Question

Magpie Homework help please:
I need help with Tracing method calls:
findKeyword("She's my sister", "sister", 0);
findKeyword("Brother Tom is helpful", "brother", 0);
findKeyword("I can't catch wild cats.", "cat", 0);
findKeyword("I know nothing about snow plows.", "no", 0);

Answer 1

method I was given:
private int findKeyword(String statement, String goal, int startPos)
{
String phrase = statement.trim();
int psn = phrase.toLowerCase().indexOf(goal.toLowerCase(), startPos);
while (psn >= 0)
{
String before = " ", after = " ";
if (psn > 0)
{
before = phrase.substring (psn - 1, psn).toLowerCase();
}
if (psn + goal.length() < phrase.length())
{
after = phrase.substring(psn + goal.length(),
psn + goal.length() + 1).toLowerCase();
}
/* determine the values of psn, before, and after at this point in the method. */
if (((before.compareTo ("a") < 0 ) || (before.compareTo("z") > 0))
&&
((after.compareTo ("a") < 0 ) || (after.compareTo("z") > 0)))
{
return psn;
}
psn = phrase.indexOf(goal.toLowerCase(), psn + 1);
}
return -1;
}

Answer 2

I also havethis:

Answer 3

@wio

Answer 4

@wio

Answer 5

I don't know what you're trying to do.

Answer 6

For homework, I have to trace 4 method calls:
findKeyword("She's my sister" , "sister" ,0);
findKeyword("Brother Tom is helpful" , "brother" ,0);
findKeyword("I can't catch wild cats" , "cat" ,0);
findKeyword("I know nothing about snow plows" , "no" ,0);

If you look at the file I attached, there is a table that I should complete for each method call.

Answer 7

I started completing the table for the first one, but I'm having trouble with it. I attached what I did so far:

Answer 8

You have to look at each line of the program and figure out what it will do.

Answer 9

Each statement does something simple.

Answer 10

Can you check if I did the one for number 2 right? I'll attach it.

Answer 11

Iran the phrase number 3 times and it showed me something different each time. I was also watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxgJzeWne-o&feature=youtu.be