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Use the following two examples to help students reason about primitives in Java.
- This first example provides a good introduction to manipulating primitives in Java using operators.
- int x = 42;
int y = x;
x++; - Ask students what the values of x and y are now. (Answer: x=43 and y=42). A common misconception is that both x and y are incremented because y=x.
- This first example provides a good introduction to manipulating primitives in Java using operators.
- This second example uses method calls to change x and y.
- Wait to show students this example until they understand how primitives are manipulated by operators.
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public class Sample {
- public static void main (String [] args) {
- int x = 42;
int y = x;
Sample.myMethod(x);}
public static myMethod(int x){- x = x + 1;
}
}
- x=42. Have students reason through how the method affects x and y.
- Wait to show students this example until they understand how primitives are manipulated by operators.