Variables and Strings in Java 




Variable is a container used to store a value and it behaves like the value stored in it.

To store a variable, you will need an allocation in memory where the variable will be stored and this can be done using data types that will store the variable.

Below are the Different Data types and their values

DATA TYPE                            SIZE                         REFERENCE                VALUE

byte                              1 bit                    primitive             -128 to 127

short                            2 bytes               primitive              -32K to32K

int                                 4 bytes               primitive                -2B to 2B

long                              8 bytes               primitive

boolean                      1 bit                    primitive           true or false

 

float                             4 bytes               primitive           fractional numbers up to

6 digits

double                        8 bytes               primitive           fractional numbers up

to 15 digits

char                              2 bytes               primitive      single characters eg. A, B, 

String                           varies                 Reference                   sequence of

Characters

 

The highlighted variables are the most used ones and are those we are going to tackle in this lesson.

Example

String name = "Nate";

 

Nate is stored in the variable name. Whenever you need to refer to Nate, You don’t have to write is but rather just by using name gives you the value stored in it.

More Examples

 
//datatype  variable name   value
String name = "Nate";   // This prints out a String
int age = 18;           // This prints an integer value
long salary = 39_201_292_131L// This prints out integer value that a normal int can't store
double height = 12.232;         // Double stores decimals
float weight =  75.34F;
boolean
isMale = true;
char
sign = '@';            // Stores single characters
 

 

// How to print out the values of the variables stored above

System.out.println(name);
System.out.println(age);
System.out.println(salary);
System.out.println(height);
System.out.println(weight);
System.out.println(isMale);
System.out.println(sign);

 

Variables stored can be later changed without changing the original value

Example

String name = "Nate";
name = "Mike";
System.out.println(name);

 

Output

 
Mike
 

 

Declaration and Initialization of Variables in Java.

A variable can be declared without giving it any value. This process is called declaration. A value can be later assigned to it in the course of writing your program.

Example:

 
String name;
name = "Mike";
 

 

 

On the other hand, when a value is passed immediately after declaring a variable, it is called initialization. The value can be later changed in the course of writing your program.

Example

 
String name = "Mike";

 

“Move on to the next lesson with more on Strings and how it differs from other datatypes.

An exercise will be given and your solution will be marked after solving it to make you more conversant in what you are learning.”

Strings

Strings are reference datatypes because they have abstract method stored in them that can be operated on the variable the store.

Example

String name = "John";
String lastName = "Mike";

 

System.out.println(name.toUpperCase());
System.out.println(name.toLowerCase());
System.out.println(name.charAt(3));
System.out.println(name.concat(lastName));
System.out.println("Hello " +name);
System.out.println("You are " + age + " years old");
System.out.println("You weigh " +weight+ " and you are " + height+ " tall");
System.out.println("you are" + weight + height);
// Concatenation