Strings

In Java, String may relate to two different things –

  • Object –
    • Special treatment is given to String in Java as it is treated as an Object.
    • Objects that are backed internally by a char array.
    • There are two ways to create a string object –
    • By string literal –
      • If means special treatment is asked. JVM will search for an object that contains a hello string; if found, it will use its reference, i.e., its address will be assigned to g; if not found, a new object with a hello string will be created.
      • E.g. – String g = “hello”;
    • By new keyword –
      • If means no special treatment is asked. So JVM doesn’t apply a search, but definitely, a new object will be created with a hello string in it.
      • Eg – String g = new String(“hello”);
  • String class –
    • A string is a class, and it contains several built-in methods and properties.
    • It is used to create and manipulate strings or, let’s say, string objects.
    • All string literals in Java are implemented as instances of this class.
    • The class includes methods like compare(), concat(), equals(), split(), length(), replace(), compareTo(), intern(), substring() etc.
    • Eg – String g = new String(“hello”);