"cannot find symbol" error - password checker class

I had to make a program to check a password to make sure it had two letters, at least eight characters, and only numbers and letters. I'm pretty sure I have all of the checking correct but I can't make use of the method I made to do it. here is my code:
          if(password.LegalPassword())
               System.out.println("You enterend a valid password!");
          else
               System.out.println("You have entered an invalid password!");
class LegitPassword
               //constructor
     public LegitPassword(String userPassword)
     public boolean LegalPassword (String userPassword)
               int digitCounter = 0;
               for(int i = 0; i < userPassword.length(); i++)
                         //is character a letter or number?
                    if(!(Character.isDigit(userPassword.charAt(i))) || !(Character.isLetter(userPassword.charAt(i))))
                         return false;
                         //is the password at least 8 characters?
                    if(userPassword.length() <= 8)
                         return false;
                         //count the digits
                    if(Character.isDigit(userPassword.charAt(i)))
                         digitCounter ++;
               if(digitCounter <= 2)
                         return false;
     return true;
          }oh, and the exact error is:
PasswordChecker.java:27: cannot find symbol
symbol : method LegalPassword()
location: class java.lang.String
          if(password.LegalPassword())
                     ^

Here is the full code so that you can see how I declared password...
     public class PasswordChecker
          static Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
          public static void main(String[] args)
          String password;
          System.out.println("Please enter a new password.");
          System.out.println("Remember: Passwords must be at least eight characters"
               + " consisting of only numbers and letters with at minimal two numbers.");
          System.out.print("Password: ");
               password = console.nextLine();
          //LegitPassword thePassword = new LegitPassword(password);
          if(password.LegalPassword())
               System.out.println("You enterend a valid password!");
          else
               System.out.println("You have entered an invalid password!");
class LegitPassword
     public boolean LegalPassword (String userPassword)
               int digitCounter = 0;
               for(int i = 0; i < userPassword.length(); i++)
                         //is character a letter or number?
                    if(!(Character.isDigit(userPassword.charAt(i))) || !(Character.isLetter(userPassword.charAt(i))))
                         return false;
                         //is the password at least 8 characters?
                    if(userPassword.length() <= 8)
                         return false;
                         //count the digits
                    if(Character.isDigit(userPassword.charAt(i)))
                         digitCounter ++;
               if(digitCounter <= 2)
                         return false;
     return true;
}The error:
PasswordChecker.java:27: cannot find symbol
symbol : method LegalPassword()
location: class java.lang.String
          if(password.LegalPassword())Are you suggesting I change the method, LegalPassword, to accept no parameters?

Similar Messages

'Cannot find symbol' error after putting class into package

I'm sure this is probably just a stupid mistake that I am making somewhere, but I can't figure it out.
I have written a Java program, "LineConsole.java" and an interface, "LineConsoleKeyListener.java". LineConsole.java uses the interface (it does not implement it... it uses LineConsoleKeyListener objects in the program). If I put the two .java files into the same directory and compile them, everything works.
So now I want to put them in a package called "LineConsole". I thought all I had to do was move the two files into a folder called "LineConsole" and add "package LineConsole;" to the top of each file. I did that, but now LineConsole.java does not compile. It complains that it cannot find the LineConsoleKeyListener interface, even though it's right there in the same directory.
What am I doing wrong? Do members of a package have to import themselves or something?
Thanks!
Message was edited by:
L4E_WakaMol-King

Thanks guys :)
It's working now.
One more question...
Right now I have 3 files in a folder names "LineCon":
- LineConsole.class
- LineConsoleKeyListener.class
- wincbreak.dll
If I copy that directory into the same directory as some other program I am writing, I can use those classes just like they are in a package. But is there any way to zip that package into a jar file? I know how to create jar files, but is there a way to make them behave like packages?
I have tried creating a jar file with the individual files and also with all three files in a directory. The jar file is created successfully, but I cannot copy that jar file into the directory of a program and use the classes within it as if they were a package.
I guess my ultimate question here is... how do I import a .class file that is in a jar file?

Need help with class info and cannot find symbol error.

I having problems with a cannot find symbol error. I cant seem to figure it out.
I have about 12 of them in a program I am trying to do. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?
Here is some code I am working on:
// This will test the invoice class application.
// This program involves a hardware store's invoice.
//import java.util.*;
public class InvoiceTest
     public static void main( String args[] )
     Invoice invoice1 = new Invoice( "1234", "Hammer", 2, 14.95 );
// display invoice1
     System.out.println("Original invoice information" );
     System.out.println("Part number: ", invoice1.getPartNumber() );
     System.out.println("Description: ", invoice1.getPartDescription() );
     System.out.println("Quantity: ", invoice1.getQuantity() );
     System.out.println("Price: ", invoice1.getPricePerItem() );
     System.out.println("Invoice amount: ", invoice1.getInvoiceAmount() );
// change invoice1's data
     invoice1.setPartNumber( "001234" );
     invoice1.setPartDescription( "Yellow Hammer" );
     invoice1.setQuantity( 3 );
     invoice1.setPricePerItem( 19.49 );
// display invoice1 with new data
     System.out.println("Updated invoice information" );
     System.out.println("Part number: ", invoice1.getPartNumber() );
     System.out.println("Description: ", invoice1.getPartDescription() );
     System.out.println("Quantity: ", invoice1.getQuantity() );
     System.out.println("Price: ", invoice1.getPricePerItem() );
     System.out.println("Invoice amount: ", invoice1.getInvoiceAmount() );
and that uses this class file:
public class Invoice
private String partNumber;
private String partDescription;
private int quantityPurchased;
private double pricePerItem;
     public Invoice( String ID, String desc, int purchased, double price )
          partNumber = ID;
     partDescription = desc;
     if ( purchased >= 0 )
     quantityPurchased = purchased;
     if ( price > 0 )
     pricePerItem = price;
public double getInvoiceAmount()
     return quantityPurchased * pricePerItem;
public void setPartNumber( String newNumber )
     partNumber = newNumber;
     System.out.println(partDescription+" has changed to part "+newNumber);
public String getPartNumber()
     return partNumber;
public void setDescription( String newDescription )
     System.out.printf("%s now refers to %s, not %s.\n",
partNumber, newDescription, partDescription);
     partDescription = newDescription;
public String getDescription()
     return partDescription;
public void setPricePerItem( double newPrice )
     if ( newPrice > 0 )
pricePerItem = newPrice;
public double getPricePerItem()
return pricePerItem;
Any tips for helping me out?

System.out.println("Part number:
"+invoice1.getPartNumber;
The + sign will concatenate invoice1.getPartNumber()
after "Part number: " forming only one String.I added the plus sign and it gives me more errors:
C:\>javac InvoiceTest.java
InvoiceTest.java:16: operator + cannot be applied to java.lang.String
        System.out.println("Part number: ",   + invoice1.getPartNumber() );
                                              ^
InvoiceTest.java:17: cannot find symbol
symbol : method getPartDescription()
location: class Invoice
        System.out.println("Description: ", + invoice1.getPartDescription() );
                                                      ^
InvoiceTest.java:17: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,int)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Description: ", + invoice1.getPartDescription() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:18: cannot find symbol
symbol : method getQuantity()
location: class Invoice
        System.out.println("Quantity: ", + invoice1.getQuantity() );
                                                   ^
InvoiceTest.java:18: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,int)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Quantity: ", + invoice1.getQuantity() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:19: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,double)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Price: ", + invoice1.getPricePerItem() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:20: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,double)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Invoice amount: ", + invoice1.getInvoiceAmount() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:24: cannot find symbol
symbol : method setPartDescription(java.lang.String)
location: class Invoice
        invoice1.setPartDescription( "Yellow Hammer" );
                ^
InvoiceTest.java:25: cannot find symbol
symbol : method setQuantity(int)
location: class Invoice
        invoice1.setQuantity( 3 );
                ^
InvoiceTest.java:30: operator + cannot be applied to java.lang.String
        System.out.println("Part number: ", + invoice1.getPartNumber() );
                                            ^
InvoiceTest.java:31: cannot find symbol
symbol : method getPartDescription()
location: class Invoice
        System.out.println("Description: ", + invoice1.getPartDescription() );
                                                      ^
InvoiceTest.java:31: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,int)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Description: ", + invoice1.getPartDescription() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:32: cannot find symbol
symbol : method getQuantity()
location: class Invoice
        System.out.println("Quantity: ", + invoice1.getQuantity() );
                                                   ^
InvoiceTest.java:32: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,int)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Quantity: ", + invoice1.getQuantity() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:33: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,double)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Price: ", + invoice1.getPricePerItem() );
                  ^
InvoiceTest.java:34: cannot find symbol
symbol : method println(java.lang.String,double)
location: class java.io.PrintStream
        System.out.println("Invoice amount: ", + invoice1.getInvoiceAmount() );
                  ^
16 errors

Help - cannot find symbol error

Can someone help me? I am getting "cannot find symbol" error in my code and cannot figure out why. Here is my code:
public class toyInventory
private String[] toyInventory = {"ball", "bat", "bear", "car", "doll", "game", "glove", "playstation", "train"};
private int[] nineArray = {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0};
int invItems = 0;
public void countToy()
String orderInput[] = {"bear", "train", "car", "ball", "doll", "ball", "train", "doll", "game", "train", "bear", "doll", "train", "car", "ball", "bat", "glove", "bat", "b", "doll", "bear", "ball", "doll", "bat", "car", "glove", "train", "doll", "bear"};
int noMatch;
for(int a = 0; a < orderInput.length; a++)
noMatch = 0;
for(int b = 0; b < toyInventory.length; b++)
if(orderInput[a] == toyInventory)
noMatch = 1;
break;
if(noMatch == 0)
invItems = 1;
public void printItems()
for(int c = 0; c < toyInventory.length; c++)
if (countToy[c] > 4)<-------- cannot find symbol error here
System.out.print("*");
System.out.print(toyInventory[c] + "\t" + countToy[c] + "\n"); <----cannot find symbol error here also
System.out.print("The number of invalid items in the order is" + invItems);
public static void main( String[] args)
toyInventory collection = new toyInventory ();
collection.countToy();
collection.printItems();

public void countToy()
String orderInput[] = {"bear", "train", "car", "ball", "doll", "ball", "train", "doll", "game", "train", "bear", "doll", "train", "car", "ball", "bat", "glove", "bat", "b", "doll", "bear", "ball", "doll", "bat", "car", "glove", "train", "doll", "bear"};In the above code you have declared countToy() as method and while in the below lines you are calling countToy[] as an array. So please check that...
if (countToy[c] > 4)<-------- cannot find symbol error here
System.out.print("*");
System.out.print(toyInventory[c] + "\t" + countToy[c] + "\n"); <----cannot find symbol error here also
}

Help! Getting the cannot find symbol error.

Hello everyone. I have gone throught my whole program and I am still getting a cannot find symbol error. What does this error mean exactly? Here is the code below. I am trying to color a background using a comobox method.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.border.EtchedBorder;
import javax.swing.border.TitledBorder;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.event.WindowAdapter;
import java.awt.event.WindowEvent;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
public class ComboboxFrame extends JFrame
    public ComboboxFrame()
        colorPanel = new JPanel();
        colorPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(PANEL_WIDTH, PANEL_HEIGHT));
        getContentPane().add(colorPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
        class ChoiceListener implements ActionListener
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
                setbackgroundColor();
        listener = new ChoiceListener();
        createControlPanel();
        setbackgroundColor();
        pack();
    private void createControlPanel()
      JPanel colorPanel = createComboBox();
      JPanel controlPanel = new JPanel();
      controlPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(1, 1));
      controlPanel.add(colorPanel);
      getContentPane().add(
         controlPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
   public JPanel createComboBox()
      colorCombo = new JComboBox();
      colorCombo.addItem("Red");
      colorCombo.addItem("Green");
      colorCombo.addItem("Blue");
      colorCombo.setEditable(true);
      colorCombo.addActionListener(listener);
      JPanel panel = new JPanel();
      panel.add(colorCombo);
      return panel;
   public void setbackgroundColor()
       String color = (String)colorCombo.getSelectedItem();
       colorPanel.setbackgroundColor(new backgroungColor(color));
       colorPanel.repaint();
   private JPanel colorPanel;
   private static final int PANEL_WIDTH = 300;
   private static final int PANEL_HEIGHT = 300;
   private JComboBox colorCombo;
   private ActionListener listener;
}The line with the error is: colorPanel.setbackgroundColor(new backgroungColor(color));
Here is the second file
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class backgroundTest
    public static void main(String[] args)
        JFrame frame = new comboboxFrame();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.show();
}Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Hello everyone. I have gone throught my whole
program and I am still getting a cannot find symbol
error. "Symbol" here means variable or method name (or maybe class name, but I think it will specifically bitch about classnames in that case).
String foo = "foo";
System.out.println(zoo); // no such variable as zoo. So...
colorPanel.setbackgroundColor(new backgroungColor(color));Looks like colorPanel or setbackgroundColor(new backgroungColor doesn't exist.
Note that spelling and capitalization count. Java's really anal that way.

Cannot find symbol error.. really stuck.

I have a class named Rectangle.java. It is in a package "Geometry" together with Point.java and Line.java. But when I try to use Rectangle.java in my main program, MyRect.java, it gives me a "cannot find symbol" error, particularly the methods and sometimes the variables. I tried compiling just my Rectangle class and it compiled fine.. And I tried the Line and Point classes on another program and it works fine... well probably because the Line and Point classes are from a book(Ivor Horton's Beginning Java 2).. I am just starting out in Java. :)
Rectangle.java
package Geometry;
public class Rectangle{
    public Point[] corner = new Point[4];
    public String name;
    public Rectangle(){
        corner[0].setPoints(0,0);
        corner[1].setPoints(1,0);
        corner[2].setPoints(0,1);
        corner[3].setPoints(1,1);
        name = new String("Unknown");
    public Rectangle(double point1_x,double point1_y,double point2_x, double point2_y, String Name){
        corner[0].setPoints(point1_x, point1_y);
        corner[3].setPoints(point2_x, point2_y);
        corner[1].setPoints(point2_x, point1_y);
        corner[2].setPoints(point1_x, point2_y);
        name = new String(Name);
    public Rectangle(final Rectangle oldRect, String Name){
        corner[0] = oldRect.corner[0];
        corner[3] = oldRect.corner[3];
        corner[1] = oldRect.corner[1];
        corner[2] = oldRect.corner[2];
        name = new String(Name);
    public double getWidth(){
        return corner[0].distance(corner[1]);
    public static void printRectangle(final Rectangle rect){
        for(int i= 0;i<4;i++){
            System.out.println("Corner"+(i+1)+" X: "+rect.corner.getX()+" Corner"+(i+1)+" Y: "+rect.corner[i].getY());
System.out.println();
public String toString(){
return ("Name: "+name);
}MyRect.java
import Geometry.*;
public class MyRect{
    public static void main(String[] args){
        Rectangle myRect = new Rectangle(0,0,2,1);
        Rectangle copyRect = new Rectangle(myRect);
        printRectangle(myRect);
        double width = myRect.getWidth();
}and the errors:
MyRect.java:4: cannot find symbol
symbol : constructor Rectangle(double,double,double,double,java.lang.String)
location: class Rectangle
                Rectangle myRect = new Rectangle(0.0,0.0,2.0,1.0,"My Rectangle")
                                   ^
MyRect.java:9: cannot find symbol
symbol : variable name
location: class Rectangle
                System.out.println(myRect.name);
                                         ^
2 errors

Are you sure you have posted the whole content of MyRect.java
import Geometry.*;
public class MyRect{
    public static void main(String[] args){
        Rectangle myRect = new Rectangle(0,0,2,1);
        Rectangle copyRect = new Rectangle(myRect);
        printRectangle(myRect);
        double width = myRect.getWidth();
}I don't see the following error line in the code you have given.
MyRect.java:4: cannot find symbol
symbol : constructor Rectangle(double,double,double,double,java.lang.String)
location: class Rectangle
                Rectangle myRect = new Rectangle(0.0,0.0,2.0,1.0,"My Rectangle")
                                   ^
MyRect.java:9: cannot find symbol
symbol : variable name
location: class Rectangle
                System.out.println(myRect.name);
                                         ^
2 errors

Cannot find symbol error. don't know why

Hello, I'm trying to write a button bean in the shape of a triangle but netbeans keeps throwing up a cannot find symbol error at my g.fillPolygon line. I've declared the number of sides and x and y coords.
Any ideas as to why this is happening would be greatly appreciated.
Here's the code:
package trianglebutton;
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.io.*;
public class TriangleButtonBean extends JButton implements Serializable
private TriangleButtonBean graphicPolygon;
private Color buttonColour;
private Color textColour;
private String caption;
private int sides = 3;
private int size = 30;
private int centerX = 100;
private int centerY = 100;
     public TriangleButtonBean()
          super();
          setPreferredSize(new Dimension(50,50));
          setBorder(null);
          buttonColour = Color.red;
          textColour = Color.black;
          caption = "";
     public TriangleButtonBean(String acaption)
          super();
          setPreferredSize(new Dimension(50,50));
          setBorder(null);
          caption = acaption;
     public void paintComponent(Graphics g)
String astring;
          super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(buttonColour);
          int centerX = graphicPolygon.getCenterX(); //Invoking getCenterX method
          int centerY = graphicPolygon.getCenterY(); //Invoking getCenterY method
          //int Xcoordinates [] = graphicPolygon.getPolygonXCoordinates(sides,size);
          //int Ycoordinates [] = graphicPolygon.getPolygonYCoordinates(sides,size);
g.drawPolygon(centerX,centerY, sides); //Draw polygon using xcoord,ycoord and number of sides
          g.fillPolygon(centerX,centerY, sides); //Fill poly
          g.setColor(textColour);
          if (caption.length() > 1)
               astring = caption.substring(0,1);
          else
               astring = caption;
          g.drawString(astring,22,27);
     public void setButtonColour(Color acolour)
          buttonColour = acolour;
          repaint();
     public Color getButtonColour()
          return buttonColour;
     public void setTextColour(Color acolour)
          textColour = acolour;
          repaint();
     public Color getTextColour()
          return textColour;
     public void setCaption(String acaption)
          caption = acaption;
          repaint();
     public String getCaption()
          return caption;
// public void setCenterX(int xcoords)
// centerX = xcoords;
public int getCenterX()
return centerX;
// public void setCenterY(int ycoords)
// centerY = ycoords;
public int getCenterY()
return centerY;
public static void main(String[] args){
TriangleButtonBean agui = new TriangleButtonBean();
} // End of class

Please READ, STUDY, and UNDERSTAND the error messages, they are telling you exactly what the problem is:
. . .\TriangleButtonBean.java:56: cannot find symbol
symbol : method drawPolygon(int,int,int)
location: class java.awt.Graphics
g.drawPolygon(centerX,centerY, sides); //Draw polygon using xcoord,ycoord and number of sides
^
. . .\TriangleButtonBean.java:57: cannot find symbol
symbol : method fillPolygon(int,int,int)
location: class java.awt.Graphics
g.fillPolygon(centerX,centerY, sides); //Fill poly
^
2 errors
Process javac exited with code 1In both cases the messages ar telling you that the methods
drawPolygon(int,int,int)
method fillPolygon(int,int,int)
can't be found in java.awt.Graphics
And if you look at the documentation, you see that is indeed the problem - the first two arguments are int arrrays, not int.
Fix the method signature or use something else.

Cannot find symbol error -- array fill from text file

When I compile my program I receive a cannot find symbol error for the variable ayears. I thought this snippet would fill the array ayears that could be accessed later in the program but I am getting the error message from my buildGUI() class. What could I have done wrong?
(my file options.txt contains data separated by a comma and a space)
public void getOption(){
     InputStream istream;
     File options = new File("options.txt");
     istream = new FileInputStream(options);
     try {
                           StringBuffer sbuff = new StringBuffer();
                           BufferedReader inbuff = new
BufferedReader(new FileReader(options));
                           String line = "";
                           while((line = inbuff.readLine()) != null) {
                           System.out.println(line);
          sbuff.append(line);
                           inbuff.close();
                          String fileData = sbuff.toString();
          String[] splitData = fileData.split(", ");
          String[] ayears = new String[splitData.length];
     catch(Exception e){
     JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,
     "Could not find specified file", "Error Message",
     JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
}

Okay -- that helped. I've avoided that error -- now on to the next one, why won't my array fill? It's going to be a long night.
Thanks for the help.

"Cannot find Symbol" error message

I have a "cannot find symbol" error message on line 5 below in
the driver class.
Thank you for your assistance
1 public class GameLauncher
2 {
3 public static void main(String[] args)
4 {
5   GuessGame game = new GuessGame();
6   game.startGame();
7 }
8}
public class GuessGame
public void startGame()
Player p1;
Player p2;
Player p3;
int guessp1 = 0;
int guessp2 = 0;
int guessp3 = 0;
boolean p1isRight = false;
boolean p2isRight = false;
boolean p3isRight = false;
int targetNumber = (int) (Math.random() * 10);
System.out.println(" I'm thinking of a number between 0 and 9....");
while(true)
    p1.guess();
    p2.guess();
    p3.guess();
    guessp1 = p1.number;
    System.out.println("Player one guessed " + guessp1);
    guessp2 = p2.number;
    System.out.println("Player two guessed " + guessp2);
    guessp3 = p3.number;
    System.out.println("Player three guessed " + guessp3);
    if (guessp1 == targetNumber)
      p1isRight = true;
    if (guessp2 == targetNumber)
      p2isRight = true;
    if (guessp3 == targetNumber)
      p3isRight = true;
    if ( p1isRight || p2isRight || p3isRight)
      System.out.println("We have a winner ! ");
      System.out.println("Player one got it right? " + p1isRight);
      System.out.println("Player two got it right? " + p2isRight);
      System.out.println("Player three got it right? " + p3isRight);
      System.out.println("Game is over ! ");
      break; //game is over so break out of loop
    else
      //we must keep going because no one guessed the number !
      System.out.println(" Players will have to try again ! ");
    } // end of if/else
} // end of loop
} // end of startGame() method
} //end of class
public class Player
int number = 0;   // the guess is stored here
public void guess()
    System.out.println(" I'm guessing " + number);
---------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you . You were right . I didn't set up the classes correctly.
I corrected a few other errors and the program runs ok !
Below is the corrected code and the output
public class GameLauncher
public static void main(String[] args)
   GuessGame game = new GuessGame();
   game.startGame();
/* One possible set of output is
I'm thinking of a number between 0 and 3....
I'm guessing 1
I'm guessing 3
I'm guessing 0
Player one guessed 1
Player two guessed 3
Player three guessed 0
We have a winner !
Player one got it right? true
Player two got it right? false
Player three got it right? false
Game is over !
public class Player
int number = 0;   // the guess is stored here
public void guess()
    number = (int)(Math.random() * 4);
    System.out.println(" I'm guessing " + number);
public class GuessGame
public void startGame()
    int x = 0;
Player p1 = new Player();
Player p2 = new Player();
Player p3 = new Player();
int guessp1 = 0;
int guessp2 = 0;
int guessp3 = 0;
boolean p1isRight = false;
boolean p2isRight = false;
boolean p3isRight = false;
int targetNumber = (int) (Math.random() * 4);
System.out.println("\n I'm thinking of a number between 0 and 3....\n");
while(x <5)
    p1.guess();
    p2.guess();
    p3.guess();
    guessp1 = p1.number;
    System.out.println("\nPlayer one guessed " + guessp1);
    guessp2 = p2.number;
    System.out.println("Player two guessed " + guessp2);
    guessp3 = p3.number;
    System.out.println("Player three guessed " + guessp3);
    if (guessp1 == targetNumber)
      p1isRight = true;
    if (guessp2 == targetNumber)
      p2isRight = true;
    if (guessp3 == targetNumber)
      p3isRight = true;
    if ( p1isRight || p2isRight || p3isRight)
      System.out.println("\nWe have a winner ! ");
      System.out.println("Player one got it right? " + p1isRight);
      System.out.println("Player two got it right? " + p2isRight);
      System.out.println("Player three got it right? " + p3isRight);
      System.out.println("Game is over ! ");
      break; //game is over so break out of loop
    else
      //we must keep going because no one guessed the number !
      System.out.println(" Players will have to try again ! ");
    } // end of if/else
    x = x + 1;
} // end of loop
} // end of startGame() method
} //end of class

Please help with cannot find symbol error. Been struggling all day :(

Hi all. :)
Writing a game for my phone with KToolbar and have been getting a cannot find symbol error for every variable and method I try to use across Classes. I've looked all over and though it seems a common problem I always either don't understand or can't get working the various solutions. Example of my errors:
C:\...\BTK800i.java:197: cannot find symbol
symbol : variable youSayWhat
location: class HelloCanvas
          youSayWhat=key;
          ^
If I try BTK800i.variable or BTK800i.message I get a new error.
C:\...\src\BTK800i.java:184: non-static method newOrdersSarge() cannot be referenced from a static context
          BTK800i.newOrdersSarge();
          ^
Both these errors apply to both variables and methods. It only happens when I'm using methods/variables of one class in another, am I using public and private incorrectly? It doesn't seem to make a difference if I make variables public or leave them private, I'm trying to get to them with a public method within a private class. Is it something else? I really have no idea. :(
Here's my code, it's long enough to be a tiresome read so I've tried to skip what I know isn't relevant.
public class BTK800i extends MIDlet {
     private Display myDisplay;
     private HelloCanvas myCanvas;
     public int youSayWhat;
        //a whole bunch more skipped here, but I'm fairly certain it's not anything that'll help find a solution
     public BTK800i() {
          paused=false;
public void startApp() throws MIDletStateChangeException {
          if( paused ) {
               myCanvas.repaint();
          else {
               myDisplay=Display.getDisplay(this);
               myCanvas=new HelloCanvas();
               myDisplay.setCurrent(myCanvas);
               myCanvas.setFullScreenMode(true);
               youSayWhat=0;
                       //again with the skipping, more code not related
public void newOrdersSarge() {
//whole bunch of code
//other methods skipped
class HelloCanvas extends Canvas {
     public void keyPressed (int key) {
          youSayWhat=key;
          repaint ();
//skippage
}The stuff I skipped is mainly either more of the same sorta thing or maths/writing to screen stuff.
Thanks alot to anyone who helps. I'm really struggling with this. :(
Dan.

But I have been reading them :(
My next-door neighbour unfortunately is an 80-something married man, but I will go have a looksie about static and instances.
I thought the point of public variables was that other classes could use them, is this wrong?
Also does this mean that to use the variables from my BTK class in the HelloCanvas class I need to first instantiate BTK? I don't understand how that works as the code starts running from the BTK class in the first place :S I guess more reading will help with this.
Thanks very much for replying. :)
Edit:
OK I have read up on it but I don't think I found anything I hadn't read before. I tried to make a new class which I could instantiate to hold all the variables and methods I wanted everything to be able to access, but that went disastrously. Am I right in understanding that there are no global variables in Java? :s
Edited by: Dan69 on Apr 17, 2010 1:15 PM

Unable to compile "SerialDemo.java", many "cannot find symbols" errors

I have all the correct files in their respective directory.
comm.jar in jre\lib\bin,
javax.comm.properties in jre\lib
win32com.dll in jre\bin
I extracted all the whole of SerialDemo into one folder and started compiling from there. But it doesn't work. I keep getting many "cannot find symbol" errors. They are usually referred to by:
SerialParameters
SerialConnection
AlertDialog
SerialConnectionException
SerialDemo.java is not edited and was compiled directly. All of my files are in one folder (AlertDialog.java compiles fine and is in the same folder, etc)
I was wondering what might be the cause of it. I'm currently using a Windows XP Service Pack 2, IBM P3 Laptop. I was reading "http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=674514&messageID=3941560"
And I found out it works fine on Win2k OS. Why is this so? I'm getting the exact same error as he stated on his last post and I tried looking for a solution and decided to turn to you guys. I'd really appreciate some help, if any. Thanks in advance.

I followed the PlatformSpecific. I realised that I
added one for JRE when it wasn't required. The
problem was solved.
Thank you so much, the both of you. My stupid mistake
caused quite a bit of havoc. I apologise.No need to apologise; The confusing part is that when you download
a jre, that's just what your get: a jre, but when you download the jdk
you not just get the jdk and the jre but you get a second jre with them,
stored under the jdk directory.
To the programmer that second jre is useless, it is used internally by
the jdk tools.
kind regards,
Jos

The Traditional "cannot find symbol" error

As i already come across thru this error but i still getting clear about this. When i try to compile my VendServlet.java file the compiler shows this stupid error and i even check the classpath and all other formal check that we do when this kinda error comes. But it shows the same error. I even delete the class file of RMACPModel.java and re-compile
the file but it seems no worth of it. What can i do? And here the error msg for u
C:\apache-tomcat-6.0.16\webapps\rmanew\WEB-INF\classes\com\rajk\javacode\servlet
s>javac -classpath c:\apache-tomcat-6.0.16\lib\servlet-api.jar VendServlet.java
VendServlet.java:14: cannot find symbol
symbol : class RMACPModel
location: class com.rajk.javacode.servlets.VendServlet
        RMACPModel n = new RMACPModel();
        ^
VendServlet.java:14: cannot find symbol
symbol : class RMACPModel
location: class com.rajk.javacode.servlets.VendServlet
        RMACPModel n = new RMACPModel();
                           ^
2 errorsThe source package of all the files was com.rajk.javacode.servlets. And all the class files were there and i even checj that too. But still it shows error.Whats wrong with my Servlet File?

Are all files placed in the same package/folder? Are all classes declared to belong to that package? Are you sure that you have typed the class name correct? (Java is case sensitive)
Kaj

Please help. Cannot find symbol Error!

I have been working on this code for days now. It keeps coming up with errors. The error says cannot find symbol. I will bold the areas that say that. I got it down to 23 from 42 but now I have no idea what the problem is. any help is greatly appreciated!! I only added a couple of them mainly because it is overwhelming. I can add the rest of someone replies. Thank you again. Oh and the Classpath is set right. I am compiling from the desktop where I have the file also. That was the first thing I checked after reading other threads related to this issue. :O)
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class InventoryPart4 extends JFrame
     private JTextArea text;
     private Inventory inv;
     private int view;
     public InventoryPart4() {
          super("Product");
          setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE); // quit if the window is closed
          view = 0; // current one showing
          Product product;
          inv = new Inventory(4);
          product = new Product(1, "Salad", 3, 4.95); here
          inv.add(product, 0);
product = new Product(2, "Dressing", 6, 3.00); here
inv.add(product, 1);
product = new Product(3, "Bacon Bits", 2, 1.75);*here*
          inv.add(product, 2);
product = new Product(4, "Croutons", 1, 1.75); here
          inv.add(product, 3);
          // sort
          inv.sort();
          // output
          for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
               System.out.println(inv.get(i));
          // total val
          System.out.printf("Total=$%.2f", inv.totalValue());
          //gui
          JPanel panel = new JPanel();
          panel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(panel,BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
          text = new JTextArea(10,50);
          text.setEditable(false);
          panel.add(text);
          showProduct();
          JButton next = new JButton("Next");
here          next.addProduct(new Product() {
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
                    if (view < inv.size()-1) view++;
                    else view = 0;
                    showProduct();
          panel.add(next);
          getContentPane().add(panel);
     // view an item
     public void showProduct() {
          text.setText("Product Details:\n");
          text.append(inv.get(view).toString()+"\n");
          text.append(String.format
                    ("Value of all the Contents: $%.2f", inv.totalValue()));
     public static void main(String args [])
          InventoryPart4 invt = new InventoryPart4();
          invt.pack();
          invt.setVisible(true);
     } //end main
} // end class InventoryPart1
class Product {
private int ProductItem;
private int ProductStock;
private double ProductPrice;
public Product(int item, int stock, double price) {
ProductItem = item;
ProductStock = stock;
ProductPrice = price;
} //end three-argument constructor
// set Product Item
public void setProductItem(int item) {
ProductItem = item; here
} //end method set Product Item
//return Product Item
public int getsProductItem() {
return productItem;
} //end method get product Item
//set Product Stock
public void setProductStock(int stock) {
productStock = stock;
} //end method set Product Stock
//return Product Stock
public int getProductStock() {
return productStock;
} //end method get Product Stock
public void setProductPrice(double price) {
productPrice = price;
} //end method setproductPrice
//return Product Price
public double getProductPrice() {
return ProductPrice;
} //end method get Product Price
//calculate inventory value
public double value() {
return productPrice * productStock;
}// end method get productPrice and productStock
@Override
public String toString() {
return String.format("item=%3d units=%d price=%.2f value=%.2f",
productItem, productStock, productPrice, value());
}//end class Product
class Inventory {
     private Product[] list;
     // constructor
     public Inventory(int size) {
          list = new Product[size];
     // complete value
     public double totalValue() {
          double val = 0.0;
          for (int i = 0; i < list.length; i++) {
               val += list.value();
          return val;
     // add an item
     public void add(Product i, int p) {
          list[p] = i;
     // get an item
     public Product get(int i) {
          return list[i];
     // sort by name
     public void sort() {
          // bubble sort
          int n = list.length;
          for (int search = 1; search < n; search++) {
               for (int i = 0; i < n-search; i++) {
                    if (list[i].getProductItem().compareToIgnoreCase(list[i+1].getProductItem()) > 0) {
                         // swap
                         Product temp = list[i];
                         list[i] = list[i+1];
                         list[i+1] = temp;
     public int size() {
          return list.length;
//extended class
class Contents extends Product {
     private String Contents;
     // constructor
     public Contents(int item, String name, int units, double price) {
          super(item,name,units, price);
          this.contents = contents;
     // getter
     public String getContents() {
          return Contents;
     // total value with the 5% fee
     public double value() {
          return super.value()*1.05;
     // just the 5% fee
     public double fee() {
          return super.value()*0.05;
     // setter
     public void setContents(String contents) {
          this.contents = contents;
     public String toString()
          return super.toString() + String.format(" fee=%.2f contents=%-20s",
                    fee(), contents);

The error says cannot find symbol.It says more than that. It says what symbol it cannot find, and it points to the line of code where the symbol was used.
          product = new Product(1, "Salad", 3, 4.95); *here*So it can't find a class called Product with an accessible constructor Product(int, String, int, double).
product = new Product(2, "Dressing", 6, 3.00); *here*
inv.add(product, 1);
product = new Product(3, "Bacon Bits", 2, 1.75);*here*
          inv.add(product, 2);
product = new Product(4, "Croutons", 1, 1.75); *here*
          inv.add(product, 3);Ditto.
          JButton next = new JButton("Next");
*here*          next.addProduct(new Product() {JButton doesn't have an addProduct() method.
public Product(int item, int stock, double price) {This constructor doesn't match the constructor you are calling above, and there are no other constructors.
ProductItem = item; *here*You must have a typo. But don't use inital capitals on field names: use them only on class names.
return productItem;Here is evidence that you have a typo. Java is case-sensitive. Either the field is caled 'ProductItem' or it is called 'productItem', not both.
          // bubble sortDo you have to do this for the homework? Bubble sort is never used in real code except by people who don't know what they're talking about. Use Collections.sort().
          super(item,name,units, price);You should be getting a compile error here too. Ther is no such constructor for Product.
          return Contents;And here.

"Cannot find symbol" error problem

I've got problem with compiling this program:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
public class SliderDemo extends JFrame {
     private JSlider diameterSlider;
     private ovalPanel myPanel;
     public SliderDemo()
          super( "Изменение диаметра круга" );
          myPanel = new ovalPanel();
          myPanel.setBackground( Color.YELLOW );
     diameterSlider = new JSlider( SwingConstants.HORIZONTAL, 0, 200, 10 );
     diameterSlider.setMajorTickSpacing( 10 );
     diameterSlider.setPaintTicks( true );
     diameterSlider.addChangeListener(
          new ChangeListener() {
               public void stateChanged( ChangeEvent e )
                    myPanel.setDiameter( diameterSlider.getValue() );
     Container container = getContentPane();
     container.add( diameterSlider, BorderLayout.SOUTH );
     container.add( myPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER );
     setSize( 220, 270 );
     setVisible( true );
     public static void main( String args[] )
          SliderDemo application = new SliderDemo();
     application.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
}Compiler shows 2 errors, looking similar:
SliderDemo.java:12: cannot find symbol
symbol : class ovalPanel
location: class SliderDemo
private ovalPanel myPanel;
SliderDemo.java:18: cannot find symbol
symbol : class ovalPanel
location: class SliderDemo
myPanel = new ovalPanel();
What can I do with it. I checked everything on Internet and books, but it still not compiling!

possible problems are:
1. you haven't created an ovalPanel() class in your sliderDemo class
2. you have created an ovalPanel() class in separate file but you didn't save it with the same directory with your sliderDemo class

"cannot find symbol" error in compiling

I'm just begining to learn Java and I have the "Teach yourself Java in 21 Days" book. I can't get the code to work and every time I compile the VolcanoRobot.java, I get this error:
"VolcanoRobot.java:25: cannot find symbol
symbol : method showAttributes()
location: class VolcanoRobot
dante.showAttributes();
^
VolcanoRobot.java:28: cannot find symbol
symbol : method showAttributes()
location: class VolcanoRobot
dante.showAttributes();
^
VolcanoRobot.java:31: cannot find symbol
symbol : method showAttributes()
location: class VolcanoRobot
dante.showAttributes();
^
VolcanoRobot.java:34: cannot find symbol
symbol : method showAttributes()
location: class VolcanoRobot
dante.showAttributes();
^
4 errors"
and here is my code:
"class VolcanoRobot {
String status;
int speed;
float temperature;
void checkTemperature() {
if (temperature > 700) {
status = "returning home";
speed = 8;
void showAtrributes() {
System.out.println("Status: " +status);+
+System.out.println("Speed: "+ speed);
System.out.println("Temperature: " + temperature);
public static void main(String[] arguments) {
VolcanoRobot dante = new VolcanoRobot();
dante.status = "exploring";
dante.speed = 2;
dante.temperature = 510;
dante.showAttributes();
System.out.println("Increasing speed to 3.");
dante.speed = 3;
dante.showAttributes();
System.out.println("Changing temperature to 670.");
dante.temperature = 670;
dante.showAttributes();
System.out.println("Checking the temperature.");
dante.checkTemperature();
dante.showAttributes();
}"

Use code tags when you post code.
Post the code that produces the error - the code that you posted does not.
The code you posted has the following errors
VolcanoRobot.java:18: ')' expected
                System.out.println("Status: " status);
                                             ^
VolcanoRobot.java:18: illegal start of expression
                System.out.println("Status: " status);
                                                    ^
VolcanoRobot.java:19: ')' expected
                System.out.println("Speed: " speed);
                                            ^
VolcanoRobot.java:19: illegal start of expression
                System.out.println("Speed: " speed);Once those errors are fixed you get the errors that you posted.
VolcanoRobot.java:25: cannot find symbolThe number in that line (25) tells you the exact line where the error appeared. Although sometimes the cause might be a line before that.
It also tells you specifically what it doesn't like. In this case 'showAttributes'.
Hint: So look at that line carefully. And look at the method carefully that that is supposed to call. They are not the same.

"cannot find symbol" error - password checker class

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