Names with Roman Numerals

I had an interview question a couple months ago and one of the questions was to accept a name with a roman numeral up to the number 50.

1)you ask the user how many names they are going to put in.
2)sort them out first by alphabetical order
3) if the first names are equal to each other sort them out by the roman numeral

EX:

input
3
Bill IV
Bill L
Bill IX
Bill V
Bill X

output:
Bill IV
Bill V
Bill IX
Bill X
Bill L

for my methods i have this:

Code:

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public class RoyalNamesMethod {
       
        //gets the first part of the name of the string and stores is at index 0 of the parts array
        public String getFirst(String input){
                String[] parts = input.split(" ");
                String firstName = parts[0];
                return firstName;
        }
       
        //gets the roman numeral of the string and stores it in index 1 of the parts array
        public String getLast(String input){
                String[] parts = input.split(" ");
                String last = parts[1];
                return last;
        }
       
        //converts the roman numeral to an integer but first checks for the specific rules for a number
        public int convertLast(String romanNum){
                int value = 0;
                romanNum.toUpperCase();
               
                for(int i=0; i < romanNum.length()-1; i++){
                        if(romanNum.charAt(i) == 'I' && romanNum.charAt(i+1) == 'V'){
                                value += 4;
                                i++;
                        }
                        else if(romanNum.charAt(i) == 'I' && romanNum.charAt(i+1) == 'X'){
                                value += 9;
                                i++;
                        }
                        else if(romanNum.charAt(i) == 'X' && romanNum.charAt(i+1) == 'L'){
                                value += 40;
                                i++;
                        }
                        else{
                                switch(romanNum.charAt(i)){
                                case 'I':
                                        value += 1;
                                        break;
                               
                                case 'V':
                                        value += 5;
                                        break;
                                       
                                case 'X':
                                        value += 10;
                                        break;
                                       
                                case 'L':
                                        value += 50;
                                        break;
                                }
                        }
                }
                return value;
        }

}

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my main methods i have this:

Code:

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import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class RoyalNames {

        public static void main(String[] args) {
                Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
                RoyalNamesMethod rnm = new RoyalNamesMethod();
               
               
                System.out.println("How many names will you input?");
                int amount = scan.nextInt();
                String[] names = new String[amount+1];
               
                System.out.println("Enter the names: ");
                for(int i=0; i<names.length; i++)
                        names[i]=scan.nextLine();
               
                Arrays.sort(names);
                //for(int i =0; i<names.length; i++)
                        //System.out.println(names[i]);
               
                //int[] last = new int[names.length];
                for(int i=0; i<names.length; i++){
                        String temp1 = rnm.getFirst(names[i]); //temporarily store the first name
                        String temp2 = rnm.getFirst(names[i+1]); //temporarily stores the first name of the next string
                       
                        String temp3 = rnm.getLast(names[i]).toUpperCase(); //stores the roman numeral
                        String temp4 = rnm.getLast(names[i+1]).toUpperCase(); //stores the roman numeral of the next string
                       
                        int romanNum1 = rnm.convertLast(temp3); //converts the roman numeral to an int
                        int romanNum2 = rnm.convertLast(temp4); //converts the next roman numberal to an int
                        //last[i] = romanNum1;
                       
                        //System.out.println(last[i]);
                       
                        if(temp1.equalsIgnoreCase(temp2)){ //if the first name of the two stored are equal to each other
                                if(romanNum2 > romanNum1){ //and if the second roman numeral is greater then the first one
                                        String temp5 = names[i]; //then names will switch positions
                                        names[i] = names[i+1];
                                        names[i+1] = temp5;
                                }
                        }
       
                }
               
                for(int i =0; i<names.length; i++)
                        System.out.println(names[i]); //print out the names in order
                       
                }
        }

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i my problem is definitely in the for loop where i split the names.
I tried to print out the first and last part but got these errors

Code:

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Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1
        at RoyalNamesMethod.getLast(RoyalNamesMethod.java:14)
        at RoyalNames.main(RoyalNames.java:26)

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tried changing the limits to -1 and -2 but could not get them to print.

Does anyone catch something I am doing wrong or recommend a different way to do this?

Quote:

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Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1
at RoyalNamesMethod.getLast(RoyalNamesMethod.java:14)

---

The code at line 14 attempted to use an index of 1 on an array with less than 2 items in it.
What was in the array? Print it out to see:

Code:

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System.out.println("an ID "+ java.util.Arrays.toString(theArrayName));

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Norm

The code at line 14 attempted to use an index of 1 on an array with less than 2 items in it.
What was in the array? Print it out to see:

Code:

---

System.out.println("an ID "+ java.util.Arrays.toString(theArrayName));

---

---

I tried printing it out by adding the line of code you provided in my methods

Code:

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public String getLast(String input){
                String[] parts = input.split(" ");
                String last = parts[1];
                System.out.println("an ID "+ java.util.Arrays.toString(parts));
                return last;
        }

---

and added this to my main method

Code:

---

rnm.getLast(names[0]);

---

then i get this:

How many names will you input?
3
Enter the names:
Bill IX
Bill IV
Bill L
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1
at RoyalNamesMethod.getLast(RoyalNamesMethod.java:14)
at RoyalNames.main(RoyalNames.java:20)

I cant get it to print out. Am I trying to get it print wrong? or did i split the string incorrectly?

The print statement needs to be executed BEFORE the statement where the exception happens. Otherwise it will never be executed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rcheeks23

I had an interview question

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In that job interview they probably were looking at the following to asses your maturity as programmer:

- Are you aware of the fact that "alphabetic order" generally is more involved than just the "natural order" of the String type?
- Are you aware of the possibility of using a Comparator when sorting? What design pattern would that be?
- Could you think of a more general and denser way of evaluating the Roman numbers?

In today's competitive job market it's seldom enough to know Java only at the very basic level. I suggest you take a look at a Java certification test. You don't necessarily have to sit it (even though it's probably an asset if you lack a degree). It will still help you get a feel of what's expected from you.