website/content/blog/2017-08-28-obtaining-command-line-input-java.md

id	title	date	author	layout	guid	permalink	medium_post	mf2_syndicate-to	mf2_cite	tumblr_post_id	mf2_mp-syndicate-to	kind
2241	Obtaining Command Line Input in Java	2017-08-28T17:37:59+00:00	Brandon Rozek	post	https://brandonrozek.com/?p=2241	/2017/08/obtaining-command-line-input-java/	O:11:"Medium_Post":11:{s:16:"author_image_url";N;s:10:"author_url";N;s:11:"byline_name";N;s:12:"byline_email";N;s:10:"cross_link";N;s:2:"id";N;s:21:"follower_notification";N;s:7:"license";N;s:14:"publication_id";N;s:6:"status";N;s:3:"url";N;}	a:1:{i:0;s:4:"none";}	a:4:{s:9:"published";s:25:"0000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00";s:7:"updated";s:25:"0000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00";s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;s:0:"";}s:6:"author";a:0:{}}	164717769554	a:1:{i:0;s:4:"none";}	note

To obtain console input for your program you can use the Scanner class

First import the relevant library

import java.util.Scanner;

Then create a variable to hold the Scanner object

Scanner input;
input = new Scanner(System.in);

Inside the parenthesis, the Scanner binds to the System input which is by default the console

The new varible input now has the ability to obtain input from the console. To do so, use any of the following methods

<th class="tg-yw4l">
  What it Returns
</th>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  The next space seperated string from the console
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  An integer if it exists from the console
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  A double if it exists from the console
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  A float if it exists from the console
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  A string up to the next newline character from the console
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  Returns true if there is another token
</td>

<td class="tg-yw4l">
  Unbinds the Scanner from the console
</td>

Method
next()
nextInt()
nextDouble()
nextFloat()
nextLine()
hasNext()
close()

Here is an example program where we get the user’s first name

import java.util.Scanner;

public class GetName {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
    System.out.print("Please enter your name: ");
    String firstName = input.next();
    System.out.println("Your first name is " + firstName); 
  }
}