Drills › Think in classes

Return a value and record work

Think in classes · Beginner · 12 min · Runs in your Salesforce Developer org · Free

Scenario. A sales queue needs to suggest work and track actions without confusing returned data with side effects.

Contrast a method that returns a Lead action with a void method that changes state.

What you will learn

A method's return type promises a value back to the caller. A void method returns nothing. It usually does an action or changes the object's fields.

String nextStep() {
    return 'Review';
}

void markDone() {
    doneCount++;
}

Gotcha. Every path through a non-void method must return a value of its declared type.

The task

Finish a Lead work queue that returns a next action and uses a void method to count finished work.

Examples:

• nextAction('Maya Chen') → Action: Review Maya Chen
• two calls to markProcessed() → Processed: 2
• a brand-new queue → New queue: 0

Requirements:

1. Make nextAction return Review plus the Lead name.
2. Make the void method markProcessed add 1 to the private count.
3. Call markProcessed() twice on one queue, then read the count with getProcessedCount().
4. Create a second queue to show that its count starts at 0.
5. Print Action:, Processed: and New queue:, each followed by its value.

Starter code

class LeadWorkQueue {
    private Integer processedCount = 0;

    public String nextAction(String leadName) {
        return '';
    }

    public void markProcessed() {
    }

    public Integer getProcessedCount() {
        return processedCount;
    }
}

LeadWorkQueue queue = new LeadWorkQueue();

When it passes

The String method returns an action, two void calls raise one queue's count to 2, and a new queue still reads 0.

Try this drill free

You write the Apex yourself. ApexSensei runs it and tells you what passed and what did not.

‹ Build queue labels with parameters · Initialize an appointment plan ›