Jsoup: String element.attr() doesn't work in if()

Question

I'm not experienced in Java, and I have a problem.

Using Jsoup, I have an element called td. If I do:

String attr = td.attr("class");
System.out.println(attr);

The output is "free", which is perfectly alright. If I do:

String attr = td.attr("class");
if (attr == "free") {
System.out.println("freedom!");
}

There is no output!

Does anyone know how to solve this problem?

Thanks in advance.

@Rohit Jain Yes, you are right. Because I am new to Java, I didn't see this, because I thought it was a problem with Jsoup specifically. Now I see the answer I understand that my thoughts were completely wrong. — ian, Jul 01 '13 at 13:02

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 01 '13 at 12:14

7

You have to compare the string using the equals method as == compare references, not strings contents.

String attr = td.attr("class");
if (attr.equals("free")) {
    System.out.println("freedom!");
}

answered Jul 01 '13 at 12:14

Jonathan Naguin

Thank you, that worked! When I see it like this, it's logical, but I'm not experienced in Java. – ian Jul 01 '13 at 12:54

1 Answers1