Java stores objects by reference... the reference just happens to be the value when we use primitives.
int
is a primitive so
a == c
=> true
a == b
=> true
b == c
=> true
With Strings the situation is slightly different. String
s are effectively char arrays: char[]
but are not considered primitive types in Java.. so:
"str1" == "str1"
=> false
since you're comparing two object references now.
For this reason the Object
class has the equals()
method which allows you to compare reference objects (non-primitives) via something other than the object reference ID. The String
(a subclass of Object.class) class overrides the equals
method.
In your example (above) you say:
So why is ab==abc
false
. They are both pointing to same address.
This is incorrect. ab
points to String that is "meowdeal" and abc
points to a String that is also "meowdeal"... but crucially they are two distinct instances. Therefore:
ab==abc
=> false
- here your checking for reference equality - are they the same object reference (no they are not)
ab.equals(abc)
=> true
- here you're checking for string equality (is ab
's "meowdeal"
the same as abc
's "meowdeal"
- yes it is.
This is one of those curveball interview questions you might get from time to time so worth being aware of.