TCS IPA Exam Cheatsheet
Core Concepts to Master
1. Custom Classes (High Priority)
class Student {
private int id;
private String name;
private double marks;
// Constructor
public Student(int id, String name, double marks) {
this.id = id;
this.name = name;
this.marks = marks;
}
// Getters
public int getId() { return id; }
public String getName() { return name; }
public double getMarks() { return marks; }
// Setters
public void setId(int id) { this.id = id; }
public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; }
public void setMarks(double marks) { this.marks = marks; }
}
2. Array of Objects
Student[] students = new Student[5];
students[0] = new Student(101, "John", 85.5);
3. Static Methods Pattern
public static int findAverage(Student[] students, String searchName) {
int total = 0;
int count = 0;
for (Student s : students) {
if (s.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(searchName)) {
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total += s.getMarks();
count++;
}
}
return count > 0 ? total/count : 0;
}
Essential Input/Output Templates
BufferedReader (Use This for TCS)
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
public class Solution {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new
InputStreamReader(System.in));
String name = br.readLine(); // Read string
int age = Integer.parseInt(br.readLine()); // Read integer
double salary = Double.parseDouble(br.readLine()); // Read double
// For splitting strings
String[] words = name.split(" "); // "John Doe" → ["John", "Doe"]
}
}
String Methods (Memorize All)
String text = "Hello World";
// Basic Info
text.length() // Returns 11
text.charAt(0) // Returns 'H'
// Case Conversion
text.toLowerCase() // "hello world"
text.toUpperCase() // "HELLO WORLD"
// Splitting and Extracting
text.split(" ") // ["Hello", "World"]
text.substring(0, 5) // "Hello"
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text.trim() // Removes spaces from start/end
// Searching
text.indexOf('o') // Returns 4 (first position)
text.lastIndexOf('o') // Returns 7 (last position)
text.contains("llo") // Returns true
// Comparison
text.equals("Hello World") // Exact match (case sensitive)
text.equalsIgnoreCase("hello world") // Ignore case
// Checking Start/End
text.startsWith("He") // Returns true
text.endsWith("ld") // Returns true
// Replacement
text.replace('l', 'x') // "Hexxo Worxd"
Character Methods
char letter = 'A';
Character.isDigit(letter) // false (not a number)
Character.isLetter(letter) // true (is a letter)
Character.toLowerCase(letter) // 'a'
Character.toUpperCase(letter) // 'A'
// Check if vowel
char c = 'a';
if (c == 'a' || c == 'e' || c == 'i' || c == 'o' || c == 'u') {
// It's a vowel
}
Array Operations
int[] numbers = new int[5];
numbers.length // Array size
// Import needed for sorting
import java.util.Arrays;
Arrays.sort(numbers); // Sort from small to big
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Math Methods
Math.max(10, 20) // Returns 20 (bigger number)
Math.min(10, 20) // Returns 10 (smaller number)
Math.abs(-5) // Returns 5 (positive value)
Type Conversion
// String to Numbers
int number = Integer.parseInt("123"); // "123" → 123
double decimal = Double.parseDouble("12.34"); // "12.34" → 12.34
// Numbers to String
String text = String.valueOf(123); // 123 → "123"
String text2 = Integer.toString(456); // 456 → "456"
Common Problem Patterns
1. Count Words Starting with Vowels
String sentence = "Everyone should practice";
String[] words = sentence.split(" ");
int count = 0;
for (String word : words) {
if (word.length() > 0) {
char firstLetter = word.toLowerCase().charAt(0);
if (firstLetter == 'a' || firstLetter == 'e' || firstLetter == 'i' ||
firstLetter == 'o' || firstLetter == 'u') {
count++;
}
}
}
2. Filter Objects by Condition
public static int calculateAverage(Student[] students, String course) {
int totalMarks = 0;
int studentCount = 0;
for (Student student : students) {
if (student.getCourse().equalsIgnoreCase(course) && student.getMarks()
4
> 60) {
totalMarks += student.getMarks();
studentCount++;
}
}
if (studentCount > 0) {
return totalMarks / studentCount;
} else {
return 0;
}
}
3. Find Second Largest Number
int[] numbers = {10, 5, 20, 8, 15};
int largest = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
int secondLargest = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
for (int num : numbers) {
if (num > largest) {
secondLargest = largest;
largest = num;
} else if (num > secondLargest && num != largest) {
secondLargest = num;
}
}
Important Notes
• Always use equalsIgnoreCase() for comparing strings (ignores CAPS/small)
• Handle empty cases: empty strings, no matching results
• Follow exact output format mentioned in problem & Remember to import classes when needed
• Use simple for loops: for (Student s : students) instead of for (int i = 0; i <
length; i++)
• Convert double to int when required: (int)(decimalNumber)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Forgetting case sensitivity in string comparison
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• Using Scanner instead of BufferedReader (TCS systems have issues with Scanner)
• Missing edge cases (empty arrays, no matches found)
• Wrong output format (extra spaces, wrong capitalization)
• Not importing required classes
• Using wrong return types in methods (int vs double)
