[FIXED] How to do the equivalent of pass by reference for primitives in Java

Issue

This Java code:

public class XYZ {   
    public static void main(){  
        int toyNumber = 5;   
        XYZ temp = new XYZ();  
        temp.play(toyNumber);  
        System.out.println("Toy number in main " + toyNumber);  
    }

    void play(int toyNumber){  
        System.out.println("Toy number in play " + toyNumber);   
        toyNumber++;  
        System.out.println("Toy number in play after increement " + toyNumber);   
    }   
}  

will output this:

 
Toy number in play 5  
Toy number in play after increement 6  
Toy number in main 5  

In C++ I can pass the toyNumber variable as pass by reference to avoid shadowing i.e. creating a copy of the same variable as below:

void main(){  
    int toyNumber = 5;  
    play(toyNumber);  
    cout << "Toy number in main " << toyNumber << endl;  
}

void play(int &toyNumber){  
    cout << "Toy number in play " << toyNumber << endl;   
    toyNumber++;  
    cout << "Toy number in play after increement " << toyNumber << endl;   
} 

and the C++ output will be this:

Toy number in play 5  
Toy number in play after increement 6  
Toy number in main 6  

My question is - What's the equivalent code in Java to get the same output as the C++ code, given that Java is pass by value rather than pass by reference?

Solution

You have several choices. The one that makes the most sense really depends on what you're trying to do.

Choice 1: make toyNumber a public member variable in a class

class MyToy {
  public int toyNumber;
}

then pass a reference to a MyToy to your method.

void play(MyToy toy){  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play " + toy.toyNumber);   
    toy.toyNumber++;  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play after increement " + toy.toyNumber);   
}

Choice 2: return the value instead of pass by reference

int play(int toyNumber){  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play " + toyNumber);   
    toyNumber++;  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play after increement " + toyNumber);   
    return toyNumber
}

This choice would require a small change to the callsite in main so that it reads, toyNumber = temp.play(toyNumber);.

Choice 3: make it a class or static variable

If the two functions are methods on the same class or class instance, you could convert toyNumber into a class member variable.

Choice 4: Create a single element array of type int and pass that

This is considered a hack, but is sometimes employed to return values from inline class invocations.

void play(int [] toyNumber){  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play " + toyNumber[0]);   
    toyNumber[0]++;  
    System.out.println("Toy number in play after increement " + toyNumber[0]);   
}

Answered By - laslowh

Answer Checked By - Mary Flores (PHPFixing Volunteer)