In Java, variables are used to store data values that can be manipulated and accessed throughout a program. Java is a statically-typed language, which means that each variable must have a declared data type. Here are some common data types and variable declarations in Java:
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Primitive Data Types:
- byte: 8-bit integer (range: -128 to 127)
- short: 16-bit integer (range: -32,768 to 32,767)
- int: 32-bit integer (range: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647)
- long: 64-bit integer (range: -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807)
- float: 32-bit floating-point number (e.g., 3.14f)
- double: 64-bit floating-point number (e.g., 3.14)
- boolean: true or false
- char: single 16-bit Unicode character (e.g., ‘a’, ‘1’, ‘$’)
Example declarations:
int age = 25; double pi = 3.1416; boolean isTrue = true; char grade = 'A';
2. Reference Data Types:
- String: a sequence of characters (e.g., “Hello, World!”)
- Arrays: a collection of elements of the same type
- Classes: user-defined types
Example declarations:
String name = "John Doe"; int[] numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; MyClass obj = new MyClass();
3. Other Data Types:
- Enums: a special data type that represents a group of constants
- Wrapper classes: provide a way to use primitive types as objects (e.g., Integer, Boolean, Character)
Example declarations:
enum Day {MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY} Integer count = 10; Boolean isValid = false;
It’s important to note that Java is a strongly-typed language, meaning that variables must be declared with their appropriate types and cannot be used interchangeably without explicit conversions.