Thread: Help using parameters

Okay, so I have 2 classes (Investment and Project4)
This program is designed to display 5 menu options.

The first menu option asks the user for a starting balance and an interest rate
The second menu option asks the user for the number of years they want to invest and the number of times they want the value compounded each year.
* Here is where my problem comes in*
The third menu is supposed to display these 4 variables(principal, interestRate, numberOfYears, numberOfTimes)

My investment class handles all the calculations for which the algorithm is
principal * Math.pow((1 + interestRate / numberOfTimes), (numberOfYears * numberOfTimes));

Here is the code from my Project4 class which has my main in it. I am on the method named menu3() and I don't know how to incorporate the above values into this method mainly because it has to go through the Investment class to calculate the futureValue and then go through this method that is not the main method.

/**
* Class Name : Project4<br>
* Class Purpose: Display Menu options for a user to select and display corresponding data in the chosen menu. Continues until the user ends program

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;
 
public class Project4
 
	private static Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);
 
	public static void main(String[] args)
	{
		Project4 app = new Project4();
 
		//Display all Menu options
		app.displayMenus();
		//Asks user to pick a menu option
		System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
		int option = keyboard.nextInt();
		while(option >=1 || option <= 5)
		{
			if(option == 1)
			{
				app.menu1();
				app.displayMenus();
				System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
				option = keyboard.nextInt();
			}
 
			if(option == 2)
			{
				app.menu2();
				app.displayMenus();
				System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
				option = keyboard.nextInt();
			}
			else if(option == 3)
			{
				app.menu3();
				System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
				option = keyboard.nextInt();
			}
			else if(option == 4)
			{
				System.out.println("Under construction");
				app.displayMenus();
				System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
				option = keyboard.nextInt();
			}
 
			else if(option == 5)
			{
				System.out.println("Are you sure you want to exit? (y/n)");
				String answer = keyboard.nextLine();
 
				if(answer.equalsIgnoreCase("y"))
				{
					System.out.println("End of program");
					break;
				}
				else if(answer.equalsIgnoreCase("n"))
				{
					app.displayMenus();
					System.out.println("Please choose a menu option:");
					option = keyboard.nextInt();
				}
			}
 
		}
 
	}
 
	public void displayMenus()
	{
		System.out.println("1 - Enter starting balance and interest rate." +
		" \n2 - Enter the number of years and the number of times." +
		" \n3 - Display the balance schedule." +
		" \n4 - Display the bar graph." +
		" \n5 - Exit.");
	}
 
	public void menu1()
	{
		System.out.println("What is the starting balance (value from 1 to 10,000).");
		double principal = keyboard.nextDouble();
 
		while(principal < 1 || principal > 10000)
		{
			System.out.println("Please enter a value between 1 and 10,000");
			principal = keyboard.nextDouble();
		}
 
		System.out.println("What is the interest rate (value from 0 to 1)");
		double interestRate = keyboard.nextDouble();	
 
		while(interestRate < 0 || interestRate > 1)
		{
			System.out.println("Please enter a value between 0 and 1");
			interestRate = keyboard.nextDouble();
		}
	}
 
 
	public void menu2()
	{
		System.out.println("How many years do you plan to invest? (1-20)");
		int numberOfYears = keyboard.nextInt();
 
		while(numberOfYears < 1 || numberOfYears > 20)
		{
			System.out.println("Please enter a number between 1 and 20.");
			numberOfYears = keyboard.nextInt();
		}
 
		System.out.println("How many times per year? (1-12)");
		int numberOfTimes = keyboard.nextInt();
 
		while(numberOfTimes < 1 || numberOfTimes > 12)
		{
			System.out.println("Please enter a number between 1 and 12.");
			numberOfTimes = keyboard.nextInt();
		}
 
 
	}
 
 
	public void menu3(double principal, double interestRate, int numberOfYears, int numberOfTimes)
	{
		System.out.println("If you invested " + principal + " in a bank account paying " 
			+ interestRate + " for " + numberOfYears + "years, \ncompounded " + numberOfTimes
			+ "times per year, then your balance will be:");
 
	}
 
	public void menu4()
	{
 
	}
}

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I don't know how to incorporate the above values into this method

Are the variables with the needed values at the class level of scope or are they local to some methods?
If they were class variables all the methods can see them.

All the variables have to go through my other class to be calculated into the futureValue variable. Thats what is confusing me. Here is my other class if that helps.

//This class calculates values for an Investment.
 
public class Investment
{
	private double principal = 0.0;
	private double interestRate = 0.0;
 
	//Constructor
	public Investment(double balance, double rate)
	{
		principal = balance;
		interestRate = rate;
	}
	//Setter for principal
	public void setPrincipal(double p)
	{
		principal = p;
	}
	//Setter for Interest Rate
	public void setInterestRate(double i)
	{
		interestRate = i;
	}
 
	//Getter for principal
	public double getPrincipal()
	{
		return principal;
	}
 
	//Getter for Interest Rate
	public double getInterestRate()
	{
		return interestRate;
	}
 
 
	//Future Compounded Value
	public double getFutureValue(int numberOfYears, int numberOfTimes)
	{
		return principal * Math.pow((1 + interestRate / numberOfTimes), (numberOfYears * numberOfTimes));
	}
 
 
}

Where are the variables that hold the values you need? If they are in the Interest class, then you need a reference variable that points to an instance of the Interest class so you can call the Interest class's methods to get those values.
Interest theInterest = new Interest(...); // some where create an instance and save its address
...
aVar = theInterest.getSomeValue(); // use that variable from above to get to the class's data

Do I create my object in the method menu3() or do I have to declare it in the main method?

The variables I need are principal, interestRate, numberOfYears, and numberOfTimes, in the main class and they have to go through to Investment class to calculate the value. I want to display them in menu3(). I didn't know if I had to create a setter and getter for numberOfYears as well as numberOftimes in the Investment class or could I just pass them to it when I call the method.