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Java

Posted by Geroge Harris
Geroge Harris
1,279 Points

The String variable in Java

Why do String declarations need a capital S for 'String' while 'int' , 'char', 'boolean' types are all ok with lower case?

This is 90% just a moan and 10% out of interest.

3 Answers

Stone Preston
Stone Preston
42,016 Points
Stone Preston
Stone Preston
42,016 Points

int, float, char etc are primitive types, whereas String is a java class. Classes start with capital letters

for a list of primitive types, consult the Java documentation on primitives

for a rundown of primitive types vs classes see this article

Geroge Harris
Geroge Harris
1,279 Points
Geroge Harris
Geroge Harris
1,279 Points

Thank you again Stone now more interested than moaning!!

Geroge Harris
Geroge Harris
1,279 Points
Geroge Harris
Geroge Harris
1,279 Points

It says that int,bool, char are primitive variables while String is class variable. primitive variables are simple and have a max size so they can be easily stored/handled. Whereas Class variables have the possibility of being complex and massive. This potentially effects memory usage where things are stored etc so I should think of String as just a kind of special variable type and put a big S there without moaning.

Stone Preston
Stone Preston
42,016 Points

String as just a kind of special variable type

pretty much. variables of classes are known as objects (the object part of object oriented programming), which opens up a different can of worms. but for now yes you can just know that String is not a primitive type, it is a class and is inherently different. Since its a class its type needs to start with a capital letter (in this case String)