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Java Java Objects (Retired) Creating the MVP Comparing Characters

Jake Nagle
Jake Nagle
2,942 Points
Posted by Jake Nagle
Jake Nagle
2,942 Points

Stumped on a challenge

My code isn't returning any errors, it just isn't returning the correct values. When given the last name "zimmerman", it doesn't return 2 as it should and I can't figure out why. It does, however, seem to work with the first half of the alphabet. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

ConferenceRegistrationAssistant.java 
public class ConferenceRegistrationAssistant {

  public int getLineFor(String lastName) {
    /* If the last name is between A thru M send them to line 1
       Otherwise send them to line 2 */
    char initial = lastName.charAt(0);
    int line = 0;
    if (initial >= 'm') {
    line = 2;
    } else {
    line = 1;
    }
    return line;
  }

}
Kathryn Ann
Kathryn Ann
10,071 Points

Disregard this comment, see answer below :)

1 Answer

Kathryn Ann
Kathryn Ann
10,071 Points

Sorry, I meant to post this as an answer instead of a comment and it doesn't look like you can delete comments (I guess I haven't had enough coffee yet): The problem might be that you're checking for a value greater than a lowercase 'm', but the ASCII values for uppercase letters are actually lower than the values for lowercase letters. Try setting the letter stored in the initial variable to lowercase before you compare (or setting it to uppercase and comparing the value to 'M').

Jake Nagle
Jake Nagle
2,942 Points
Jake Nagle
Jake Nagle
2,942 Points

Thank you so much for clearing this up Kathryn! Not being able to figure out the problem was driving me crazy.