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Java Java Objects (Retired) Delivering the MVP Defaulting Parameters

Kasim Acikbas
Kasim Acikbas
3,163 Points

(Defaulting Parameters) Im stuck and i don't understand what should i do ? Can someone help ?

public class Example {

public static void main(String[] args) { ShoppingCart cart = new ShoppingCart(); Product pez = new Product("Cherry PEZ refill (12 pieces)"); cart.addItem(pez, 5); /* Since a quantity of 1 is such a common argument when adding a product to the cart, * your fellow developers have asked you to make the following code work, as well as keeping * the ability to add a product and a quantity. */ Product dispenser = new Product("Yoda PEZ dispenser"); // Uncomment this line after using method signatures to solve their request in ShoppingCart.java // cart.addItem(dispenser); }

}

Example.java
public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    ShoppingCart cart = new ShoppingCart();
    Product pez = new Product("Cherry PEZ refill (12 pieces)");
    cart.addItem(pez, 5);
    /* Since a quantity of 1 is such a common argument when adding a product to the cart,
     * your fellow developers have asked you to make the following code work, as well as keeping
     * the ability to add a product and a quantity.
     */
    Product dispenser = new Product("Yoda PEZ dispenser");
    // Uncomment this line after using method signatures to solve their request in ShoppingCart.java
    // cart.addItem(dispenser);
  }

}
ShoppingCart.java
public class ShoppingCart {

  public void addItem(Product item, int quantity) {
    System.out.printf("Adding %d of %s to the cart.%n", quantity, item.getName());
    /* Other code omitted for clarity */
  }
}
Product.java
public class Product {
  /* Other code omitted for clarity, but you could imagine
     it would store price, options like size and color
  */
  private String mName;

  public Product(String name) {
      mName = name;
  }

  public String getName() {
      return mName;
  }
}

2 Answers

Stephen Bone
Stephen Bone
12,359 Points

Hi Kasim

To complete this task we have to use Method Signatures. I've included a link to Craig's demonstration of usage below:

https://teamtreehouse.com/library/java-objects/harnessing-the-power-of-objects/method-signatures

Basically it is the idea that you can have multiple methods that use the same name but may have a different set of parameters meaning they have different method signatures. It basically allows it to seem like we call a single method but provide a different number of options.

In this example ShoppingCart.java has a method called addItem which requires a product and the quantity and we've been asked to set it up so that by default it will add one item unless specified otherwise. What we can do is create a new method of the same name that only requires the product and then use that to call the existing addItem method and pass it a quantity of 1 that it requires.

I hope it helps but if you need any further help let me know.

Stephen

Example.java has a line of code that is commented out

    cart.addItem(dispenser);

If all you do is uncomment this line and check your work, you get a compiler error. We need to write a second addItem method that only takes one argument, rather than two.

So, in ShoppingCart.java, we can copy and paste the existing addItem method, but remove the second argument. We also need to change what is printed, because we know that we are "Adding 1 of" of the item to the cart.