Question

Write an application that simulates coin tossing. Let the program toss a coin each time the user chooses the "Toss Coin" menu option. Count the number of times each side of the coin appears. Display the results. The program should call a separate method f7ip that takes no arguments and returns a value from a Coin enum (HEADS and TAILS). [Note: If the program realistically simulates coin tossing, each side of the coin should appear approximately half the time.

Short answer

Define a Coin enum and a 'flip' method to simulate tossing. Keep count of heads and tails, and display results after each toss. Exit the program upon user request, showing final counts.

Step-by-step solution

Define the Coin Enum

Create an enumeration named 'Coin' with two possible values representing each side of the coin: HEADS and TAILS. This allows the program to return a value of Coin type that is either Coin.HEADS or Coin.TAILS when a coin is tossed.

Create the 'flip' Method

Define the 'flip' method with no arguments that returns a value of the Coin type. Use a random number generator to simulate the coin toss, returning 'Coin.HEADS' if the random value is less than 0.5, and 'Coin.TAILS' otherwise.

Initialize Counters

Initialize two integer variables to count the occurrences of heads and tails. They should be set to zero at the start of the program and increment appropriately after each toss.

Implement User Interaction

Write a loop that continues to prompt the user to either toss the coin or exit the program. Make use of a menu that the user can interact with. Each time the menu option to toss a coin is selected, call the 'flip' method.

Update and Display Counts

After each toss, increment the appropriate counter (heads or tails) based on the result of the 'flip' method. Then, display the current counts to the user.

Ending the Program

Allow the program to exit when the user selects an exit option from the menu. Before exiting, display the final count of heads and tails.

Key concepts

Java Programming

Java is a versatile and powerful programming language that enables developers to create robust, high-performance applications. Known for its object-oriented features and strong type-checking, Java ensures that your programs are both flexible and secure. In the context of a coin tossing simulation, Java offers all the tools necessary to build an interactive application.

For the exercise given, Java's loops and conditional statements control the flow of tossing the coin, and the Java I/O handles user interactions efficiently. Additionally, Java's strong type system is exemplified through the use of an enumeration to define the two sides of a coin, ensuring that only valid values can be returned from a coin toss. This level of control within Java programming is essential for creating a realistic and functional coin toss simulation.

Enumerations in Java

Enumerations, or 'enums', are a special data type in Java that restricts a variable to have one of only a few predefined values. In the given coin tossing exercise, the enum 'Coin' is defined to have exactly two values: HEADS and TAILS. This simplifies the code and makes it more readable and maintainable.

Using an enum here is also safer than using regular constants because it provides a fixed set of values that the 'flip' method can return, eliminating the possibility of unexpected values and errors in the coin tossing logic. Enumerations ensure the program's correctness by allowing the compiler to catch errors if an invalid value is assigned to a Coin variable.

Random Number Generation

At the heart of the coin toss simulation is the concept of randomness. To simulate the randomness of a coin toss in our Java program, we use random number generation. Specifically, the 'flip' method should utilize Java's built-in classes like 'Random' to generate a pseudo-random number that can be used to decide the outcome of a coin toss.

The method essentially 'flips a coin' by generating a random number between 0 and 1. If the result is less than 0.5, the method will return 'Coin.HEADS'; otherwise, it returns 'Coin.TAILS'. Through random number generation, each call to this method simulates an unbiased coin toss, which is central to the exercise, ensuring that each side of the coin should appear approximately half the time over a large number of tosses.