All about Strings

On part 3 of the code challenge it states:

Set the text of the Button using the 'label' variable instead of the hard-coded text currently there.

It wants you to replace the hard coded string with a variable in the setText() method with a variable.

Before:

myButton.setText("Replace the text in here");

Your end result would be something like this:

After

String myName = getString(R.id.myAwesomeName);
saveButton.setText(myName);

That should help you get past step 3.

Marcus,

I'm sorry you are still stuck! I thought we had enough information for you to move on. I was travelling yesterday and just now got the latest messages. I'm going to paste the code from your screenshot in here to reference:

String[] phoneNumberLabels = { "-home", "-work", "-mobile" };

Button saveButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.saveButton);

String label = getString(R.string.saveLabel);

String label = getstring(R.id.saveButton);
saveButton.setText(label);

Short answer: Just remove that second line from the bottom. Now for the explanation.

The line above declares a variable named 'label'. It says that it's a String data type, and then you use the equals sign to put a value in it. In this case you get a String stored in the Strings resource file (strings.xml), using a special method called getString().

So your second line is invalid because you are trying to declare another variable named 'label'. Declaring a variable means that you type the data type and then the name. It can be as simple as the following:

int someNumber;

When you declare a variable, it means that name is taken, so you can't declare it again, which is what your code is trying to do. The following would be illegal:

int someNumber;
int someNumber = 10;

You can set the variable anywhere else as long as you don't put a data type like String or int in front of it. Here's the fix for that illegal example:

int someNumber;
someNumber = 10; // The someNumber variable now holds the value of 10

Likewise, you can't change the datatype of a variable. So the following is also illegal:

int someNumber;
String someNumber;

There are a few other problems with that line of code, too. Your call to getString() has a lowercase s where uppercase is needed, and you pass in R.id.saveButton, which is the reference used to get a Button object. R.string is used to get String resources.

All of those issues are easier to troubleshoot in a real IDE like Eclipse, because you get way more helpful error messages. Hopefully we can iterate on our code challenges in the future to make them better like that.

When all else fails, walk through your code line by line to make sure you understand how it's operating. If you get to a line where you start guessing or don't know how it's working, then it's time to ask about it here or in other places like StackOverflow.com. I know this is easier said than done, but we're here to help, so stick with it!

Ernest Grzybowski : Hey even I said the same thing and I didn't get any upvotes and neither any points :(

thanks for the help guys, but this is beginning to annoy Me, because i am typing in everything how i was told in addition to various other equations and i keep getting the 'Compilation Error' message, yet the test doesnt highlight what is wrong. so i keep making guesses. i have been stuck on this one question for 2 days now, i have watched the video about 10 times, googled and youtubed results but i just cant figure this out. i may laugh at this one day but right now i seriously need this broken to me down in 'dummy terms'.

String[] phoneNumberLabels = { "-home", "-work", "-mobile" };

Button saveButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.saveButton); String label = getString(R.string.saveLabel);

saveButton.setText(label);