Converting binary to base 10 without math.pow( )?

Question

I'm looking to create a simple program that will convert binary numbers to decimal numbers, without using math.pow(). Here's what I have so far, using Math.pow at the end:

import java.util.Scanner;
public class  Question1 {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.println("Enter a binary number");
    Scanner inputKeyboard = new Scanner(System.in);
    String binaryNumber = inputKeyboard.nextLine();
    while (!checkIfBinary(binaryNumber)) {
      System.out.println("That is not a binary number.  Enter a binary number");
      binaryNumber = inputKeyboard.nextLine();
    }
    int decimalNumber = binaryToNumber(binaryNumber);
    System.out.println("Your number in base 10 is " + decimalNumber + ".");
  }

  public static boolean checkIfBinary(String input) {
    for (int i = 0; i < input.length(); i++) {
      if(input.charAt(i) != '0' && input.charAt(i) != '1') {
        return false;
      }
    }
    return true;
  }

  public static int binaryToNumber(String numberInput) {
    int total = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < numberInput.length(); i++) {
      if (numberInput.charAt(i) == '1')  {
        total += (int) Math.pow(2, numberInput.length() - 1 - i);
      }
    }
    return total;
  }
}

I'm encountering a problem doing the exponentiation without math.pow. I know I need to use a loop, and this loop should multiply 2 by itself numberInput.length() - 1 - i times. But I'm having difficulty implementing this.

Answer 1

I'd work backwards from the end of the string and just calculate the power for each character incrementally:

public static int binaryToNumber (String numberInput) {
    int currentPower = 1;
    int total = 0;

    for (int i = numberInput.length() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
        if (numberInput.charAt(i) == '1')  {
            total += currentPower;
        }
        currentPower *= 2;
    }

    return total;
}