How to Check If a Number Is Zero in Java

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to check if a number is zero in Java. This fundamental skill is crucial for controlling program flow using conditional statements. We will begin by exploring the use of the equality operator (==) for comparing integer values to zero.

Following that, we will address the specific considerations and potential pitfalls when dealing with floating-point numbers and zero due to precision issues. Finally, we will examine how to perform zero checks when working with Java's wrapper classes for primitive types.

Skills Graph

Use Equality Operator for Zero

In this step, we will explore how to check if a number is equal to zero in Java using the equality operator. This is a fundamental operation in programming, often used in conditional statements to control the flow of your program.

In Java, the equality operator is represented by ==. It is used to compare two values and returns true if they are equal, and false otherwise.

Let's create a simple Java program to demonstrate this.

1. Open the HelloJava.java file in the WebIDE editor if it's not already open.

2. Replace the entire contents of the file with the following code:

   public class HelloJava {
       public static void main(String[] args) {
           int number = 0;
   
           if (number == 0) {
               System.out.println("The number is zero.");
           } else {
               System.out.println("The number is not zero.");
           }
       }
   }

   Let's break down this new code:

   • int number = 0;: This line declares an integer variable named number and initializes it with the value 0.
   • if (number == 0): This is an if statement, which is used to make decisions in your code. The condition inside the parentheses (number == 0) checks if the value of the number variable is equal to 0.
   • System.out.println("The number is zero.");: This line will be executed only if the condition number == 0 is true.
   • else: This keyword introduces the block of code that will be executed if the if condition is false.
   • System.out.println("The number is not zero.");: This line will be executed only if the condition number == 0 is false.

3. Save the file (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S).

4. Now, let's compile our modified program. In the Terminal, make sure you are in the ~/project directory. You can use cd ~/project if needed. Then, run:

   javac HelloJava.java

   If the compilation is successful, you will not see any output.

5. Finally, let's run our program:

   java HelloJava

   You should see the following output:

   The number is zero.

   This confirms that our program correctly checked if the number variable was equal to zero using the == operator.

Now, try changing the value of the number variable to a non-zero value (e.g., int number = 5;), save the file, recompile, and run the program again to see the different output.

Handle Floating-Point Precision

In this step, we will explore a common issue when working with floating-point numbers (numbers with decimal points) in programming: precision. Due to how computers store these numbers, direct equality comparisons using == can sometimes lead to unexpected results.

Let's see this in action.

1. Open the HelloJava.java file in the WebIDE editor.

2. Replace the existing code with the following:

   public class HelloJava {
       public static void main(String[] args) {
           double num1 = 0.1 + 0.2;
           double num2 = 0.3;
   
           System.out.println("num1: " + num1);
           System.out.println("num2: " + num2);
   
           if (num1 == num2) {
               System.out.println("num1 is equal to num2.");
           } else {
               System.out.println("num1 is not equal to num2.");
           }
       }
   }

   In this code:

   • We declare two double variables, num1 and num2. double is a data type in Java used for storing floating-point numbers.
   • We assign 0.1 + 0.2 to num1 and 0.3 to num2. Mathematically, these should be equal.
   • We print the values of num1 and num2 to see their exact representation.
   • We use the == operator to check if num1 is equal to num2.

3. Save the file (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S).

4. Compile the program in the Terminal:

   javac HelloJava.java

5. Run the compiled program:

   java HelloJava

   You might be surprised by the output:

   num1: 0.30000000000000004
   num2: 0.3
   num1 is not equal to num2.

   As you can see, num1 is not exactly 0.3 due to the way floating-point numbers are stored. This is a common issue and why directly comparing floating-point numbers for equality using == is generally discouraged.

To handle this, instead of checking for exact equality, we usually check if the absolute difference between the two numbers is within a very small tolerance (often called an "epsilon").

Let's modify the code to use this approach.

1. Open HelloJava.java again.

2. Replace the if statement with the following:

   double epsilon = 0.000001; // A small tolerance
   
   if (Math.abs(num1 - num2) < epsilon) {
       System.out.println("num1 is approximately equal to num2.");
   } else {
       System.out.println("num1 is not approximately equal to num2.");
   }

   Here:

   • We define a small epsilon value.
   • Math.abs(num1 - num2) calculates the absolute difference between num1 and num2.
   • We check if this absolute difference is less than our epsilon.

3. Save the file.

4. Compile the program:

   javac HelloJava.java

5. Run the program:

   java HelloJava

   Now the output should be:

   num1: 0.30000000000000004
   num2: 0.3
   num1 is approximately equal to num2.

   This demonstrates the correct way to compare floating-point numbers for practical equality by considering precision limitations.

Test with Wrapper Classes

In this step, we will explore how equality works with Java's wrapper classes. Wrapper classes are special classes that provide a way to use primitive data types (like int, double, boolean) as objects. For example, the wrapper class for int is Integer, and for double is Double.

When comparing objects in Java, the == operator checks if the two variables refer to the exact same object in memory, not if their values are equal. To compare the values of objects, you should use the equals() method.

Let's see how this applies to wrapper classes.

1. Open the HelloJava.java file in the WebIDE editor.

2. Replace the existing code with the following:

   public class HelloJava {
       public static void main(String[] args) {
           Integer intObj1 = new Integer(100);
           Integer intObj2 = new Integer(100);
           Integer intObj3 = intObj1; // intObj3 refers to the same object as intObj1
   
           System.out.println("Comparing Integer objects with ==:");
           if (intObj1 == intObj2) {
               System.out.println("intObj1 == intObj2 is true");
           } else {
               System.out.println("intObj1 == intObj2 is false");
           }
   
           if (intObj1 == intObj3) {
               System.out.println("intObj1 == intObj3 is true");
           } else {
               System.out.println("intObj1 == intObj3 is false");
           }
   
           System.out.println("\nComparing Integer objects with equals():");
           if (intObj1.equals(intObj2)) {
               System.out.println("intObj1.equals(intObj2) is true");
           } else {
               System.out.println("intObj1.equals(intObj2) is false");
           }
   
           if (intObj1.equals(intObj3)) {
               System.out.println("intObj1.equals(intObj3) is true");
           } else {
               System.out.println("intObj1.equals(intObj3) is false");
           }
       }
   }

   In this code:

   • We create two Integer objects, intObj1 and intObj2, with the same value (100) using new Integer(). This creates two distinct objects in memory.
   • We create intObj3 and assign intObj1 to it. This means intObj3 and intObj1 now point to the same object in memory.
   • We use == to compare intObj1 with intObj2 and intObj3.
   • We use the equals() method to compare the values of intObj1 with intObj2 and intObj3.

3. Save the file (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S).

4. Compile the program in the Terminal:

   javac HelloJava.java

5. Run the compiled program:

   java HelloJava

   The output should be:

   Comparing Integer objects with ==:
   intObj1 == intObj2 is false
   intObj1 == intObj3 is true
   
   Comparing Integer objects with equals():
   intObj1.equals(intObj2) is true
   intObj1.equals(intObj3) is true

   This output clearly shows the difference:

   • intObj1 == intObj2 is false because they are different objects in memory, even though their values are the same.
   • intObj1 == intObj3 is true because they refer to the exact same object.
   • intObj1.equals(intObj2) is true because the equals() method compares the values of the objects, which are both 100.
   • intObj1.equals(intObj3) is also true because they refer to the same object, and their values are the same.

   Important Note: For small integer values (typically -128 to 127), Java uses a cache for Integer objects. This means that Integer intObjA = 50; Integer intObjB = 50; might result in intObjA == intObjB being true because they might refer to the same cached object. However, relying on this caching behavior for equality checks is not recommended. Always use the equals() method to compare the values of wrapper class objects.

This step highlights the crucial difference between comparing primitive types and objects in Java and the importance of using the equals() method for object value comparison.

Summary

In this lab, we learned how to check if a number is zero in Java. We started by using the fundamental equality operator (==) to compare an integer variable with zero within an if statement. This demonstrated the basic principle of conditional checks based on numerical equality.

We then explored the nuances of handling floating-point numbers and the potential precision issues that arise when comparing them directly to zero using ==. Finally, we examined how to perform zero checks with Java's wrapper classes, understanding how to access and compare the underlying primitive values.