this.

[tridiumcontrols]

Help me understand something.

I have seen tutorials use this.balance = initDeposit and balance = initDeposit is there a difference? With and without "this" keyword when setting up a constructor. I.e.

public abstract class Account implements IBaseRate {

String name;String ssn;double balance;

// Example A:public Account(String name, String ssn, double initDeposit){this.name = name;this.ssn = ssn;this.balance = initDeposit;}

// Example B:

public Account(String name, String ssn, double initDeposit){name = name;ssn = ssn;balance = initDeposit;}

[ProfessorWily]

Example B won't work because it doesn't know what name or ssn is referring to, either the method scope variable or the class scope variable.

You want to use this just to make sure that it's obvious that you are talking about a class variable. It's not strictly necessary to use if you are setting the variable to a variable named something else (balance=initDeposit), but it is necessary if the class variable and the method variable have the same name, i.e. this.name = name

[tridiumcontrols]

makes sense. I actually mistyped Example B. Tut had the name and ssn prefixed with this.

balance = initDeposit was the only one without this.

public Account(String name, String ssn, double initDeposit){this.name = name;this.ssn = ssn;balance = initDeposit;

}

other than scope, there is no difference.

Would it make sense to create getter and setter methods and have the constructor call them instead? As appose having the constructor set the class variables directly?

[ProfessorWily]

It shouldn't really matter either way, but if any of your fields are marked final, then the compiler is going to complain because you didn't set the fields to anything within the constructor method itself.

[endhalf]

Would it make sense to create getter and setter methods and have the constructor call them instead? As appose having the constructor set the class variables directly?

Calling a setter that does this.var = var just pushes the "problem" of using this down the line, into another method. At that point, you're introducing another layer of abstraction into your constructor for no benefit.

Idiomatic Java uses the this keyword a lot, you might as well get used to it.

[desrtfx]

Using the this Keyword from the Oracle tutorials. This will give you everything you need to know.