The byte integer type describes integers that are represented in 8 bits; it can accommodate integer values ranging from -128 through 127. As with the other integer types, byte integers are stored as twos-complement values. In a twos-complement all the bits are flipped, from one to to zero and from zero to one, and then the number one is added to the result. The leftmost bit is referred to as the sign bit and all other bits refer to the number's magnitude. This representation is illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The internal representation of positive and negative 8-bit integers consists of sign and magnitude.
Byte integers are most useful for storing small values in an array. The compiler generates bytecode to convert a byte integer value to an integer value before performing a mathematical operation such as addition. Java's byte reserved word identifies the byte integer type in source code.
Short integer
The short integer type describes integers that are represented in 16 bits; it can accommodate integer values ranging from -32,768 to 32,767. It possesses the same internal representation as byte integer, but with more bits to accommodate its larger magnitude. The compiler generates bytecode to convert a short integer value to an integer value before performing a mathematical operation. Java's short reserved word identifies the short integer type in source code.
Integer type
The integer type describes integers that are represented in 32 bits; it can accommodate integer values ranging from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. It possesses the same internal representation as byte integer and short integer, but with more bits to accommodate its larger magnitude. Java's int reserved word identifies the integer type in source code.
Long integer
The long integer type describes integers that are represented in 64 bits; it can accommodate integer values ranging from -263 to 263-1. It possesses the same internal representation as byte integer, short integer, and integer, but with more bits to accommodate its larger magnitude. Java's long reserved word identifies the long integer type in source code.
Floating-point types
Java supports two floating-point types for space and precision reasons. The smaller type is useful in an array context, but cannot accommodate as large a range of values. Although it occupies more space in an array context, the larger type can accommodate a greater range.
The floating-point type describes floating-point values that are represented in 32 bits; it can accommodate floating-point values ranging from approximately +/-1.18x10-38 to approximately +/-3.4x1038. It is represented in IEEE 754 format in which the leftmost bit is the sign bit (0 for positive and 1 for negative), the next eight bits hold the exponent, and the final 23 bits hold the mantissa, resulting in about 6-9 decimal digits of precision. Java's float reserved word identifies the floating-point type in source code.
The double precision floating-point type describes floating-point values that are represented in 64 bits; it can accommodate floating-point values ranging from approximately +/-2.23x10-308 to approximately +/-1.8x10308. It is represented in IEEE 754 format in which the leftmost bit is the sign bit (0 for positive and 1 for negative), the next 11 bits hold the exponent, and the final 52 bits hold the mantissa, resulting in about 15-17 decimal digits of precision. Java's double reserved word identifies the double precision floating-point type in source code.
Reference types
A reference type is a type from which objects are created or referenced, where a reference is some kind of pointer to the object. (A reference could be an actual memory address, an index into a table of memory addresses, or something else.) Reference types are also known as user-defined types because they are typically created by language users.
Java developers use the class feature to create reference types. A class is either a placeholder for an application's main() method (see the HelloWorld application in "Learn Java from the ground up" for an example of main()) or various static methods, or it's a template for manufacturing objects, which I demonstrate below:
class Cat
{
String name; // String is a special reference type for describing strings
Cat(String catName)
{
name = catName;
}
String name()
{
return name;
}
}
This class declaration introduces a Cat class for describing felines. Its name field stores the cat's name as a string, its constructor initializes this data member to a cat name, and its name() method returns the cat's name. The following code snippet, which presumably would be located in a main() method, shows how to manufacture a cat and obtain its name:
Cat cat = new Cat("Garfield");
System.out.println(cat.name()); // Output: Garfield
The interface features lets you reference an object without concern for the object's class type. As long as the object's class implements the interface, the object is also considered to be a member of the interface type. Consider the following example, which declares a Shape interface along with Circle and Rectangle classes:
interface Shape
{
void draw();
}
class Circle implements Shape
{
void draw()
{
System.out.println("I am a circle.");
}
}
class Rectangle implements Shape
{
void draw()
{
System.out.println("I am a rectangle.");
}
}
The next code snippet instantiates Circle and Rectangle, assigns their references to Shape variables, and asks them to draw themselves:
Shape shape = new Circle();
shape.draw(); // Output: I am a circle.
shape = new Rectangle();
shape.draw(); // Output: I am a rectangle.
You can use interfaces to abstract commonality from a set of otherwise dissimilar classes. As an example, an inventory interface would extract commonality from goldfish, car, and hammer classes, because each of these items can be inventoried. Interfaces offer considerable power when combined with arrays and loops, which you'll learn about later in this series.
Array types
Array is the last of our three types. An array type is a special reference type that denotes an array, which is a region of memory that stores values in slots that are of equal size and are (typically) contiguous. These values are commonly referred to as elements. The array type is composed of the element type (a primitive type or a reference type) and one or more pairs of square brackets that indicate the number of dimensions (extents) occupied by the array. A single pair of brackets signifies a one-dimensional array (a vector); two pairs of brackets signify a two-dimensional array (a table); three pairs of brackets signify a one-dimensional array of two-dimensional arrays (a vector of tables); and so on. For example, int[] signifies a one-dimensional array (with int as the element type), and String[][] signifies a two-dimensional array (with String as the element type).
Literals: Specifying values in your Java code
Java provides the literals language feature for embedding values in source code. A literal is a value's character representation. Each primitive type is associated with its own set of literals:
The Boolean primitive type is associated with the literals true or false.
The character primitive type is associated with character literals, which often consist of single values placed between single quotes, as in capital letter A ('A'). Alternatively, you could specify an escape sequence or a Unicode escape sequence. Consider each option:
- An escape sequence is a representation for a character that cannot be expressed literally in a character literal or a string literal. An escape sequence begins with a backslash character (
\) and is followed by one of\,',",b,f,n,r, ort. You must always escape a backslash that's to be expressed literally to inform the compiler that it isn't introducing an escape sequence. You must always escape a single quote expressed literally in a character literal to inform the compiler that the single quote isn't ending the character literal. Similarly, you must always escape a double quote expressed literally in a string literal to inform the compiler that the double quote isn't ending the string literal. The other escape sequences are for characters with no symbolic representation:\brepresents a backspace,\frepresents a form feed,\nrepresents a new-line,\rrepresents a carriage return, and\trepresents a horizontal tab. Escape sequences appear between single quotes in a character literal context (e.g.,'\n'). - A Unicode escape sequence is a representation for an arbitrary Unicode character. It consists of a
\uprefix immediately followed by four hexadecimal digits. For example,\u0041represents capital letter A, and\u3043represents a Hiragana letter. Unicode escape sequences appear between single quotes in a character literal context (e.g.,'\u3043').
The integer types are associated with literals consisting of sequences of digits, with optionally embedded underscore characters. By default, an integer literal is assigned the integer (int) type. You must suffix the literal with capital letter L (or lowercase letter l, which might be confused with digit 1) to represent a long integer value. Integer literals can be specified in binary, decimal, hexadecimal, and octal formats:
- Binary consists of the numbers zero and one and is prefixed with
0bor0B. Example:0b01111010. - Decimal consists the numbers zero through nine and has no prefix. Example:
2200. - Hexadecimal consists of the numbers zero through nine, lowercase letters a through f, and uppercase letters A through F. This literal is prefixed with
0xor0X. Example:0xAF. - Octal consists of the numbers zero through seven and is prefixed with
0. Example:077.
To improve legibility, you can insert underscore characters between digits; for example, 1234_5678_9012_3456L. You cannot specify a leading underscore, as in _1234, because the compiler would assume that an identifier was being specified. You also cannot specify a trailing underscore.
The floating-point types are associated with literals consisting of a non-fractional part, a decimal point, a fractional part, an optional exponent, and either optional double precision floating-point type letter D or d, or a floating-point type letter F or f. Examples of floating-point literals include 2.7818, 0.8D, -57.2E+31, and 3.14159f. If neither D, d, F, nor f is present, the type defaults to double precision floating-point. If D or d is present, the type is also double precision floating-point. However, if F or f is specified, the type is floating-point.
For floating-point types you can insert underscore characters between digits; for example, 1.234_567e+56. You cannot specify a leading underscore (e.g., _1.234) because the compiler would assume that an identifier was being specified. You also cannot specify a trailing underscore (e.g., 1.5_), an underscore on either side of the decimal point (e.g., 2_.3 or 2._3), an underscore before or after the e or E character when an exponent is present (e.g., 1.2_e3 or 1.2E_3), and an underscore on either side of any + or - character that follows e or E (e.g., 2.8e_+2 or 3.1E-_5).
Variables: Storing values in your Java code
Applications manipulate values that are stored in memory. Java's variables features symbolically represents memory in source code. A variable is a named memory location that stores a value of some type. For a primitive type, the value is stored directly in the variable. For a variable of reference type, a reference is stored in the variable and the object referred to by the reference is stored elsewhere. Variables that store references are often called reference variables.