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Nils Garland
18,416 PointsJava variable case
Why is it that when I declare a variable of type String I type it out with a capital S. But when I do Int I have to do it with lower case? Is there any specific reason?
String name = console.readLine("Enter your name: ");
int age = Integer.parseInt(ageAsString);
1 Answer
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherHi there! Essentially, it's because the int is a primitive data type. Java provides support for strings through the use of the java.lang.String class. And because this is all case sensitive you have to use the capitalization specified. Here's some documentation on the primitive data types including information about the String class.
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/datatypes.html
Hope this helps!
Simon Coates
28,694 PointsSimon Coates
28,694 Pointsunsure if it's a convention or a rule, but primitive types are lower case, while object types are Upper case. At the very least, it's a visual clue. I assume you understand pass by value/reference, so can appreciate why being able to see at a glance the object/primitive distinction is a useful when writing code.