Validate phone number in java set method?

Question

I am learning Java for the first time, and a homework question asks that we create an address list, where invalid characters are caught in our phone number formats. Can I do this through a 'set' method? My code is as following:

    public void sethomePhone(String value) {
    String regex = "^\\(?([0-9]{3})\\)?[-.\\s]?([0-9]{3})[-.\\s]?([0-9]
                    {4})$";
    Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex);
    Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(value);
    if (matcher.matches() == true){
        homePhone = value;
    } else {
        System.out.println(value + "is not a valid phone number.");
    }

This doesn't seem to be working though, since when I test it in the main class even invalid phone numbers are getting passed through as valid. Do I need to create a separate method for this?

Thanks, and sorry if this is a stupid question; I'm only a month in!

---

Thanks all for answering. I modified the code trying both suggested regex formats, and it's still allowing invalid numbers through. I tried:

public void sethomePhone(String value) {
    String regex = "^(([0-9]{3})[-.\\s]?([0-9]{3})[-.\\s]?([0-9]{4}))$";
    Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex);
    Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(value);
    if (matcher.matches()){
        homePhone = value;
    } else {
        System.out.println(value + "is not a valid phone number.");
    }

And then input the following test in my Main method (includes other fields):

  AddressBook person3 = new AddressBook("Dark", "Wing", "Duck", "Duckville",
  "123-245-6799", "123-49*51", "123-456-7891", 
  "@skypedarkdefender","letsgetdangerous", "www.darkwing.com");

which output:

• First Name: Dark
• Middle Name: Wing
• Last Name: Duck
• Home Phone: 123-49*51
• Business Phone: 123-245-6799
• Cellphone: 123-456-7891
• Home Address: Duckville
• Facebook ID: letsgetdangerous
• Skype ID: @skypedarkdefender
• Personal Website: www.darkwing.com

Sorry; I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong... but thanks for all the help to date!

Answer 1

Try using:

String regex = "^(([0-9]{3})[-.\\s]?([0-9]{3})[-.\\s]?([0-9]{4}))$";

http://www.regexplanet.com/advanced/java/index.html

Answer 2

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("^([0-9]{0,1}[-\\.\\s]?(\\d{3}|\\(\\d{3}\\))[-\\.\\s]?[0-9]{3}[-\\.\\s]?[0-9]{4})$");

Country code: No more than 1 digit (optional)

-,.,\\s (optional)

Open paren,3 digits Closed paren OR 3 digits

-,.,\\s (optional)

3 digits

-,.,\\s (optional)

4 digits

Answer 3

Just wanted to update to say I figured it out. I moved the regex out of my "set" method, and into the constructor:

private String firstName; // First name of the contact. 
private String middleName; // Middle name of the contact. 
private String lastName; //Last name of the contact.
private String homeAddress; //Contact home address.
private String businessPhone; //Contact business phone number.
private String homePhone; //Contact home phone number.
private String cellphone; //Contact cell phone number.
private String skypeId; // Contact Skype ID.
private String facebookId; //Contact Facebook ID.
private String personalWebSite; //Contact personal website URL.

/**
 * Create a new instance of class AddressBook. Initialize instance variables
 * to values of the arguments passed through the constructor parameters. All
 * parameters defined through the variable list are defined in this
 * instance.
 *
 * @param fn - First name of the contact.
 * @param mn - Middle name of the contact.
 * @param ln - Last name of the contact.
 * @param homeAddress - Contact home address.
 * @param businessPhone - Contact business phone number.
 * @param homePhone - Contact home phone number.
 * @param cellphone - Contact cell phone number.
 * @param skypeId - Contact Skype ID.
 * @param facebookId - Contact Facebook ID.
 * @param personalWebSite - Contact personal website URL.
 */
public AddressBook(String fn, String mn, String ln,
        String homeAddress, String businessPhone, String homePhone,
        String cellphone, String skypeId, String facebookId,
        String personalWebSite) {
    this.businessPhone = businessPhone;
    this.cellphone = cellphone;
    this.facebookId = facebookId;
    this.firstName = fn;
    this.homeAddress = homeAddress;
    this.homePhone = homePhone;
    this.lastName = ln;
    this.middleName = mn;
    this.personalWebSite = personalWebSite;
    this.skypeId = skypeId;

    String regex = ("^([0-9]{0,1}[-\\.\\s]?(\\d{3}|\\(\\d{3}\\))[-\\.\\s]?[0-9]{3}[-\\.\\s]?[0-9]{4})$");
    Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex);
    Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(homePhone);
    if (matcher.matches()) {
        homePhone = homePhone;
    } else {
        homePhone = ("invalid phone number.");
    }
    System.out.println("First Name: " + fn);
    System.out.println("Middle Name: " + mn);
    System.out.println("Last Name: " + ln);
    System.out.println("Home Phone: " + homePhone);
    System.out.println("Business Phone: " + businessPhone);
    System.out.println("Cellphone: " + cellphone);
    System.out.println("Home Address: " + homeAddress);
    System.out.println("Facebook ID: " + facebookId);
    System.out.println("Skype ID: " + skypeId);
    System.out.println("Personal Website: " + personalWebSite);
    System.out.println();
}

Thanks all for the help!