Tuesday, January 31, 2017

String valueOf() pitfalls

What will the console output of this program?


public class TestStringValueOf {

public static void main(String[] args) {
testStringValueOfChar();
}


      public static void testStringValueOfChar() {
char a = 'a';
String str1 = String.valueOf(a);
String str2 = String.valueOf(a);
System.out.println("char comparison:" + (str1 == str2));


double d = 12.3d;
String str3 = String.valueOf(d);
String str4 = String.valueOf(d);
System.out.println("double comparison:" + (str3 == str4));


boolean b = false;
String str5 = String.valueOf(b);
String str6 = String.valueOf(b);
System.out.println("boolean comparison:" + (str5 == str6));


Object o = null;
String str7 = String.valueOf(o);
String str8 = String.valueOf(o);
System.out.println("Object null comparison:" + (str7 == str8));


Object notNull = new Object();
String str9 = String.valueOf(notNull);
String str10 = String.valueOf(notNull);
System.out.println("Object Not null comparison:" + (str9 == str10));
  }
}

see the end of this article for the output.

Overall, the string comparison should use 'equals' no matter how String objects were created.


-------console output----------

char comparison:false
double comparison:false
boolean comparison:true
Object null comparison:true
Object Not null comparison:false