the workings of the class.

so void Blah() is not a constructor since it does not return a value?

No, it's not a constructor because it has a defined return type. The fact that that return type is void is neither here nor there.

if im not mistaken an instance variable would be like String or int right?

An instance variable (known as a property in Java parlance) is any property that belongs to instances of the class, as opposed to, say, a local variable in a function or a static property (which belongs to the class itself).

[craigtb]

so like

public Blah
{
  private double height, distance;
  void Blah()
  {}
  Blah()
  {}
}

that would have 2 instance variables?

[Twey]

Yes, height and distance.

public Blah

however, is a syntax error. Since it's a class, you cannot omit the class keyword:

public class Blah {

[craigtb]

OK thanks!

[craigtb]

If i was to write a constructor for a class PersonInfo would it be somehting like this?

class PersonInfo
{
  private String name, address;
  private int income;
  PersonInfo()
  {
     return name;       \
     return address;      im not sure about this way of writing it
     return income;     /
  }
}