Problem passing a value to a loop through a method?

Question

I am simply trying to design a program that will offer a pop up menu and prompt the user to enter a digit 1-4. If the user enters a 1,2, or 3 I want the menu to pop up again. If the user enters a 4, I want the program to end.
I have created stubs for a few of these methods. However, I want to have a working version of the menu method.
When I run the program the program executes the start_program method stub and then the menu method executes and up pops the menu. However, when I type in a number, the menu disappears never to return...Unless I type in "4" and then the menu pops up again and upon typing "4" again, the program exits.
I am not sure if I have a poorly constructed loop or if I am improperly returning the value of the variable "number" back to the main method. Here is my code...I appreciate any and all help. Thanks,Ed
package YMCA;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class YMCA {
* This is the first phase of our YMCA interface. This phase utilizes a menu and various methods.
public static void main(String[] args) {
int number;
//call start_program method
start_program();
//call menu method
number = menu();
//while loop to process user number input
while (number != 4);
{if (number == 1)
//call modify_member method
modify_member();
else if (number == 2)
//call modify_registration method
modify_registration();
else if (number == 3)
// call report method
report();
//in case of error
else
System.out.println("Enter a valid selection");
//send control back to menu method
menu();
//call exit_program method
exit_program();
System.exit(0);
//start_program method
public static void start_program(){
System.out.println ("The program has begun");
//menu method
public static int menu(){
String menuOutput, snumber;
int number;
menuOutput = "Moon Area YMCA \n" +
"\n" +
"1. Add/Modify Member Information \n" +
"2. Add/Modify Class Registrations \n" +
"3. Report Section \n" +
"4. Exit the System \n" +
"\n" +
"Please Make Your Selection> \n";
snumber = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, menuOutput);
//convert string to integer
number = Integer.parseInt(snumber);
return number;}
//modify_member method
public static void modify_member(){
System.out.println("Member Information method has been executed.");
//modify_registration method
public static void modify_registration(){
System.out.println("The class registrations method has been executed.");
//report method
public static void report(){
System.out.println("The report method has been executed");
//exit_program method
public static void exit_program(){
System.out.println("The exit program has been executed");
}

Answer 1

hi
here is your working program
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class YMCA {
* This is the first phase of our YMCA interface. This phase utilizes a menu and various methods.
public static void main(String[] args) {
int number;
//call start_program method
start_program();
//call menu method
number = menu();
//while loop to process user number input
while (number != 4)
{if (number == 1)
//call modify_member method
modify_member();
else if (number == 2)
//call modify_registration method
modify_registration();
else if (number == 3)
// call report method
report();
//in case of error
else
System.out.println("Enter a valid selection");
//send control back to menu method
menu();
//call exit_program method
exit_program();
System.exit(0);
//start_program method
public static void start_program(){
System.out.println ("The program has begun");
//menu method
public static int menu(){
String menuOutput, snumber;
int number;
menuOutput = "Moon Area YMCA \n" +
"\n" +
"1. Add/Modify Member Information \n" +
"2. Add/Modify Class Registrations \n" +
"3. Report Section \n" +
"4. Exit the System \n" +
"\n" +
"Please Make Your Selection> \n";
snumber = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, menuOutput);
//convert string to integer
number = Integer.parseInt(snumber);
return number;}
//modify_member method
public static void modify_member(){
System.out.println("Member Information method has been executed.");
//modify_registration method
public static void modify_registration(){
System.out.println("The class registrations method has been executed.");
//report method
public static void report(){
System.out.println("The report method has been executed");
//exit_program method
public static void exit_program(){
System.out.println("The exit program has been executed");
}