Methods - Multimedia Introduction to Programming Using Java - page 90

value x is associated with. If x contains 7 , the relation is true; if x contains 2 , the
relation is false. Here is a more complex relation concerning variables x , y , and
z : x = y + z .
The relations given so far were in mathematical notation. Java boolean
expressions are also relations, and relations can also be written in a natural lan-
guage. For example, here are some relations, using int variables x , y , z and
String variable s :
Variable s contains the character 'g'
The number of characters in s is 2*y
The temperature in Ithaca got below x on 1 January 1999
x is the number of values read in so far
The first relation concerns variable s. The second is a relation between variables
s and y . The third is a relation about variable x . The fourth could be about a vari-
able x in a particular Java program.
Note that the mathematical relation b=c is written in Java as b==c . When
discussing a program, we rely on mathematical notation; when we have to write
such a relation in Java, we have no recourse but to use the bad notation.

Simplifying relations
Some relations take this form:

Activity
1-6.2

(0) If Bill has black hair, blackHair is true.
What is often meant is this:

(1) If Bill has black hair, blackHair is true; else, blackHair is false.
But these two relations mean different things. The first does not say what value
blackHair has if Bill has red hair, while the second says that if Bill has red hair,
blackHair is false. Some might say that it is implicit in (0) that blackHair is
false if Bill has red hair, but mathematical convention disagrees.
There is a much simpler alternative for the second relation. It is shorter and
doesn't have any case analysis:

(2) blackHair = “Bill has black hair”
We have placed quotes around the sub-relation to make clear that it is a unit. The
quoted phrase is itself a relation; the equality says that blackHair is equal to the
value of that relation.
Let us show why relations (1) and (2) mean the same thing. In the case that
Bill does have black hair, (1) reduces to “ blackHair is true”, while (2) reduces
to “ blackHair = true”. These two are equivalent, so in the case that Bill has
black hair, (1) and (2) mean the same thing.
In the case that Bill does not have black hair, relation (1) reduces to
“ blackHair is false ”, while relation (2) reduces to “ blackHair = false ”. Again,
these two are equivalent, so in the case that Bill does not have black hair, (1) and