Java 7 for Absolute Beginners

CHAPTER 3 ■ DATA TYPES

Listing 3-1. String examples

String myString = "my string";

String yourString = "your string";

String ourString = myString + " " + yourString;

System.out.println(myString);

System.out.println(yourString);

System.out.println(ourString);

The output is in Listing 3-2.

Listing 3-2. String example output

my string

your string

my string your string

Notice that the value of ourString consists of the concatenation of three values: myString, " ", and

yourString. " " is a String literal. That's another way String differs from other objects; no other object

(remember, primitives aren't objects) can have a literal.

Literals

All the primitives and the String class can have literal values. A literal is a constant value that

corresponds to a particular data type. Table 3-2 provides examples for each of the primitive data types

and the String class.

Table 3-2. Literal examples

Type Literal

byte int a = -100;

short int b = 1000;

int int c = -10000;

long int d = 100000000000;

float float e = 12.34f;

double double f = -56.78;

boolean boolean iLoveJava = true;

char char aChar = 'a';

String String greeting = "Hi, there!";