Is there any way to access a String variable inside of a for loop?

Question

I need to access the two String variables suit and rank, then use them outside of the for loop. Is this at all possible?

public class Deck {    

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int deck[] = new int[52];
        String suits[] = {"Spades", "Hearts", "Diamonds", "Clubs"};
        String ranks[] = {"Ace", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "Jack", "Queen", "King"};

        for(int i = 0; i < deck.length; i++) deck[i] = i;

        for(int i = 0; i < deck.length; i++) {
            int index = (int)(Math.random() * deck.length);
            int temp = deck[i];
            deck[i] = deck[index];
            deck[index] = temp;
        }
        // randomizes the deck
        for(int i = 1; i < deck.length; i++) {
            String suit = suits[deck[i] / 13];  // I want to access these two Strings
            String rank = ranks[deck[i] % 13];  // here
            System.out.println(rank + "\t" + suit);

        }
        // and use them here
        // I'm trying to make a poker game but need to use those two to deal a hand
    }
}

What is the purpose of that? then suit or rank will hold only last value. — Pradeep Simha
– Pradeep Simha, Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 8:52

Jon Skeet · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-30 08:54:41Z

3

If you're trying to deal a hand then it seems to me you need a collection - after all, a player holds multiple cards.

I think you need to take a step back, rather than continuing with your current code. I'd do it something like this:

Define one enum for suits
Define one enum for ranks
Create a Card class which has a suit and a rank
Create a Deck class to store "cards remaining in the deck", starting with one of each card (or more)
Create a Player class which has a collection of cards as the hand
Create a PokerGame class (or something similar) as the entry point - that's the class which has main in. (It doesn't make much sense for it to be in Deck, in my opinion.)
Deal from the deck to the player, as many cards as you want.

answered Dec 30, 2013 at 8:54

Jon Skeet

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3 Comments

user3136315 Over a year ago

Ya that's true. Sorry if it was a dumb question. I've only been trying to teach myself this week. Thank you for the help.

Jon Skeet Over a year ago

@user3136315: Not that dumb a question really - but it's worth learning the lesson that as soon as things start to be a bit odd, it's worth taking a step back and checking that what you're trying to achieve makes sense. I've often spent ages winning a small battle against code, only to find that I've lost the war by designing it badly to start with!

user3136315 Over a year ago

I've been trying to resolve this for about 2 hours now. Also I don't quite know what an enum is yet. Is that another variable type?

Vlad · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-30 08:54:02Z

1

Define the variables outside of the foor-loop, like here:

String suit;
String rank;
for(int i = 1; i < deck.length; i++) {
    suit = suits[deck[i] / 13];  // I want to access these two Strings
    rank = ranks[deck[i] % 13];  // here
    System.out.println(rank + "\t" + suit);

    }
    // and use them here

    // I'm trying to make a poker game but need to use those two to deal a hand
}

answered Dec 30, 2013 at 8:54

Vlad

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