How can i turn this chatter bot into an array that scans user input

Question

Hey so basically I have an assignment to make a simple chatter bot, the purpose of he program is to have a user input a string with a JOptionpane and then the program will search the user input the see if anything they wrote contained a key word I specified, if so they program will display a certain message. So far iv written it using if-else statements but the teacher wants us to use Arrays (which I have no idea how they work and we are just expected to know)

import javax.swing.JOptionPane;

public class ChatterBot {

public static void main(String args[]) {
String input = "";
String maths = "";
String science = "";
String chemFact = "";
String bioFact = "";
String zooFact = "";
String algFact = "";
String yes = "Well good for you";
String no = "You learn something new everyday :)";
input = JOptionPane
        .showInputDialog("Pick one of the subjects listed to learn a fun fact (english, science, maths) ");

if (input.contains("science")) {
    science = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
            "What kind of science fact woukd you like to know about? (chem, Biology, Zoology)");
}

else if (input.contains("maths")) {
    maths = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
            "What kind of maths fact would you like to know about? (algebra, fractions, division) ");
}
if (maths.contains("algebra")) {
    algFact = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
            "\"Did you know a mathematician who specializes in algebra is called an algebraist? (yes or no)\"");
}
if (algFact.contains("yes")) {
    System.out.println(yes);
} else if (algFact.contains("no")) {
    System.out.println(no);
}

if (science.contains("chem")) {
    chemFact = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
            "Did you know If you pour a handful of salt into a full glass of water the water level will actually go down rather than overflowing the glass? (yes or no)");
}

if (chemFact.contains("yes")) {
    System.out.println(yes);
} else if (chemFact.contains("no")) {
    System.out.println(no);
}

else if (science.contains("biology")) {
    bioFact = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Did you know The brain itself cannot feel pain? (yes or no)");
}

if (bioFact.contains("yes")) {
    System.out.println("Well good for you");
} else if (bioFact.contains("no")) {
    System.out.println("You learn something new everyday :)");
}

else if (science.contains("zoology")) {
    zooFact = JOptionPane
            .showInputDialog("Did you know butterflies have taste receptors on their feet? (yes or no)");
}

if (zooFact.contains("yes")) {
    System.out.println("Well good for you");
} else if (zooFact.contains("no")) {
    System.out.println("You learn something new everyday :)");
}
if (input.contains("?")) {
    System.out.println("I will be asking the questions");
}

}

Answer 1

There are plenty of good tutorials online about java arrays. Additionally, if your class is following a text book of any sort, then it should also have arrays covered as well. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/java_arrays.html Just from a quick google.

In general an array is a data structure that holds objects in a list like function.

Generically speaking

type[] var = new type[size];

or

type[] var = {foo0, foo1, foo2...};

Real Examples

int[] intergerArray = new int[10];

String[] stringArray = {"Hello", "World"};

Indexes Generically

var = array variable

index = position of object - 1 (computers start at 0)

var[index] will return the value stored in position index from the var array

Index Examples

• Make the array:

  String[] stringArray = {"This", "is", "my", "first", "array"};
  

• Access the first value:

  stringArray[0];

• Store the value in a variable:

  String firstWord = stringArray[0];

You can even iterate through the entire array all at once:

for (int i = 0; i < stringArray.length; i++){
  System.out.print(stringArray[i]);
}

Outputs: This is my first array

For your code

I'd recommend putting your possible inputs in an array (or even in a couple of arrays)

String[] subjects = {"English", "Science", "Maths"};

You can then accept an input from the user and loop through your array to see if it matches one of your supported inputs. Also, generally you want to include a 'default' case for invalid input.

Possible Implementation

import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class ChatterBot{
  public static void main(String[] args){
    String[] subjects = {"English", "Maths", "Science"};
    String userInput = JOptionPane
      .showInputDialog("Pick one of the subjects listed to learn a fun fact (english, science, maths) ");

    if (userInput.contains(subjects[0]){
     // english facts
    } else if (userInput.contains(subjects[1]){
     // science facts
    } else if (userInput.contains(subjects[2])){
     // maths facts
    }
  } 
}