title: Java octal calculations
body: <p>what is a recommended way to perform <strong>addition</strong> and <strong>subtraction</strong> operations on Octal numbers? (My search results to date have yielded only conversions of octals, but not how to perform arithmetic operations on actual octals).
  My program would generate 2 octal values, then add or subtract these (randomly), and give the octal total.</p>
  
  <p>eg.</p>
  
  <pre><code> 5 Octal + 3 Octal = 10 Octal;
   12 Octal - 3 Octal = 7 Octal;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I have tried using: </p>
  
  <pre><code>Integer.parseInt(int, 8), 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>but I am not clear on how to construct for the above results. I have the rest of the programming working, I'm just stuck on the octal calculations.
  I am a brand new programming student, working my way through the "Art and Science of Java" textbook by Eric S. Roberts, and this is listed as a programming exercise (Chapter 7, Exercise 3).</p>