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Java Java Objects (Retired) Creating the MVP Strings and Chars

Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points
Posted by Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points

hasTile method?

"Can you also please help me write out the hasTile method? It should return true if the hand has the tile, and false if it doesn't. Thanks!"

I don't really understand what the hasTile method is supposed to achieve exactly.

Is it that only one of each letter is allowed in the hand (not the case in Scrabble though I don't think)? Is it checking the number of tiles in the hand against a maximum amount?

Having problems writing the code because I don't understand what the hasTile method is actually for :-(

Any pointers would be much appreciated :-)

Cheers SK

ScrabblePlayer.java 
public class ScrabblePlayer {
    private String mHand;

    public ScrabblePlayer() {
        mHand = "";
    }

    public String getHand() {
       return mHand;
    }

    public void addTile(char tile) {
        mHand += tile;// Adds the tile to the hand of the player

    }

    public boolean hasTile(char tile) {
      if (mHand = tile) {
        return true;
      } else {
         return false;
      }
    }

7 Answers

Allie O.
Allie O.
11,601 Points
Allie O.
Allie O.
11,601 Points

Hi Steve,

hasTile method will check your current hand and see if the tile you're looking for is a tile that you have. If you do, it will return true. If not, it will return false. So, you can do something like this:

public boolean hasTile(char tile) {
      boolean currentHand = mHand.indexOf(tile) >= 0;
      if(currentHand){
        return true;
      } else {
        return false;
      }
    }

Hope it helps!

Ray Porras
Ray Porras
4,425 Points

Great work! I made a little revision to it: 

public boolean hasTile(char tile){
     if(mHand.indexOf(tile) >=0){
          return true;
     }else {
       return false;
      }
}
Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points
Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points

Brilliant stuff, cheers Allie :-)

It was more that I couldn't make sense of what I was being asked to get the hasTile method to do...but your explanation is great, I get it now... and your suggested code makes sense too so I'll try it out later...

Thanks again Allie, I really appreciate you taking the time to help out... as they say here in Dublin, fair play to ye :-)

Peace SK

Allie O.
Allie O.
11,601 Points
Allie O.
Allie O.
11,601 Points

You're very welcome! It took me a while to figure out exactly what was being asked too, so no worries. :) We're all here to help each other out! :)

Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points
Steve Kinsey
Steve Kinsey
4,463 Points

Perfect...'Congrats' and green for go :-)

Thanks again Allie...

(but sometimes in scrabble it's ok and actually kinda useful to have 2 of the same letter...I think that's what threw me a bit in understanding the purpose of this bit of code...s'all good though, onwards...)

MUZ140564 Kudakwashe Jena
MUZ140564 Kudakwashe Jena
4,895 Points
MUZ140564 Kudakwashe Jena
MUZ140564 Kudakwashe Jena
4,895 Points

public class ScrabblePlayer { private String mHand;

public ScrabblePlayer() {
    mHand = "";
}
  public String getHand() {
   return mHand;
}
   public void addTile(char tile) {
    // Adds the tile to the hand of the player
 }

public boolean hasTile(char tile) {boolean currentHand = mHand.indexOf(tile) >= 0; if(currentHand){ return true; } else; {return false; } } am getting this error./ScrabblePlayer.java:18: error: reached end of file while parsing } ^ 1 error where am i going wrong

ISAIAH S
ISAIAH S
1,409 Points
ISAIAH S
ISAIAH S
1,409 Points

Try adding an extra }.

Chaun Fogarty
Chaun Fogarty
9,803 Points
Chaun Fogarty
Chaun Fogarty
9,803 Points

Just as a thought, since you've already made currentHand a boolean that is true when you have the tile and false when you don't, you could just return currentHand instead of worrying about the if/else.

adil rafaa
adil rafaa
3,194 Points
adil rafaa
adil rafaa
3,194 Points

same here , I think my code is fine but still I cant pass it

public boolean hasTile(char tile) {
    // TODO: Determine if user has the tile passed in
    boolean isTile = tiles.indexOf(tile) >= 0 ;
    if (isTile) {
      return true;
    } else {

    return false;
  }
  }