Subroutine always returns the -1 value , how do I rearrange to make it function?

Question

/ * Finds the first vowel in a word and returns its location * */

---

public static int findFirstVowel (String word) {
    int consonant = 0;
    for(int count = 0; count < word.length(); count++){
        word.toUpperCase();
   char letter1 = word.charAt(count);
   String letter2 = (Character.toString(letter1));
   if (isVowel(letter2) == true){
    //consonant = 0;
    return (count);
     }
    }
    return (-1);
}**

Answer 1

Your problem is with word.toUpperCase(). Since Strings are immutable in Java, this creates a new a uppercase String, which you aren't using. The correct way to do what you are trying to do is:

public static int findFirstVowel (String word) {
    int consonant = 0;
    word = word.toUpperCase(); // you need to set word back to the uppercase version

    for (int count = 0; count < word.length(); count++) {
        char letter1 = word.charAt(count);
        String letter2 = (Character.toString(letter1));

        if (isVowel(letter2)) {
            return count;
        }
    }

    return -1;
}