What is an Accessory Method?

An accessor method, also known as getter methods allows other objects to obtain the value of instance variables or static variables.

Purpose of Accessor Methods

  • Allows safe access to instance variables
  • Accessor Methods keep data access private and secure
  • If you need to access instance variables form a different class, accessor methods are necessary

Lets Make Our Own Accessor Methods

public class Minion
{
    // Start by defining instance variables that you'll want to access later via the accessor methods
    private double height;
    private String name;
    private String hair;
    private int eyes;

    // Default Constructor
    //String n, int c
    public Minion()
    {
        height = 3.7;
        name = "Bob";
        hair = "None";
        eyes = 2;
    }

    // Overloaded Constructor
    public Minion(double h, String n, String hr, int e)
    {
        height = h;
        name = n;
        hair = hr;
        eyes = e;
    }
    // Accessor Methods!
    public double getHeight()
    {
        return height;
    }
    public String getName()
    {
        return name;
    }
    public String getHair()
    {
        return hair;
    }
    public int getEyes()
    {
        return eyes;
    }
}
public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args){        
        // Create minion object Kevin
        Minion kevin = new Minion(4.10,"Kevin","Sprout-Cut",2);

        // Print Kevin's properties
        System.out.println(kevin.getName());
        System.out.println(kevin.getHeight());
        System.out.println(kevin.getHair());
        System.out.println(kevin.getEyes());
    }
}

Main.main(null)

Kevin
4.1
Sprout-Cut
2

Things to keep in mind when creating your Accessor Methods

  • The accessor method must be public so that you can retrieve your instance variables outside of the class
  • The return Type must match the type of the instance variable accessed
  • The naming convention is often getNameOfVariable
  • There should be no parameters in your getter methods

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Popcorn Hack

Gru is preparing for his big mission to steal the moon, and he needs to assign his minions various tasks based on their skills. Create a Minion class with the attributes name, task, and skillLevel. Implement some getter accessor methods, and then create a Minion object to retrieve its values.

class Minion {
    String name;
    String task;
    int skillLevel;

    public Minion(String name, String task, int skillLevel) {
        this.name = name;
        this.task = task;
        this.skillLevel = skillLevel;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getTask() {
        return task;
    }

    public void setTask(String task) {
        this.task = task;
    }

    public int getSkillLevel() {
        return skillLevel;
    }

    public void setSkillLevel(int skillLevel) {
        this.skillLevel = skillLevel;
    }
}

Minion kevin = new Minion("Kevin", "jumping", 10);
System.out.println(kevin.getName() + ", the minion tasked with " + kevin.getTask() + ", is currently level " + kevin.getSkillLevel() + ", yet he just leveled up!");
kevin.setSkillLevel(100);
System.out.println("They are now at level " + kevin.getSkillLevel());

Kevin, the minion tasked with jumping, is currently level 10, yet he just leveled up!
They are now at level 100