Java - make boolean isHigherGeneration () metod return YES/NO

Question

I am having a little trouble with my homework.
I have to have a boolean isHigherGeneration() method that compares 2 CPU objects based on their generation.
I was able to make my code compare the 2 objects, but I need the result to return YES/NO instead of true/false.
I tried creating a string and transforming it into a boolean, but it didn't work. Can someone help me please?
Here is my code:

public boolean isHigherGeneration(CPU cpu){
        String YES = "YES";
        String NO = "NO";
        boolean t = Boolean.valueOf(YES);
        boolean n = Boolean.valueOf(NO);

        if (this.generation > cpu.generation)
            return t ;
        else
            return n;
    }

Thank you in advance for your help :)

Answer 1

It sounds from the question like it doesn't want you to return a boolean, but a String with either the value YES or the value NO instead of a boolean, so what you need to do is translate the result of the boolean expression into a String with the value YES or the value NO.

Thus, in this case, there's no need to play around with boolean in your code. You can compare the CPU generation and just return YES if the value is true and NO if the value is false:

public String isHigherGeneration(CPU cpu) {
    if (generation > cpu.generation) {
        return "YES";
    } else {
        return "NO";
    }
}

Edit: From the sounds of the requirements, you need a boolean method that returns String, which is impossible. (That's like saying you want to buy an apple but end up with a pear.) If you do need a String result and a boolean method, you could divide them into three like this:

// Boolean method
public boolean isHigherGeneration(CPU cpu) {
    return generation > cpu.generation;
}

// String method
public String toYesNo(boolean result) {
    if (result) {
        return "YES";
    } else {
        return "NO";
    }
}

// Converter
public String isHigherGenerationYesNo(CPU cpu) {
    return toYesNo(isHigherGeneration(cpu));
}

but this just all seems silly. I think maybe we're having a misunderstanding in the question. Could you post the question verbatim so that we can ensure that we've understood it correctly?