Is it possible to take char input from scanner

Question

I am trying to find a way to take a char input from the keyboard.

Any help?

Answer 1

To take input as exactly one character you could use:

char c = reader.findInLine(".").charAt(0);

Answer 2

You could take the first character from Scanner.next

char c = reader.next().charAt(0);

To consume exactly one character you could use

char c = reader.findInLine(".").charAt(0);

To consume strictly one character you could use

char c = reader.next(".").charAt(0);

Comments

What is the difference between exactly and strictly.  In what case do the last 2 methods behave differently?

---

When you use exactly, the reader will take only the first character, irrespective of how many characters you input. 

For example:

import java.util.Scanner;  

public class ReaderExample {  

    public static void main(String[] args) {  

        try {  

        Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);

        char c = reader.findInLine(".").charAt(0);

            reader.close();  

            System.out.print(c);

        } catch (Exception ex) {  

            System.out.println(ex.getMessage());  

        }

     

    }  

}  

When you give a set of characters as input, say "abcd", the reader will consider only the first character i.e., the letter 'a'

But when you use strictly, the input should be just one character. If the input is more than one character, then the reader will not take the input

import java.util.Scanner;  

public class ReaderExample {  

    public static void main(String[] args) {  

        try {  

        Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);

        char c = reader.next(".").charAt(0);

            reader.close();  

            System.out.print(c);

        } catch (Exception ex) {  

            System.out.println(ex.getMessage());  

        }

      

    }  

}  

Suppose you give input "abcd", no input is taken, and the variable c will have Null value.

Answer 3

// Use a BufferedReader to read characters from the console.
import java.io.*;
class BRRead {
public static void main(String args[]) throws IOException
{
char c;
BufferedReader br = new
BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
System.out.println("Enter characters, 'q' to quit.");
// read characters
do {
c = (char) br.read();
System.out.println(c);
} while(c != 'q');
}
}