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    Input in Java Programming

    In this lesson, we will understand what is Scanner class, and how it is used in the Java program to accept input with the help of some examples.

    Input in Java

    The Scanner class is used in Java programs to accept input from the standard input device (keyboard) and store it in one or more variables. The Scanner class is available in the java.util package.

    Video Explanation

    Click the button below to watch the explanation.

    video image

    To use the Scanner class, we need to create an object of the Scanner class and use the available methods in the class to take different types of input from the user. The available methods in the Scanner class are listed below.

    Method Description
    nextBoolean() Reads a boolean type value from the user
    nextByte() Reads a byte type value from the user
    nextDouble() Reads a double type value from the user
    nextFloat() Reads a float type value from the user
    nextInt() Reads an int type value from the user
    nextLong() Reads a long type value from the user
    nextShort() Reads a short type value from the user
    nextLine() Reads a String type value from the user

    Let's see an example of how to use Scanner class to read different types of data from the keyboard.

    Example
    import java.util.Scanner;  // Import the Scanner class
    
    public class Example
    {
        public static void main(String[] args)
        {
            int age;
            float height;
            double weight;
            char initial;
    
            // Create a Scanner object to read input
            Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
    
            // Ask the user to enter their age
            System.out.print("Enter your age: ");
            age = sc.nextInt();
    
            // Ask the user to enter their height
            System.out.print("Enter your height in meters: ");
            height = sc.nextFloat();
    
            // Ask the user to enter their weight
            System.out.print("Enter your weight in kilogram: ");
            weight = sc.nextDouble();
    
            // Consume the newline character left by the sc.nextDouble()
            sc.nextLine();  // This fixes the issue
    
            // Ask the user to enter the first character of their name
            System.out.print("Enter the first character of your name: ");
            initial = sc.nextLine().charAt(0);	// Reads the first character from input
    
            // Print the values entered by the user
            System.out.println("\nYou entered:");
            System.out.println("Age: " + age);
            System.out.println("Height: " + height);
            System.out.println("Weight: " + weight);
            System.out.println("Initial: " + initial);
        }
    }
    
    Output
    Enter your age: 15
    Enter your height in meters: 3.423
    Enter your weight in kilogram: 45.21543
    Enter the first character of your name: R
    
    You entered:
    Age: 15
    Height: 3.423
    Weight: 45.21543
    Initial: R                               
    What Happens in the Example
    1. Prompting the User:
    System.out.print is used to ask the user to enter their age, height, weight, and initial.
    2. Reading Input:
    age = sc.nextInt(); reads an integer type number input by the user and stores it in the variable age.
    height = sc.nextFloat(); reads a float type number input by the user and stores it in the variable height.
    weight = sc.nextDouble(); reads a double type number input by the user and stores it in the variable weight.
    sc.nextLine() consume the newline character left by the sc.nextDouble().
    initial = sc.nextLine().charAt(0); reads the first character from the user input and stores it in the variable initial.
    3. Displaying the Input:
    System.out.println() shows the values entered by the user, confirming they were read correctly.

    Test Your Knowledge

    Attempt the questions in the exercise to check whether you have understood the lesson clearly.

    Test Your Knowledge
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