Reading integer input in Java - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Reading integer input

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple Java program that asks the user to enter their age. This is a common task when you want to get information from someone using a program.

🎯 Goal: Build a Java program that reads an integer input from the user and then prints it back to confirm what was entered.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use the Scanner class to read input

Read an integer value from the user

Store the input in a variable called age

Print the value of age with a message

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Reading integer input is common in programs that ask users for numbers, like age, quantity, or scores.

💼 Career

Many programming jobs require reading and validating user input, especially in console applications and backend services.

1

Set up the Scanner object

Write a line to create a Scanner object called scanner that reads from System.in.

Java

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Create Scanner object called scanner
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in); to read input from the keyboard.

2

Read an integer input

Write a line to read an integer from scanner and store it in an int variable called age.

Java

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        // Read an integer from scanner and store in age
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use int age = scanner.nextInt(); to read an integer input.

3

Print the entered age

Write a line to print the message "You entered: " followed by the value of age using System.out.println.

Java

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        int age = scanner.nextInt();
        // Print the message with the age
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use System.out.println("You entered: " + age); to show the input.

4

Close the Scanner and run

Add a line to close the scanner object using scanner.close(). Then run the program and enter 25 as input. The output should be You entered: 25.

Java

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        int age = scanner.nextInt();
        System.out.println("You entered: " + age);
        // Close the scanner
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use scanner.close(); to close the scanner and free resources.