Java language has many methods for manipulating strings. The sooner you understand these methods, the more effectively you can handle strings in your Java applications. It provides a multitude of methods through which to perform operations on strings. Understanding these methods is the key to effective string handling. This article explains a variety of methods in Java String Methods and shows examples of those methods.
What is a String in Java?
A string is a sequence of characters that shows text. The class String belongs to the package “Java.lang” and is one of the most common types of data used to handle text in Java programs. This class contains many methods through which text may be manipulated and interrogated; hence, it provides the textual data process efficiency.
Using char[] array in Java
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
char ch[] = { 'N','E','E','R','A','J'} ;
System.out.println(ch) ;
}
}
Output
NEERAJ
Using String class in Java
The following program demonstrates the use of String in Java:
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String name ="Neeraj Kumar " ;
System.out.println(name) ;
}
}
Output
NEERAJ
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How to Create a String Object?
There are two ways to make the String Object:
Using String Literal
Using new keyword
String Literal and String Constant Pool
In computer science, a literal is a notation representing a value. A Java string literal can be created and represented using double quotes. All of the content/characters can be added between the double quotes.
The following program demonstrates the String Literal:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String value = "Neeraj Kumar" ;
System.out.println(value);
}
}
Output
Neeraj Kumar
String Constant Pool
The String Constant Pool, also known as the String Intern Pool, is a special memory area in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It stores string literals and provides memory efficiency and performance optimization for strings.
Example
String str1 = “Neeraj Kumar”;
String str2 = “String 2 stored here”;
In the above example, it is the only string object created in the string constant pool when two strings are created using the string literal method.
By New Keyword
The ‘new’ keyword in Java creates objects dynamically at runtime when you use the ‘new’ operator. This operator allocates memory for a new object or array and returns a reference to that memory location. Unlike string literals, these objects allocate separate memory space in the heap, regardless of whether the same value already exists in the heap or not.
Syntax
String stringName = new String(“string_value”);
The following program demonstrates the new keyword.
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String ob = new String("Neeraj Kumar") ;
System.out.println(ob) ;
}
}
Output
Neeraj Kumar
Example of Strings in Java
The following program demonstrates the strings in Java language.
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
System.out.println("Strings in Java") ;
String val1 = "Personal Value" ;
System.out.println(val1);
String val2 = new String("Water Computer") ;
System.out.println(val2) ;
String val3 = val1 + val2 ;
System.out.println(val3) ;
}
}
Output
Strings in Java
Personal Value
Water Computer
Personal ValueWater Computer
Methods of Java Strings
● int length() Method
The length() method of string in Java. It is used to get the string length in the Java program.
Syntax:
stringName.length()
The following program demonstrates the length() method:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String genre = "action" ;
int genreLength = genre.length();
System.out.println(genreLength);
}
}
Output
6
● char charAt(int index) Method
The charAt() method retrieves a character from a string at a specific position.It is particularly useful when accessing individual characters within a string for comparison, analysis, or processing.
The following program demonstrates the charAt(int index) Method:
Program
class Main2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String text = "Hello, World!";
char firstChar = text.charAt(0);
System.out.println("Character at index 0: " + firstChar);
char eighthChar = text.charAt(7);
System.out.println("Character at index 7: " + eighthChar);
try {
char invalidChar = text.charAt(20); }
catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println("Invalid index! " + e.getMessage());
}
}
}
Output
Character at index 0: H
Character at index 7: W
Invalid index! String index out of range: 20
● String concat(String string1) Method
The ‘concat()’ method joins two strings together. It is a powerful method that connects one string to the end of another, resulting in a new string.
Method Signature
public String concat(String str1)
The following program demonstrates the String concat() Method:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String str1 = "Hello" ;
String str2 = "World" ;
String result = str1.concat(" "+ str2) ;
System.out.println(result);
}
}
Output
Hello World
● String substring(int beginIndex, int index[optional]) method
The substring() method extracts the string portion from the substring. This method is useful when you are working on the specific parts of a string rather than the entire string.
The following program demonstrates the substring() method in Java:
Program
class Main2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String text = "Hello, World!";
String subText1 = text.substring(7);
System.out.println("Substring from index 7: " + subText1);
String subText2 = text.substring(0, 5);
System.out.println("Substring from index 0 to 5: " + subText2);
try {
String validText = text.substring(7, 20);
} catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println("Error Problem");
}
}
}
Output
Substring from index 7: World!
Substring from index 0 to 5: Hello
Invalid index! String index out of range: 20
● String.equals(String anotherString) method
The equals() method compares two strings for equality. It returns true if the strings are identical; otherwise, it returns false. If the specified string is ‘null’ , the method will return ‘false’, as a non-null string cannot be equal to ‘null’.
Method Signature
public boolean equals(Object anotherString)
The following program demonstrates the String.equals() method:
The contains() method in Java checks if a string contains a specified substring. If the string contains the specific string, It will return true. Otherwise, it will return false.
The following program demonstrates the String contains method:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String str1 = "Welcome to the Java language" ;
String substring = "Java language" ;
String substring2 = "Python language" ;
if(str1.contains(substring)){
System.out.println("The string contains the substring "+substring) ;
}else{
System.out.println("This string does not contain the substring "+substring);
}
if(str1.contains(substring2)){
System.out.println("The string contains the substring "+substring2);
}else{
System.out.println("The string does not contain the substring "+substring2);
}
}
}
Output
This string does not contain the substring Java language
The string does not contain the substring Python language
● String join() method
The ‘join()’ method in Java concatenates the elements of a sequence(like an array or an iterable) into a single string, with each element separated by a specified delimiter. This method was introduced in Java 8.
The following program demonstrates the String join() method:
Joined String Array: Hello World Java
Joined Languages with Comma: Java, Python, C++
Joined Names with Pipe: Alice | Bob | Charlie
Joined Empty Array: ''
● String toUpperCase() Method
The toUpperCase() method is a string method in Java. It converts the string’s lowercase characters to uppercase (or capital) characters.
The following program demonstrates the toUpperCase() Method:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String name = "holidaycomputer" ;
System.out.println(name.toUpperCase());
}
}
Output
HOLIDAYCOMPUTER
● String toLowerCase() Method
The ‘toLowerCase()” method converts all the characters into their lowercase equivalents. It is part of the ‘String’ class and It is very useful for case-insensitive comparison or standardizing text.
The following program demonstrates the “toLowerString()” method:
Program
class Main{
public static void main(String args[]){
String name = "NEERAJKUMAR" ;
System.out.println(name.toLowerCase());
}
}
Output
neerajkumar
● String trim() Method
The string trim() method in Java trims or removes the extra white space from the specified string at both ends.
The following program demonstrates the trim() method:
Program
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str = " Hello World! ";
String trimmedStr = str.trim();
System.out.println("Original: '" + str + "'");
System.out.println("Trimmed: '" + trimmedStr + "'");
}
}
The replace() method in Java is a string manipulation tool that allows you to replace occurrences of a specific character or sequences of characters in a string with another character or sequence. This method is particularly useful when modifying dynamic strings during runtime.
The following program demonstrates the replace() method:
To handle strings and process data efficiently, like string manipulation, we must know Java’s methods. These methods (e.g., charAt(), concat, etc.) allow developers to carry out tasks on strings, such as accessing a character, concatenating multiple strings together, extracting part of the string, or replacing one letter or sequence in another. Some of these techniques are the backbone for many text-based applications. Knowing how they are used can lead to the writing of cleaner and more concise Java source code.
FAQs
How does the ‘concat()’ method work?
The concat() method in string adds the specified string to the end of the current string in the Java program. It is essential to combine two strings into one.
What does the ‘trim()’ method do?
The ‘trim()’ method removes spaces from a string. It can remove spaces, tabs, and other whitespace characters.
How can you split a string into an array of substrings?
The split(String regex)’ method splits the string into an array of substrings based on the specified regular expression delimiter.
What does the ‘contains()’ method do in Java?
The “contains()” method checks if the given string of characters is present within a string or a collection. If it is, then return true; otherwise, return false.
How do I replace characters or substrings in a string?
The replace(char oldChar, char newChar) for example “hello”.replace(‘1’, ‘x’) returns ‘hexxo’.
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