What Is String?

String and How to Use It

In Java, a "String" is a data type used to represent text. Its syntax looks like this:

Main


              1
            
String name = "string";

You've already encountered a "String" when you displayed something on the screen using double quotation marks (""). Yes, "String" is among us. A string can also be output like any other variable, for example:

Main


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package com.example;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String hello = "Hello world!"; // initialising a String variable
        System.out.println(hello); // printing our String variable
    }
}

It looks simple. Well, let's move on to the challenging part then. A string is a data type that cannot be changed after initialization. This is called an immutable class. Don't get stuck on these intimidating words right now; we will discuss them in a separate course. We can directly modify the value of an already initialized string variable, but in doing so, we simply create a new object in memory. For example:

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package com.example;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String hello = "Hello world!"; // initialising a String variable
        hello = "Hello c<>definity"; // changing the link to the object in heap memory
        System.out.println(hello); // printing our new String variable
    }
}

We can also create arrays of strings:

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package com.example;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String[] array = {"Hello", ", ", "c<>definity"};
        for (String element : array) {
            System.out.print(element);
        }
    }
}

In the next chapter, we will delve into the fundamental methods for working with strings, and you will come to understand why I mentioned that the value of a string variable cannot be altered without specific operations.

1. Will the following code compile?

2. Can we create an array of ``String`` data type?

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 5. Chapter 1

Java Basics

What Is String?

String and How to Use It