In Java, a constructor is a block of codes similar to the method. It is called when an instance of the classis created. At the time of calling constructor, memory for the object is allocated in the memory.
It is a special type of method which is used to initialize the object.
Every time an object is created using the new() keyword, at least one constructor is called.
It calls a default constructor if there is no constructor available in the class. In such case, Java compiler provides a default constructor by default.
There are two types of constructors in Java: no-arg constructor, and parameterized constructor.
Note: It is called constructor because it constructs the values at the time of object creation. It is not necessary to write a constructor for a class. It is because java compiler creates a default constructor if your class doesn’t have any.
Rules for creating Java constructor
There are two rules defined for the constructor.
- Constructor name must be the same as its class name
- A Constructor must have no explicit return type
- A Java constructor cannot be abstract, static, final, and synchronized
Types of Java constructors
There are two types of constructors in Java:
- Default constructor (no-arg constructor)
- Parameterized constructor
Java Default Constructor
A constructor is called “Default Constructor” when it doesn’t have any parameter.
Syntax of default constructor:
- <class_name>(){}
Example of default constructor
| In this example, we are creating the no-arg constructor in the Bike class. It will be invoked at the time of object creation. |
//Java Program to create and call a default constructor
class Bike1{
//creating a default constructor
Bike1(){System.out.println(“Bike is created”);}
//main method
public static void main(String args[]){
//calling a default constructor
Bike1 b=new Bike1();
}
}
Output:
Bike is created
Q) What is the purpose of a default constructor?
The default constructor is used to provide the default values to the object like 0, null, etc., depending on the type.
Example of default constructor that displays the default values
//Let us see another example of default constructor
//which displays the default values
class Student3{
int id;
String name;
//method to display the value of id and name
void display(){System.out.println(id+” “+name);}
public static void main(String args[]){
//creating objects
Student3 s1=new Student3();
Student3 s2=new Student3();
//displaying values of the object
s1.display();
s2.display();
}
}
Output:
0 null
0 null
Explanation:In the above class,you are not creating any constructor so compiler provides you a default constructor. Here 0 and null values are provided by default constructor.
Java Parameterized Constructor
A constructor which has a specific number of parameters is called a parameterized constructor.
Why use the parameterized constructor?
The parameterized constructor is used to provide different values to distinct objects. However, you can provide the same values also.
Example of parameterized constructor
In this example, we have created the constructor of Student class that have two parameters. We can have any number of parameters in the constructor.
//Java Program to demonstrate the use of the parameterized constructor.
class Student4{
int id;
String name;
//creating a parameterized constructor
Student4(int i,String n){
id = i;
name = n;
}
//method to display the values
void display(){System.out.println(id+” “+name);}
public static void main(String args[]){
//creating objects and passing values
Student4 s1 = new Student4(111,”Karan”);
Student4 s2 = new Student4(222,”Aryan”);
//calling method to display the values of object
s1.display();
s2.display();
}
}
Output:
111 Karan
222 Aryan
Constructor Overloading in Java
In Java, a constructor is just like a method but without return type. It can also be overloaded like Java methods.
Constructor overloading in Javais a technique of having more than one constructor with different parameter lists. They are arranged in a way that each constructor performs a different task. They are differentiated by the compiler by the number of parameters in the list and their types.
Example of Constructor Overloading
//Java program to overload constructors
class Student5{
int id;
String name;
int age;
//creating two arg constructor
Student5(int i,String n){
id = i;
name = n;
}
//creating three arg constructor
Student5(int i,String n,int a){
id = i;
name = n;
age=a;
}
void display(){System.out.println(id+” “+name+” “+age);}
public static void main(String args[]){
Student5 s1 = new Student5(111,”Karan”);
Student5 s2 = new Student5(222,”Aryan”,25);
s1.display();
s2.display();
}
}