How can I change a value inside of a setter?

Question

In my code, I'm getting an "interview score" input between 0-10 from an array. I am supposed to map 0 to 0 and 10 to 100, so basically multiply the interview score by 10.

My constructor for the object is

public Person(String firstName, String lastName, double interview) {
    this.firstName = firstName;
    this.lastName = lastName;
    this.gpa = gpa;
    this.interview = interview;
}

and my object is

Person s1 = new Person("name", "surname", 3.5, 8);

Here, 8 being the interview score and 3.5 being the GPA score (not necessarily a part of my question).

In my get and set methods I'm using

public double getInterview() {
    return interview;
}

public void setInterview(double interview) {
    this.interview = interview*10;
}

Expecting it to multiply by 10 so I can use it in my getTotalPoints method in the same class which is:

points = getGpa()*gpaWeight +  getInterview()*intWeight;

but here it takes the interview score as 8, not 80.

What can I do to fix this?

Thanks

(PS I don't really know anything about maps etc. so I don't know if it'll work here, I'd appreciate it if any answer was given in this format)

This happens because as you initialize your class, your value is set to whatever the input is: ```this.interview = interview;``` therefore your logic that is used in your setter is not used. Perhaps, add that logic to your constructor too (```this.interview = interview*10;```) or call your setter instead. — MarcusSlover, Jun 04 '22 at 09:36
@MarcusSlover Brilliant! Thanks for the answer. If you want reply as an answer and I'll mark it. — tohli, Jun 04 '22 at 09:38

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 04 '22 at 14:03

2

You are using the constructor to set the interview value instead of the setter method setInterview().

Use setInterview() method to set the interview value or modify the constructor as below:

public Person(String firstName, String lastName, double interview) {
  this.firstName = firstName;
  this.lastName = lastName;
  this.gpa = gpa;
  this.interview = interview * 10;
}

edited Jun 04 '22 at 14:03

Ethan

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answered Jun 04 '22 at 09:39

ankit

94
5

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 04 '22 at 10:00

The problem is that between your constructor and setter there is inconsistency on the scale of representation of the Interview attribute.

In the constructor:

this.interview = interview;

so here you work in a range from 0 to 10

Whereas in the setter

this.interview = interview*10;

so here you work in the range from 0 to 100

You can either set the value in the 0-100 scale and use it that way, or set it in the 0-10 scale and each time you use it you have to remember to map it to the 0-100 scale. I think the best solution is the former.

Regarding mapping from one range to another, you can take inspiration from this answer: Mapping a numeric range onto another

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 04 '22 at 09:39

You are never calling the setInterview function. If you don't call it then how the value will change. Assuming you are only passing the values using constructor. I would suggest o to call the setInterview inside the constructor.

public Person(String firstName, String lastName, double interview) {
    this.firstName = firstName;
    this.lastName = lastName;
    this.gpa = gpa;
    setInterview(interview); // or you can simply assign the value here 
}

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 04 '22 at 09:41

1

You can immediately initialize the value of the interview, if this parameter is used only in the form in which you wrote it.

this.interview = interview * 10;

And you will no longer need the setInterview() method

answered Jun 04 '22 at 09:41

itfedorovsa

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How can I change a value inside of a setter?

4 Answers4