string comparison with "=" and ".equal"

public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s1 = "hello";
String s2 = "hello";
//String s1 = new String("hello");
//String s2 = new String("hello");
if(s1 == s2) System.out.println("true");
}
}

and it printed true when i run the program. I thought s1 and s2 pointed at different memory address so it shouldn't have printed anything.

on my 2nd try, s1 and s2 are both declared as new string(after un-commenting them, and comment out the previous declaration), then it didn't print true as i expected.

how come it prints true on the first try?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by guavajuice

public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s1 = "hello";
String s2 = "hello";
//String s1 = new String("hello");
//String s2 = new String("hello");
if(s1 == s2) System.out.println("true");
}
}

and it printed true when i run the program. I thought s1 and s2 pointed at different memory address so it shouldn't have printed anything.

on my 2nd try, s1 and s2 are both declared as new string(after un-commenting them, and comment out the previous declaration), then it didn't print true as i expected.

how come it prints true on the first try?

---

Both the compiler and the JVM itself play a few tricks; String literals (the stuff between double quotes) are collected by the compiler and stored once in a .class file. The JVM loads class files and stores those literals in a pool of Strings, all unique. So in your first example there will be only one String object "hello" (stored in that String pool) and both s1 and s2 point to it.
Both references are equals so s1 == s2 is true.

In your second example there's still that single "hello" String in that pool but two different Strings have copied those bytes to their own internal buffers making two different Strings so s1 == s2 will be false.

kind regards,

Jos

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JosAH

Both the compiler and the JVM itself play a few tricks; String literals (the stuff between double quotes) are collected by the compiler and stored once in a .class file. The JVM loads class files and stores those literals in a pool of Strings, all unique. So in your first example there will be only one String object "hello" (stored in that String pool) and both s1 and s2 point to it.
Both references are equals so s1 == s2 is true.

In your second example there's still that single "hello" String in that pool but two different Strings have copied those bytes to their own internal buffers making two different Strings so s1 == s2 will be false.

kind regards,

Jos

---

If i have

String s1 = new String("hello");
String s2 = s1;

I believe i'm assigning s1 address to s2?

if i then modify s2's values
s2 = "world";

does s1 value gets modified too?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by guavajuice

If i have

String s1 = new String("hello");
String s2 = s1;

I believe i'm assigning s1 address to s2?

if i then modify s2's values
s2 = "world";

does s1 value gets modified too?

---

Did you give it a try? Also have a look at the static System.identityHashCode( ... ) method and print out the raw hashcode values for both s1 and s2.

kind regards,

Jos

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JosAH

Did you give it a try? Also have a look at the static System.identityHashCode( ... ) method and print out the raw hashcode values for both s1 and s2.

kind regards,

Jos

---

I did actually. it print out s2 = world and s1 stays as hello so s1 didn't get modified. so i proceed to get hashcode value


String a = new String("hello");
String b = a;
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b)+","+ System.identityHashCode(a));
b = "world";
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(b)+","+ System.identityHashCode(a));
System.out.println(b + "," + a);

the hash code for a and b were the same after i do String b = a
here's what i get: 6718604,6718604

after assign "world" to b, the hashcode for b changed, while a stayed the same.
14577460,6718604

the last print line gave me different values
world, hello

b and a had the same hashcode at first,which meant that a and b pointed to the same object right? so when i gave b a new value. how come a didnt get that ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by guavajuice

b and a had the same hashcode at first,which meant that a and b pointed to the same object right? so when i gave b a new value. how come a didnt get that ?

---

You assigned a new value to b so it changed; nothing happened to a so it stays the same. Have a look at this simple example:

Code:

---

int a= 42;
int b= a; // both a and b are the same

b= 54; // what do you expect a to be?

---

kind regards,

Jos

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JosAH

You assigned a new value to b so it changed; nothing happened to a so it stays the same. Have a look at this simple example:

Code:

---

int a= 42;
int b= a; // both a and b are the same

b= 54; // what do you expect a to be?

---

kind regards,

Jos

---

based on what happened in the string test, b should be 52, while a stays as 42.

if i have the method in
public static void add(int x) {
x+=10;
}

int a= 42;
int b= a; // both a and b are the same

class.add(b) // modify b value

Then when i print a and b, i get 52 for both. it behaves as i thought, a and b point to the same address, and when value of b changes from 42 to 52, a also has a new value of 52.

When i simply do b = 52, I interpreted it as "modifying the value at address that a and b point to. However, it's actually making a new object (indicated by a new hashcode). Am i understanding this right?

No.
You get 42 for each.
They aren't pointing at the same memory, since they're primitives.

ah. you are right.

if a and b were objects
obj b = a;
b.modify()

then a and b values will both get modified right?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by guavajuice

ah. you are right.

if a and b were objects
obj b = a;
b.modify()

then a and b values will both get modified right?

---

Yep, more exactly put: the single object pointed to (referred to) by both a and b is modified.

kind regards,

Jos