process a given minimum value and a value if < than given minimum

[Anthony Valdez]

I am a Java newbie and have been working on this program for about a month. Java has been very challenging, but I am enjoying learning. My issue starts with line 49 or 50 I think. I would like my program to be able to recognize that the minimum # of CUs could be < than 12 if the student only has 6 CUs left until graduation, but I also need it to recognize if I enter a letter or negative number which I somehow managed to do at the top of the code. I tried to pull this off with sum == sum which isn't giving me the desired output. I tried to reuse code from my lines 15-38 cause I know that part of the program responds correctly when I try to enter a letter or negative number, but I obviously was not implementing the loop correctly when I tried to put it on line 57 because the program runs but doesn't produce anything when it gets to that point. In summary, I would appreciate some assistance getting my code to realize that a student may not have the minimum CUs left (12) and may need < than that to graduate, but also not accept negative number or letters as input. Any feedback on the code formatting would be appreciated as well.

package gradplanner13;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class GradPlanner13 {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int sum = 0;
        Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
        ArrayList<Integer> array = new ArrayList<>();
        boolean loop = true;
        System.out.println("Enter the individual CUs for your remaining courses. Enter 0 when done entering your individual CUs.");

        while (loop) {
            System.out.print("Enter CUs for individual course then press enter: ");

            if (!input.hasNextInt()) {
                input.nextLine();
                System.out.println("Only positive numbers are valid inputs.  Please try again. ");
                continue;
            }

            if (!input.hasNextInt()) {
                input.nextLine();
                System.out.println("Only postive numbers are valid inputs.  Please try again.");
                continue;
            }

            int check = input.nextInt();
            input.nextLine();
            if (check == 0) {
                loop = false;
                continue;
            }

            else if (check < 0) {
                System.out.println("CU values must be positive.  Please try again.");
                continue;
            }
            array.add(check);
        }

        for (Integer CUs : array) {
            sum += CUs;
        }

        System.out.println("Total number of CUs for all courses: " + sum);

        double rounded = 0;
        do {
            System.out.print("How many CUs you are planning to take each term: ");
            rounded = input.nextInt();
            
            if (sum == sum){
                break;
            }

            if (rounded < 12 || rounded > sum) {
                System.out.println("Take each term with a minimum of 12 CUs or the CUs you have left to complete your program if less than 12 : ");
            }

        } while (rounded < 12 || rounded > sum);
        
        double numTermsToCompletion = Math.ceil(sum / rounded);
        System.out.println("Number of terms to completion: " + numTermsToCompletion);
        System.out.println("Tuition cost based on number of terms to completion: $" + (numTermsToCompletion * 2890));
        System.out.println("Number of months to completion: " + (numTermsToCompletion * 6));

    }

}

[Liutauras Vilda]

Hi Anthony Valdez,

You wrote quite a lot lines of code. Some code fragments are good, some - not. What I'd suggest you is, to write down the steps in english, where each step suppose to describe a single small task. After you clearly identify these steps/tasks - create a method for each task in order to accomplish that. Then, would be pretty easy to identify, which parts doesn't give you a wanted result.
Your issues actually starts a bit earlier than from the line 49, so, to know how to fix them, I'd encourage you clearly identify the steps your program are intended to do. If you want, try to write down over here, so it would help everyone to understand your program idea.

[Knute Snortum]

Welcome to the Ranch!

if (sum == sum){
  break;
}

What do you think this means?

[Anthony Valdez]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I took everyone's advice and reevaluated what I had done. sum == sum will ALWAYS be true so that had to go and as I wrote the project down step by step, I could see where I went wrong. Here is what I came up with. Now I am closer to getting the output I am looking for. My only issue now is that if I student enters 0 CUs as the first input (because I am using 0 to tell the program I am done with those inputs and to sum the numbers entered) it is still showing that they have 1 term to complete, which is not correct. I believe that I can fix this by implementing something similar as I did here: Any feedback would be appreciated. I just wanted everyone to know where I was at since you guys took time out to offer me feedback. Thanks again!

if (sum >= 12) {
            do {
                System.out.print("How many CUs you are planning to take each term? Minimum of 12 CUs required per term:  ");
                numOfCUs = input.nextInt();
            } while (numOfCUs < 12);

            numTermsToGraduation = (int) Math.ceil(sum / (double) numOfCUs);

        } else {
            numOfCUs = sum;
            numTermsToGraduation = 1;
        }

This project is a graduation planner that a student would use to see how long it would take to graduate and how much money it would cost. Below is the complete code:

package gradplanner13;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class GradPlanner13 {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int sum = 0;
        Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
        ArrayList<Integer> array = new ArrayList<>();
        boolean loop = true;
        // Student enters the individual credits for each course remaining in their degree program
        System.out.println("Enter the individual CUs for each individual remaining course. Enter 0 when done entering your individual CUs for each course.");

        // loop checks to make sure inputs are positive numbers
        while (loop) {
            System.out.print("Enter CUs for individual course then press enter: ");

            if (!input.hasNextInt()) {
                input.nextLine();
                System.out.println("Only positive numbers are valid inputs.  Please try again. ");
                continue;
            }

            if (!input.hasNextInt()) {
                input.nextLine();
                System.out.println("Only postive numbers are valid inputs.  Please try again.");
                continue;
            }

            int check = input.nextInt();
            input.nextLine();
            if (check == 0) {
                loop = false;
                continue;
            } else if (check < 0) {
                System.out.println("CU values must be positive.  Try again.");
                continue;
            }

            // Calculates inputs from user
            array.add(check);

        }
        for (Integer CUs : array) {
            sum += CUs;
        }

        System.out.println("Total number of CUs for all courses: " + sum);

        int numOfCUs = 0;
        int numTermsToGraduation = 0;

        if (sum >= 12) {
            do {
                System.out.print("How many CUs you are planning to take each term? Minimum of 12 CUs required per term:  ");
                numOfCUs = input.nextInt();
            } while (numOfCUs < 12);

            numTermsToGraduation = (int) Math.ceil(sum / (double) numOfCUs);

        } else {
            numOfCUs = sum;
            numTermsToGraduation = 1;
        }

        System.out.println("Number of terms to completion: " + numTermsToGraduation);
        System.out.println("Tuition cost based on number of terms to completion: $" + (numTermsToGraduation * 2890));
        System.out.println("Number of months to completion: " + (numTermsToGraduation * 6));

    }

}

[Knute Snortum]

Think of what condition will be true only if the user doesn't enter any CUs and use that as a way to avoid the final processing.

Other observations:

In general, it's better to write

List<Integer> array = new ArrayList<>();

than

ArrayList<Integer> array = new ArrayList<>();

The idea is you want to use an interface as your type if possible. This gives your program more flexibility.

You have

if (!input.hasNextInt()) {

twice, and is it really checking for positive integers?

The variable name CUs should start with a lowercase letter; otherwise it looks like a class.

loop = false;
continue;

This is the same as break.

[Liutauras Vilda]

Hi Anthony again,

I am looking at the code, and it looks very complicated, it seems for a quite simple problem.
As I mentioned above, I encourage you to simplify all that logic by dividing your program into small pieces of code and making methods from them.

1. By making an assumption this code is correct, it is being repeated in your program at least twice. So, it means it requires to become a single method, which accomplish the single task.

if (!input.hasNextInt()) {
    input.nextLine();
    System.out.println("Only positive numbers are valid inputs.  Please try again. ");
    continue;
}

2. Iterate loop simply while "true" is not a good practice, as it doesn't give you a clue, in which circumstances it would stop. Look what you have inside body of "while" loop. Might would work to add a condition in a while loop, like "while (input != exitCode)" where exitCode is equal 0? Moreover, in this case probably would work better do-while loop. Have you read about it? Check here (<- link)

while (loop) {
...
    int check = input.nextInt();
    input.nextLine();
    if (check == 0) {
        loop = false;
...
}

3. This should become a method also, with a meaning name, so you could look at it, and have an understanding, what is meant to do. In addition, variable "CUs" doesn't say much, I'd pick something with more meaning.

for (Integer CUs : array) {
    sum += CUs;
}

4. This code could become a method also. Maybe "defineCreditsPerTerm" or something, you know better what is meant to do.

do {
    System.out.print("How many CUs you are planning to take each term? Minimum of 12 CUs required per term:  ");
    numOfCUs = input.nextInt();
} while (numOfCUs < 12);

5. Even this code could become a method, like "printStudiesStatistics" or something similar.

System.out.println("Number of terms to completion: " + numTermsToGraduation);
System.out.println("Tuition cost based on number of terms to completion: $" + (numTermsToGraduation * 2890));
System.out.println("Number of months to completion: " + (numTermsToGraduation * 6));

Hopefully you got the idea. Anyone who ever would look to your code, looking only at the method declaration, could have a clue, what program is meant to do. In this way would be the way easier to notice, where the program flow goes wrong, which method produces wrong results and many more advantages.

And this program finally should become something similar to:

public class GraduatePlanner {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new GraduatePlanner.run();
    }

    private void run() {
        printProgramIntro();
        int credits = 0;
        int sum = 0;

        do {
            credits = getPlannedCredits();
        }
        while (credits < 12);

        sum = sumStudentCredits(collection as argument);

        if (enoughCredits(sum)) {
            // do something
        }

        printStudiesStatistics(sum, argument1, argument2);
    }

    // here goes methods implementation mentioned above
}

It is just an example. Best luck.

[Anthony Valdez]

I really appreciate all the feedback from everyone here. I appreciate the explanations and will implement. Unfortunately, I always overcomplicate everything. Something I definitely need to work on.