Default Constructor Problem

Question

i am working on a script that will create a square. i have the script working, but it only works when an int is passed in when calling the methods in main. is there a way to make the program construct a square without having to specify the int? here is the code:
public class Square{
     public Square() {
public static void getName(){
     System.out.println("This shape is a square");
public void area(int x){
     double product = x * x;
     System.out.println("The area is " + product);
public void perim(int x){
     int perim = x * 2;
     System.out.println("The perimeter is " + perim);
public static void main(String[] args){
     Square mySquare = new Square();
     mySquare.getName();
     mySquare.area(5);
     mySquare.perim(5);
}

Answer 1

Let the class keep a record of its own dimensions by using a variable, and initialize the variable in the constructor:public class Square{
//Here is the square's dimension:
private int sideLength;
public Square() {
     sideLength=5;   //this is the default length if not specified by user
public Square(int arg) {
    sideLength=arg;
public static void getName(){
System.out.println("This shape is a square");
public double area(){
double product = sideLength * sideLength;
System.out.println("The area is " + product);
return product;
public int perim(){
int perim = sideLength * 4;
//NOT sideLength * 2 !!
System.out.println("The perimeter is " + perim);
return perim;
//good idea to have these too:
public void setSideLength(int arg){
sideLength = arg;
public int getSideLength(){
return sideLength;
public static void main(String[] args){
Square mySquare = new Square(10);
//or could just use:
//Square mySquare = new Square();
//to get default size (5 x 5)
//or could even get size from args[]
mySquare.getName();
mySquare.area();
mySquare.perim();
}