CPSC 120 Lab 12
Multi-dimensional Arrays and Dependencies Among Objects of the Same Class

Lab Objectives

  • Experience using 2 dimensional arrays.
  • Gain experience (and a better understanding of ) passing an object of the same class as a parameter.

As usual, create a lab12 subdirectory for today's lab, open up Mozilla Firefox and the Web version of this handout, and open Emacs.

Magic Squares

One interesting application of two dimensional arrays is magic squares. A magic square is a square matrix of numbers in which the sum of every row, every column, and both diagonals is the same. Magic squares have been studied for many years, and there are some particularly famous magic squares. In this exercise you will write code to determine whether a square is magic.

The file Square.java contains the shell for a class that represents a square matrix. It contains a constructor that takes a file object to read from and uses it to initialize the matrix, plus headers for a toString method and methods to find the sum of a given row, find the sum of a given column, find the sum of the main (or other) diagonal, and determine whether the square is magic.

The file SquareTest.java contains the shell for a program that prompts the user to enter file names for text files that contain input data for squares and tells whether each is a magic square. Follow the comments to fill in the remaining code, but take it a piece at a time as follows:

Static Methods and Variables; Objects of the Same Class as Parameters

File Account.java contains a class representing a bank account similar to the one we used in earlier labs. (Note that a second constructor has been added that takes only two parameters and generates the account number randomly.) Save this file to your directory and use it in the exercises below.
  1. Suppose the bank wants to keep track of how many accounts exist. We'll add a static variable to do this as follows:
    1. Declare a private static integer variable numAccounts to hold this value. Like all instance and static variables, it will be initialized (to 0, since it's an int) automatically.
    2. Add code to both constructors to increment this variable every time an account is created.
    3. Add a static method getNumAccounts that returns the total number of accounts. (Think about why this method should be static -- its information is not related to any particular account.)

  2. Now open TestAccounts1.java, study it to see what it does, and save it to your directory. Run it to test your Account class.

  3. Next we will add the capability of transferring funds from one account to another. We'll do it two different ways as follows:

    1. Add a method to the Account class that allows money to be transferred between accounts. This could be done by using two separate methods transferIn(Account otherAcct, double amt) and transferOut(Account otherAcct, double amt), or by using just one method transfer(Account otherAcct, double amt) and defining (and clearly documenting - points off if you don't!) it so that it transfers money FROM the current account TO the account that is passed as a parameter. Use this second strategy (just one method). Inside the transfer method you can manipulate the balance directly or use the deposit and withdraw methods you have already written. Either way, first you'll still have to check that the balance in the from account is sufficient; if not, print a message and don't carry out the transfer.

    2. Now save TestAccounts2.java to your directory. Add code as indicated by the comments to transfer $50 from Madison's account to Spud's account and then to transfer $25 from Spud's account to Madison's account. Print both accounts after each transfer. Don't fill in the rest of the missing code yet. Run it to be sure it works.

    3. Add a static method to the Account class that lets the user transfer money between two accounts without going through either account. You can call the method transfer just like the other one -- you are overloading it. Your new method should take two Account objects and an amount and transfer the amount from the first account to the second account. The signature will look like this:
      public static void transfer(Account fromAcct, Account toAcct, double amt)
      

    4. Following the next comment in TestAccounts2.java, fill in code to use the static transfer method to transfer another $10 from Spud's account to Madison's account. Test your program.

    5. Following the next comment in TestAccounts2.java, fill in code to transfer $250 from Madison's account to Spud's account. (Use the transfer method of your choice.) Run the program to see what happens. If your code is correct this will not be allowed (insufficient funds).

  4. Finally we will add the capability of closing accounts and consolidating accounts to the class. Do the following:

    1. Add a method void close() to your Account class that closes an account. It should set the name to null (note: this is the null reference which is not the same as an empty string), the balance to 0, and the account number to 0. It should also decrement the total number of accounts.

    2. Also add a static method Account consolidate(Account acct1, Account acct2) to your Account class that creates a new account whose balance is the sum of the balances in acct1 and acct2 and closes acct1 and acct2. The new account should be returned. Two important rules of consolidation:
      • Only accounts with the same name can be consolidated. The new account gets the name on the old accounts.
      • Two accounts with the same number cannot be consolidated. (This would be an easy way to double your money!)

      Check these conditions before creating the new account. If either condition fails, do not create the new account or close the old accounts; print a useful message and return null.

    3. Following the comments in TestAccounts2.java, add code to create a second account for Madison with a balance of 500. Print this account and the total number of accounts. Then consolidate Madison's two accounts into account madConsolidated; print all three accounts and the total number of accounts.

    4. Add code to consolidate Spud's account with itself, putting the new account into spudConsolidated. Of course, this consolidation shouldn't work, but it's useful to see what happens when you try it. Print both spudAcct and spudConsolidated after the call.

    5. Finally, add code to consolidate Madison's consolidated account with Spud's account, putting the new account into jointAcct. Once again, the consolidation shouldn't work. Print all three accounts after the call to consolidate. Run the program and make sure it does what it should.

Submission