Help Shortening Code

[GregoryNeal]

Hey guys this is my first time posting, I just need some feedback on shortening some java code that I wrote for my college course. The code is completed and compiles fine and we don't get extra credit if it's short or anything, I would just like some pointers on keeping my code short and succinct. Thanks for any advice. Here is the code:

import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class program_5 {
public static void main (String [] args){

	String buffer;
	String s1;
	String s2;
	String s3;
	double t1;
	double t2;
	double t3;
	double area;
	double pi = 3.14195265;

	//Greeting & input
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Welcome to the area calculation program! Press OK to continue", "Program", JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
    buffer = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Type the name of the shape you want the area of (triangle, square, or circle):");

    //If triangle
if (buffer.equalsIgnoreCase("triangle") || (buffer.charAt(0) == 't') || (buffer.charAt(0) == 'T')){

    	s1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the first side of the triangle:");
    	s2 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the second side of the triangle:");
    	s3 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the third side of the triangle:");

    //convert strings to doubles
    t1 = Double.parseDouble(s1);
    t2 = Double.parseDouble(s2);
    t3 = Double.parseDouble(s3);

    //Calculate Semiperimeter and area
   double s = ((t1 + t2 + t3)/2);
   area = Math.pow((s*(s - t1)*(s - t2)*(s - t3)), .5);

   //errors
   if ((s*(s - t1)*(s - t2)*(s - t3)) <= 0) {
   	JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Invalid input");
   }

	//output area
	JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "The area of the triangle specified is: " + area, "Triangle", JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
    }

	//If square
else if (buffer.equalsIgnoreCase("square") || (buffer.charAt(0) == 's') || (buffer.charAt(0) == 'S')) {

		s1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Please enter the side length:");

    //convert string to double
    	t1 = Double.parseDouble(s1);

    //output area
    area = (t1 * t1);
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "The area of the square with side length " + t1 + " is: " + area, "Square", JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
    }

	//If circle
else if (buffer.equalsIgnoreCase("circle") || (buffer.charAt(0) == 'c') || (buffer.charAt(0) == 'C')) {

    	s1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Please enter the radius");

    //string to double
    t1 = Double.parseDouble(s1);

    //output area
    area = (pi * (t1 * t1));
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "The area of the circle with radius " + t1 + " is: " + area, "Circle", JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);

    }

    else {
    	System.out.println("Not a valid input! Please try again!");
    }
}
}

[pbrockway2]

I don't know about shorter, but there are a few things I would do:

* Name the class Program5 in accordance with Java coding conventions.
* Have a separate method for each of the area calculations so that main() does not become too long
* Declare variables in the methods that use them, and as close as possible to their use.
* Not print any bogus results. For instance if s*(s-t1)*(s-t2)*(s-t3))<0 you report an error but nonetheless display an erroneous area. In fact you attempt to calculate that area which might not be nice.
* Test everything (that would have picked up the previous point)