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java.lang

Class String
java.lang.Object
java.lang.String

All Implemented Interfaces:

CharSequence, Comparable, Serializable

public final class String

extends Object
implements Serializable, Comparable, CharSequence

The String class represents character strings. All string literals in Java programs, such as "abc", are
implemented as instances of this class.

Strings are constant; their values cannot be changed after they are created. String buffers support mutable
strings. Because String objects are immutable they can be shared. For example:

String str = "abc";

is equivalent to:

char data[] = {'a', 'b', 'c'};

String str = new String(data);

Here are some more examples of how strings can be used:

System.out.println("abc");
String cde = "cde";
System.out.println("abc" + cde);
String c = "abc".substring(2,3);
String d = cde.substring(1, 2);

The class String includes methods for examining individual characters of the sequence, for comparing
strings, for searching strings, for extracting substrings, and for creating a copy of a string with all characters
translated to uppercase or to lowercase. Case mapping relies heavily on the information provided by the
Unicode Consortium's Unicode 3.0 specification. The specification's UnicodeData.txt and SpecialCasing.txt
files are used extensively to provide case mapping.

The Java language provides special support for the string concatenation operator ( + ), and for conversion of
other objects to strings. String concatenation is implemented through the StringBuffer class and its
append method. String conversions are implemented through the method toString, defined by Object
and inherited by all classes in Java. For additional information on string concatenation and conversion, see
Gosling, Joy, and Steele, The Java Language Specification.

Unless otherwise noted, passing a null argument to a constructor or method in this class will cause a
NullPointerException to be thrown.

Since:
JDK1.0
See Also:
Object.toString(), StringBuffer, StringBuffer.append(boolean),
StringBuffer.append(char), StringBuffer.append(char[]),
StringBuffer.append(char[], int, int), StringBuffer.append(double),
StringBuffer.append(float), StringBuffer.append(int), StringBuffer.append(long),
StringBuffer.append(java.lang.Object), StringBuffer.append(java.lang.String),
Charset, Serialized Form

Field Summary
static Comparator CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER
A Comparator that orders String objects as by compareToIgnoreCase.

Constructor Summary
String()
Initializes a newly created String object so that it represents an empty character sequence.
String(byte[] bytes)
Constructs a new String by decoding the specified array of bytes using the platform's default
charset.
String(byte[] ascii, int hibyte)
Deprecated. This method does not properly convert bytes into characters. As of JDK 1.1, the
preferred way to do this is via the String constructors that take a charset name or that use the platform's
default charset.
String(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length)
Constructs a new String by decoding the specified subarray of bytes using the platform's default
charset.
String(byte[] ascii, int hibyte, int offset, int count)
Deprecated. This method does not properly convert bytes into characters. As of JDK 1.1, the
preferred way to do this is via the String constructors that take a charset name or that use the platform's
default charset.
String(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length, String charsetName)
Constructs a new String by decoding the specified subarray of bytes using the specified charset.
String(byte[] bytes, String charsetName)
Constructs a new String by decoding the specified array of bytes using the specified charset.
String(char[] value)
Allocates a new String so that it represents the sequence of characters currently contained in the
character array argument.
String(char[] value, int offset, int count)
Allocates a new String that contains characters from a subarray of the character array argument.
String(String original)
Initializes a newly created String object so that it represents the same sequence of characters as the
argument; in other words, the newly created string is a copy of the argument string.
String(StringBuffer buffer)
Allocates a new string that contains the sequence of characters currently contained in the string
buffer argument.

Method Summary
char charAt(int index)
Returns the character at the specified index.
int compareTo(Object o)
Compares this String to another Object.
int compareTo(String anotherString)
Compares two strings lexicographically.
int compareToIgnoreCase(String str)
Compares two strings lexicographically, ignoring case differences.
String concat(String str)
Concatenates the specified string to the end of this string.
boolean contentEquals(StringBuffer sb)
Returns true if and only if this String represents the same sequence of characters
as the specified StringBuffer.
static String copyValueOf(char[] data)
Returns a String that represents the character sequence in the array specified.
static String copyValueOf(char[] data, int offset, int count)
Returns a String that represents the character sequence in the array specified.
boolean endsWith(String suffix)
Tests if this string ends with the specified suffix.
boolean equals(Object anObject)
Compares this string to the specified object.
boolean equalsIgnoreCase(String anotherString)
Compares this String to another String, ignoring case considerations.
byte[] getBytes()
Encodes this String into a sequence of bytes using the platform's default charset,
storing the result into a new byte array.
void getBytes(int srcBegin, int srcEnd, byte[] dst, int dstBegin)
Deprecated. This method does not properly convert characters into bytes. As of
JDK 1.1, the preferred way to do this is via the the getBytes() method, which uses the
platform's default charset.

byte[] getBytes(String charsetName)

Encodes this String into a sequence of bytes using the named charset, storing the
 result into a new byte array.
void getChars(int srcBegin, int srcEnd, char[] dst, int dstBegin)
Copies characters from this string into the destination character array.
int hashCode()
Returns a hash code for this string.
int indexOf(int ch)
Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified character.
int indexOf(int ch, int fromIndex)
Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified character,
starting the search at the specified index.
int indexOf(String str)
Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring.
int indexOf(String str, int fromIndex)
Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring,
starting at the specified index.
String intern()
Returns a canonical representation for the string object.
int lastIndexOf(int ch)
Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified character.
int lastIndexOf(int ch, int fromIndex)
Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified character,
searching backward starting at the specified index.
int lastIndexOf(String str)
Returns the index within this string of the rightmost occurrence of the specified
substring.
int lastIndexOf(String str, int fromIndex)
Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified substring,
searching backward starting at the specified index.
int length()
Returns the length of this string.
boolean matches(String regex)
Tells whether or not this string matches the given regular expression.
boolean regionMatches(boolean ignoreCase, int toffset, String other,
int ooffset, int len)
Tests if two string regions are equal.
boolean regionMatches(int toffset, String other, int ooffset, int len)
Tests if two string regions are equal.
String replace(char oldChar, char newChar)
Returns a new string resulting from replacing all occurrences of oldChar in this
string with newChar.
String replaceAll(String regex, String replacement)
Replaces each substring of this string that matches the given regular expression with
the given replacement.
String
 String
replaceFirst(String regex, String replacement)
Replaces the first substring of this string that matches the given regular expression
with the given replacement.
String[] split(String regex)
Splits this string around matches of the given regular expression.
String[] split(String regex, int limit)
Splits this string around matches of the given regular expression.
boolean startsWith(String prefix)
Tests if this string starts with the specified prefix.
boolean startsWith(String prefix, int toffset)
Tests if this string starts with the specified prefix beginning a specified index.
CharSequence subSequence(int beginIndex, int endIndex)
Returns a new character sequence that is a subsequence of this sequence.
String substring(int beginIndex)
Returns a new string that is a substring of this string.
String substring(int beginIndex, int endIndex)
Returns a new string that is a substring of this string.
char[] toCharArray()
Converts this string to a new character array.
String toLowerCase()
Converts all of the characters in this String to lower case using the rules of the
default locale.
String toLowerCase(Locale locale)
Converts all of the characters in this String to lower case using the rules of the
given Locale.
String toString()
This object (which is already a string!) is itself returned.
String toUpperCase()
Converts all of the characters in this String to upper case using the rules of the
default locale.
String toUpperCase(Locale locale)
Converts all of the characters in this String to upper case using the rules of the
given Locale.
String trim()
Returns a copy of the string, with leading and trailing whitespace omitted.
static String valueOf(boolean b)
Returns the string representation of the boolean argument.
static String valueOf(char c)
Returns the string representation of the char argument.
static String valueOf(char[] data)
Returns the string representation of the char array argument.
static String valueOf(char[] data, int offset, int count)
Returns the string representation of a specific subarray of the char array argument.
static String valueOf(double d)
Returns the string representation of the double argument.
static String valueOf(float f)
Returns the string representation of the float argument.
static String valueOf(int i)
Returns the string representation of the int argument.
static String valueOf(long l)
Returns the string representation of the long argument.
static String valueOf(Object obj)
Returns the string representation of the Object argument.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail
CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER
public static final Comparator CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER

A Comparator that orders String objects as by compareToIgnoreCase. This comparator is

serializable.

Note that this Comparator does not take locale into account, and will result in an unsatisfactory
ordering for certain locales. The java.text package provides Collators to allow locale-sensitive
ordering.

Since:
1.2
See Also:
Collator.compare(String, String)

Constructor Detail
String
public String()

Initializes a newly created String object so that it represents an empty character sequence. Note that
use of this constructor is unnecessary since Strings are immutable.

String
public String(String original)
 Initializes a newly created String object so that it represents the same sequence of characters as the
argument; in other words, the newly created string is a copy of the argument string. Unless an explicit
copy of original is needed, use of this constructor is unnecessary since Strings are immutable.

Parameters:
original - a String.

String
public String(char[] value)

Allocates a new String so that it represents the sequence of characters currently contained in the
character array argument. The contents of the character array are copied; subsequent modification of
the character array does not affect the newly created string.

Parameters:
value - the initial value of the string.

String
public String(char[] value,
int offset,
int count)

Allocates a new String that contains characters from a subarray of the character array argument. The
offset argument is the index of the first character of the subarray and the count argument specifies
the length of the subarray. The contents of the subarray are copied; subsequent modification of the
character array does not affect the newly created string.

Parameters:
value - array that is the source of characters.
offset - the initial offset.
count - the length.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the offset and count arguments index characters outside the
bounds of the value array.

String
public String(byte[] ascii,
int hibyte,
int offset,
int count)

Deprecated. This method does not properly convert bytes into characters. As of JDK 1.1, the
preferred way to do this is via the String constructors that take a charset name or that use the
platform's default charset.

Allocates a new String constructed from a subarray of an array of 8-bit integer values.
 The offset argument is the index of the first byte of the subarray, and the count argument specifies
the length of the subarray.

Each byte in the subarray is converted to a char as specified in the method above.

Parameters:
ascii - the bytes to be converted to characters.
hibyte - the top 8 bits of each 16-bit Unicode character.
offset - the initial offset.
count - the length.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the offset or count argument is invalid.
See Also:
String(byte[], int), String(byte[], int, int, java.lang.String), String(byte[],
int, int), String(byte[], java.lang.String), String(byte[])

String
public String(byte[] ascii,
int hibyte)

Deprecated. This method does not properly convert bytes into characters. As of JDK 1.1, the
preferred way to do this is via the String constructors that take a charset name or that use the
platform's default charset.

Allocates a new String containing characters constructed from an array of 8-bit integer values. Each
character cin the resulting string is constructed from the corresponding component b in the byte array
such that:

c == (char)(((hibyte & 0xff) << 8)

| (b & 0xff))

Parameters:
ascii - the bytes to be converted to characters.
hibyte - the top 8 bits of each 16-bit Unicode character.
See Also:
String(byte[], int, int, java.lang.String), String(byte[], int, int),
String(byte[], java.lang.String), String(byte[])

String
public String(byte[] bytes,
int offset,
int length,
String charsetName)
throws UnsupportedEncodingException

Constructs a new String by decoding the specified subarray of bytes using the specified charset. The
length of the new String is a function of the charset, and hence may not be equal to the length of the
subarray.
 subarray.
The behavior of this constructor when the given bytes are not valid in the given charset is
unspecified. The CharsetDecoder class should be used when more control over the decoding
process is required.

Parameters:
bytes - the bytes to be decoded into characters
offset - the index of the first byte to decode
length - the number of bytes to decode
charsetName - the name of a supported charset
Throws:
UnsupportedEncodingException - if the named charset is not supported
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the offset and length arguments index characters outside the
bounds of the bytes array
Since:
JDK1.1

String
public String(byte[] bytes,
String charsetName)
throws UnsupportedEncodingException

Constructs a new String by decoding the specified array of bytes using the specified charset. The
length of the new String is a function of the charset, and hence may not be equal to the length of the
byte array.

The behavior of this constructor when the given bytes are not valid in the given charset is
unspecified. The CharsetDecoder class should be used when more control over the decoding
process is required.

Parameters:
bytes - the bytes to be decoded into characters
charsetName - the name of a supported charset
Throws:
UnsupportedEncodingException - If the named charset is not supported
Since:
JDK1.1

String
public String(byte[] bytes,
int offset,
int length)

Constructs a new String by decoding the specified subarray of bytes using the platform's default
charset. The length of the new String is a function of the charset, and hence may not be equal to the
length of the subarray.

The behavior of this constructor when the given bytes are not valid in the default charset is
unspecified. The CharsetDecoder class should be used when more control over the decoding
 unspecified. The CharsetDecoder class should be used when more control over the decoding
process is required.

Parameters:
bytes - the bytes to be decoded into characters
offset - the index of the first byte to decode
length - the number of bytes to decode
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the offset and the length arguments index characters outside
the bounds of the bytes array
Since:
JDK1.1

String
public String(byte[] bytes)

Constructs a new String by decoding the specified array of bytes using the platform's default
charset. The length of the new String is a function of the charset, and hence may not be equal to the
length of the byte array.

The behavior of this constructor when the given bytes are not valid in the default charset is
unspecified. The CharsetDecoder class should be used when more control over the decoding
process is required.

Parameters:
bytes - the bytes to be decoded into characters
Since:
JDK1.1

String
public String(StringBuffer buffer)

Allocates a new string that contains the sequence of characters currently contained in the string buffer
argument. The contents of the string buffer are copied; subsequent modification of the string buffer
does not affect the newly created string.

Parameters:
buffer - a StringBuffer.

Method Detail
length
public int length()

Returns the length of this string. The length is equal to the number of 16-bit Unicode characters in the
string.
 Specified by:
length in interface CharSequence

Returns:
the length of the sequence of characters represented by this object.

charAt
public char charAt(int index)

Returns the character at the specified index. An index ranges from 0 to length() - 1. The first
character of the sequence is at index 0, the next at index 1, and so on, as for array indexing.

Specified by:
charAt in interface CharSequence

Parameters:
index - the index of the character.
Returns:
the character at the specified index of this string. The first character is at index 0.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the index argument is negative or not less than the length
of this string.

getChars
public void getChars(int srcBegin,
int srcEnd,
char[] dst,
int dstBegin)

Copies characters from this string into the destination character array.

The first character to be copied is at index srcBegin; the last character to be copied is at index
srcEnd-1 (thus the total number of characters to be copied is srcEnd-srcBegin). The characters are
copied into the subarray of dst starting at index dstBegin and ending at index:

dstbegin + (srcEnd-srcBegin) - 1

Parameters:
srcBegin - index of the first character in the string to copy.
srcEnd - index after the last character in the string to copy.
dst - the destination array.
dstBegin - the start offset in the destination array.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - If any of the following is true:

srcBegin is negative.
srcBegin is greater than srcEnd
 srcEnd is greater than the length of this string
dstBegin is negative
dstBegin+(srcEnd-srcBegin) is larger than dst.length

getBytes
public void getBytes(int srcBegin,
int srcEnd,
byte[] dst,
int dstBegin)

Deprecated. This method does not properly convert characters into bytes. As of JDK 1.1, the
preferred way to do this is via the the getBytes() method, which uses the platform's default charset.

Copies characters from this string into the destination byte array. Each byte receives the 8 low-order
bits of the corresponding character. The eight high-order bits of each character are not copied and do
not participate in the transfer in any way.

The first character to be copied is at index srcBegin; the last character to be copied is at index
srcEnd-1. The total number of characters to be copied is srcEnd-srcBegin. The characters,
converted to bytes, are copied into the subarray of dst starting at index dstBegin and ending at
index:

dstbegin + (srcEnd-srcBegin) - 1

Parameters:
srcBegin - index of the first character in the string to copy.
srcEnd - index after the last character in the string to copy.
dst - the destination array.
dstBegin - the start offset in the destination array.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if any of the following is true:

srcBegin is negative
srcBegin is greater than srcEnd
srcEnd is greater than the length of this String
dstBegin is negative
dstBegin+(srcEnd-srcBegin) is larger than dst.length

getBytes
public byte[] getBytes(String charsetName)
throws UnsupportedEncodingException

Encodes this String into a sequence of bytes using the named charset, storing the result into a new
byte array.

The behavior of this method when this string cannot be encoded in the given charset is unspecified.
The CharsetEncoder class should be used when more control over the encoding process is required.
 Parameters:
charsetName - the name of a supported charset
Returns:
The resultant byte array
Throws:
UnsupportedEncodingException - If the named charset is not supported
Since:
JDK1.1

getBytes
public byte[] getBytes()

Encodes this String into a sequence of bytes using the platform's default charset, storing the result
into a new byte array.

The behavior of this method when this string cannot be encoded in the default charset is unspecified.
The CharsetEncoder class should be used when more control over the encoding process is required.

Returns:
The resultant byte array
Since:
JDK1.1

equals
public boolean equals(Object anObject)

Compares this string to the specified object. The result is true if and only if the argument is not null
and is a String object that represents the same sequence of characters as this object.

Overrides:
equals in class Object

Parameters:
anObject - the object to compare this String against.
Returns:
true if the String are equal; false otherwise.
See Also:
compareTo(java.lang.String), equalsIgnoreCase(java.lang.String)

contentEquals
public boolean contentEquals(StringBuffer sb)

Returns true if and only if this String represents the same sequence of characters as the specified
StringBuffer.
 Parameters:
sb - the StringBuffer to compare to.
Returns:
true if and only if this String represents the same sequence of characters as the specified
StringBuffer, otherwise false.
Since:
1.4

equalsIgnoreCase
public boolean equalsIgnoreCase(String anotherString)

Compares this String to another String, ignoring case considerations. Two strings are considered
equal ignoring case if they are of the same length, and corresponding characters in the two strings are
equal ignoring case.

Two characters c1 and c2 are considered the same, ignoring case if at least one of the following is
true:

The two characters are the same (as compared by the == operator).
Applying the method Character.toUpperCase(char) to each character produces the same
result.
Applying the method Character.toLowerCase(char) to each character produces the same
result.

Parameters:
anotherString - the String to compare this String against.
Returns:
true if the argument is not null and the Strings are equal, ignoring case; false otherwise.
See Also:
equals(Object), Character.toLowerCase(char), Character.toUpperCase(char)

compareTo
public int compareTo(String anotherString)

Compares two strings lexicographically. The comparison is based on the Unicode value of each
character in the strings. The character sequence represented by this String object is compared
lexicographically to the character sequence represented by the argument string. The result is a
negative integer if this String object lexicographically precedes the argument string. The result is a
positive integer if this String object lexicographically follows the argument string. The result is zero
if the strings are equal; compareTo returns 0 exactly when the equals(Object) method would return
true.

This is the definition of lexicographic ordering. If two strings are different, then either they have
different characters at some index that is a valid index for both strings, or their lengths are different, or
both. If they have different characters at one or more index positions, let k be the smallest such index;
then the string whose character at position k has the smaller value, as determined by using the <
operator, lexicographically precedes the other string. In this case, compareTo returns the difference of
 operator, lexicographically precedes the other string. In this case, returns the difference of
the two character values at position k in the two string -- that is, the value:

this.charAt(k)-anotherString.charAt(k)

If there is no index position at which they differ, then the shorter string lexicographically precedes the
longer string. In this case, compareTo returns the difference of the lengths of the strings -- that is, the
value:

this.length()-anotherString.length()

Parameters:
anotherString - the String to be compared.
Returns:
the value 0 if the argument string is equal to this string; a value less than 0 if this string is
lexicographically less than the string argument; and a value greater than 0 if this string is
lexicographically greater than the string argument.

compareTo
public int compareTo(Object o)

Compares this String to another Object. If the Object is a String, this function behaves like
compareTo(String). Otherwise, it throws a ClassCastException (as Strings are comparable only
to other Strings).

Specified by:
compareTo in interface Comparable

Parameters:
o - the Object to be compared.
Returns:
the value 0 if the argument is a string lexicographically equal to this string; a value less than 0 if
the argument is a string lexicographically greater than this string; and a value greater than 0 if
the argument is a string lexicographically less than this string.
Throws:
ClassCastException - if the argument is not a String.
Since:
1.2
See Also:
Comparable

compareToIgnoreCase
public int compareToIgnoreCase(String str)

Compares two strings lexicographically, ignoring case differences. This method returns an integer
whose sign is that of calling compareTo with normalized versions of the strings where case
differences have been eliminated by calling
 differences have been eliminated by calling

Character.toLowerCase(Character.toUpperCase(character)) on each character.

Note that this method does not take locale into account, and will result in an unsatisfactory ordering
for certain locales. The java.text package provides collators to allow locale-sensitive ordering.

Parameters:
str - the String to be compared.
Returns:
a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer as the the specified String is greater than, equal to,
or less than this String, ignoring case considerations.
Since:
1.2
See Also:
Collator.compare(String, String)

regionMatches
public boolean regionMatches(int toffset,
String other,
int ooffset,
int len)

Tests if two string regions are equal.

A substring of this String object is compared to a substring of the argument other. The result is true
if these substrings represent identical character sequences. The substring of this String object to be
compared begins at index toffset and has length len. The substring of other to be compared begins
at index ooffset and has length len. The result is false if and only if at least one of the following is
true:

toffset is negative.
ooffset is negative.
toffset+len is greater than the length of this String object.
ooffset+len is greater than the length of the other argument.
There is some nonnegative integer k less than len such that:
this.charAt(toffset+k) != other.charAt(ooffset+k)

Parameters:
toffset - the starting offset of the subregion in this string.
other - the string argument.
ooffset - the starting offset of the subregion in the string argument.
len - the number of characters to compare.
Returns:
true if the specified subregion of this string exactly matches the specified subregion of the
string argument; false otherwise.

regionMatches
public boolean regionMatches(boolean ignoreCase,
int toffset,
 int toffset,
String other,
int ooffset,
int len)

Tests if two string regions are equal.

A substring of this String object is compared to a substring of the argument other. The result is
true if these substrings represent character sequences that are the same, ignoring case if and only if
ignoreCase is true. The substring of this String object to be compared begins at index toffset and
has length len. The substring of other to be compared begins at index ooffset and has length len.
The result is false if and only if at least one of the following is true:

toffset is negative.
ooffset is negative.
toffset+len is greater than the length of this String object.
ooffset+len is greater than the length of the other argument.
ignoreCase is false and there is some nonnegative integer k less than len such that:

this.charAt(toffset+k) != other.charAt(ooffset+k)

ignoreCase is true and there is some nonnegative integer k less than len such that:

Character.toLowerCase(this.charAt(toffset+k)) !=
Character.toLowerCase(other.charAt(ooffset+k))

and:

Character.toUpperCase(this.charAt(toffset+k)) !=
Character.toUpperCase(other.charAt(ooffset+k))

Parameters:
ignoreCase - if true, ignore case when comparing characters.
toffset - the starting offset of the subregion in this string.
other - the string argument.
ooffset - the starting offset of the subregion in the string argument.
len - the number of characters to compare.
Returns:
true if the specified subregion of this string matches the specified subregion of the string
argument; false otherwise. Whether the matching is exact or case insensitive depends on the
ignoreCase argument.

startsWith
public boolean startsWith(String prefix,
int toffset)

Tests if this string starts with the specified prefix beginning a specified index.

Parameters:
prefix - the prefix.
 prefix - the prefix.
toffset - where to begin looking in the string.
Returns:
true if the character sequence represented by the argument is a prefix of the substring of this
object starting at index toffset; false otherwise. The result is false if toffset is negative
or greater than the length of this String object; otherwise the result is the same as the result of
the expression
this.subString(toffset).startsWith(prefix)

startsWith
public boolean startsWith(String prefix)

Tests if this string starts with the specified prefix.

Parameters:
prefix - the prefix.
Returns:
true if the character sequence represented by the argument is a prefix of the character
sequence represented by this string; false otherwise. Note also that true will be returned if
the argument is an empty string or is equal to this String object as determined by the
equals(Object) method.
Since:
1. 0

endsWith
public boolean endsWith(String suffix)

Tests if this string ends with the specified suffix.

Parameters:
suffix - the suffix.
Returns:
true if the character sequence represented by the argument is a suffix of the character
sequence represented by this object; false otherwise. Note that the result will be true if the
argument is the empty string or is equal to this String object as determined by the
equals(Object) method.

hashCode
public int hashCode()

Returns a hash code for this string. The hash code for a String object is computed as

s[0]*31^(n-1) + s[1]*31^(n-2) + ... + s[n-1]

 using int arithmetic, where s[i] is the ith character of the string, n is the length of the string, and ^
indicates exponentiation. (The hash value of the empty string is zero.)

Overrides:
hashCode in class Object

Returns:
a hash code value for this object.
See Also:
Object.equals(java.lang.Object), Hashtable

indexOf
public int indexOf(int ch)

Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified character. If a character
with value ch occurs in the character sequence represented by this String object, then the index of
the first such occurrence is returned -- that is, the smallest value k such that:

this.charAt(k) == ch

is true. If no such character occurs in this string, then -1 is returned.

Parameters:
ch - a character.
Returns:
the index of the first occurrence of the character in the character sequence represented by this
object, or -1 if the character does not occur.

indexOf
public int indexOf(int ch,
int fromIndex)

Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified character, starting the
search at the specified index.

If a character with value ch occurs in the character sequence represented by this String object at an
index no smaller than fromIndex, then the index of the first such occurrence is returned--that is, the
smallest value k such that:

(this.charAt(k) == ch) && (k >= fromIndex)

is true. If no such character occurs in this string at or after position fromIndex, then -1 is returned.

There is no restriction on the value of fromIndex. If it is negative, it has the same effect as if it were
zero: this entire string may be searched. If it is greater than the length of this string, it has the same
effect as if it were equal to the length of this string: -1 is returned.
 Parameters:
ch - a character.
fromIndex - the index to start the search from.
Returns:
the index of the first occurrence of the character in the character sequence represented by this
object that is greater than or equal to fromIndex, or -1 if the character does not occur.

lastIndexOf
public int lastIndexOf(int ch)

Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified character. That is, the index
returned is the largest value k such that:

this.charAt(k) == ch

is true. The String is searched backwards starting at the last character.

Parameters:
ch - a character.
Returns:
the index of the last occurrence of the character in the character sequence represented by this
object, or -1 if the character does not occur.

lastIndexOf
public int lastIndexOf(int ch,
int fromIndex)

Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified character, searching
backward starting at the specified index. That is, the index returned is the largest value k such that:

this.charAt(k) == ch) && (k <= fromIndex)

is true.

Parameters:
ch - a character.
fromIndex - the index to start the search from. There is no restriction on the value of
fromIndex. If it is greater than or equal to the length of this string, it has the same effect as if it
were equal to one less than the length of this string: this entire string may be searched. If it is
negative, it has the same effect as if it were -1: -1 is returned.
Returns:
the index of the last occurrence of the character in the character sequence represented by this
object that is less than or equal to fromIndex, or -1 if the character does not occur before that
point.
indexOf
public int indexOf(String str)

Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring. The integer
returned is the smallest value k such that:

this.startsWith(str, k)

is true.

Parameters:
str - any string.
Returns:
if the string argument occurs as a substring within this object, then the index of the first
character of the first such substring is returned; if it does not occur as a substring, -1 is
returned.

indexOf
public int indexOf(String str,
int fromIndex)

Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring, starting at the
specified index. The integer returned is the smallest value k for which:

k >= Math.min(fromIndex, str.length()) && this.startsWith(str, k)

If no such value of k exists, then -1 is returned.

Parameters:
str - the substring for which to search.
fromIndex - the index from which to start the search.
Returns:
the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring, starting at the
specified index.

lastIndexOf
public int lastIndexOf(String str)

Returns the index within this string of the rightmost occurrence of the specified substring. The
rightmost empty string "" is considered to occur at the index value this.length(). The returned
index is the largest value k such that

this.startsWith(str, k)

is true.
 is true.
Parameters:
str - the substring to search for.
Returns:
if the string argument occurs one or more times as a substring within this object, then the index
of the first character of the last such substring is returned. If it does not occur as a substring, -1
is returned.

lastIndexOf
public int lastIndexOf(String str,
int fromIndex)

Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified substring, searching
backward starting at the specified index. The integer returned is the largest value k such that:

k <= Math.min(fromIndex, str.length()) && this.startsWith(str, k)

If no such value of k exists, then -1 is returned.

Parameters:
str - the substring to search for.
fromIndex - the index to start the search from.
Returns:
the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified substring.

substring
public String substring(int beginIndex)

Returns a new string that is a substring of this string. The substring begins with the character at the
specified index and extends to the end of this string.

Examples:

"unhappy".substring(2) returns "happy"

"Harbison".substring(3) returns "bison"
"emptiness".substring(9) returns "" (an empty string)

Parameters:
beginIndex - the beginning index, inclusive.
Returns:
the specified substring.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if beginIndex is negative or larger than the length of this
String object.

substring
substring
public String substring(int beginIndex,
int endIndex)

Returns a new string that is a substring of this string. The substring begins at the specified
beginIndex and extends to the character at index endIndex - 1. Thus the length of the substring is
endIndex-beginIndex.

Examples:

"hamburger".substring(4, 8) returns "urge"

"smiles".substring(1, 5) returns "mile"

Parameters:
beginIndex - the beginning index, inclusive.
endIndex - the ending index, exclusive.
Returns:
the specified substring.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if the beginIndex is negative, or endIndex is larger than the
length of this String object, or beginIndex is larger than endIndex.

subSequence
public CharSequence subSequence(int beginIndex,
int endIndex)

Returns a new character sequence that is a subsequence of this sequence.

An invocation of this method of the form

str.subSequence(begin, end)

behaves in exactly the same way as the invocation

str.substring(begin, end)

This method is defined so that the String class can implement the CharSequence interface.

Specified by:
subSequence in interface CharSequence

Parameters:
beginIndex - the begin index, inclusive.
endIndex - the end index, exclusive.
Returns:
the specified subsequence.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if beginIndex or endIndex are negative, if endIndex is
greater than length(), or if beginIndex is greater than startIndex
Since:
1.4
 1.4

concat
public String concat(String str)

Concatenates the specified string to the end of this string.

If the length of the argument string is 0, then this String object is returned. Otherwise, a new String
object is created, representing a character sequence that is the concatenation of the character sequence
represented by this String object and the character sequence represented by the argument string.

Examples:

"cares".concat("s") returns "caress"

"to".concat("get").concat("her") returns "together"

Parameters:
str - the String that is concatenated to the end of this String.
Returns:
a string that represents the concatenation of this object's characters followed by the string
argument's characters.

replace
public String replace(char oldChar,
char newChar)

Returns a new string resulting from replacing all occurrences of oldChar in this string with newChar.

If the character oldChar does not occur in the character sequence represented by this String object,
then a reference to this String object is returned. Otherwise, a new String object is created that
represents a character sequence identical to the character sequence represented by this String object,
except that every occurrence of oldChar is replaced by an occurrence of newChar.

Examples:

"mesquite in your cellar".replace('e', 'o')

returns "mosquito in your collar"
"the war of baronets".replace('r', 'y')
returns "the way of bayonets"
"sparring with a purple porpoise".replace('p', 't')
returns "starring with a turtle tortoise"
"JonL".replace('q', 'x') returns "JonL" (no change)

Parameters:
oldChar - the old character.
newChar - the new character.
Returns:
a string derived from this string by replacing every occurrence of oldChar with newChar.
matches
public boolean matches(String regex)

Tells whether or not this string matches the given regular expression.

An invocation of this method of the form str.matches(regex) yields exactly the same result as the
expression

Pattern.matches(regex, str)

Parameters:
regex - the regular expression to which this string is to be matched
Returns:
true if, and only if, this string matches the given regular expression
Throws:
PatternSyntaxException - if the regular expression's syntax is invalid
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Pattern

replaceFirst
public String replaceFirst(String regex,
String replacement)

Replaces the first substring of this string that matches the given regular expression with the given
replacement.

An invocation of this method of the form str.replaceFirst(regex, repl) yields exactly the same
result as the expression

Pattern.compile(regex).matcher(str).replaceFirst(repl)

Parameters:
regex - the regular expression to which this string is to be matched
Returns:
The resulting String
Throws:
PatternSyntaxException - if the regular expression's syntax is invalid
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Pattern

replaceAll
public String replaceAll(String regex,
 String replacement)

Replaces each substring of this string that matches the given regular expression with the given
replacement.

An invocation of this method of the form str.replaceAll(regex, repl) yields exactly the same
result as the expression

Pattern.compile(regex).matcher(str).replaceAll(repl)

Parameters:
regex - the regular expression to which this string is to be matched
Returns:
The resulting String
Throws:
PatternSyntaxException - if the regular expression's syntax is invalid
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Pattern

split
public String[] split(String regex,
int limit)

Splits this string around matches of the given regular expression.

The array returned by this method contains each substring of this string that is terminated by another
substring that matches the given expression or is terminated by the end of the string. The substrings in
the array are in the order in which they occur in this string. If the expression does not match any part
of the input then the resulting array has just one element, namely this string.

The limit parameter controls the number of times the pattern is applied and therefore affects the
length of the resulting array. If the limit n is greater than zero then the pattern will be applied at most
n - 1 times, the array's length will be no greater than n, and the array's last entry will contain all input
beyond the last matched delimiter. If n is non-positive then the pattern will be applied as many times
as possible and the array can have any length. If n is zero then the pattern will be applied as many
times as possible, the array can have any length, and trailing empty strings will be discarded.

The string "boo:and:foo", for example, yields the following results with these parameters:

Regex Limit Result

: 2 { "boo", "and:foo" }
: 5 { "boo", "and", "foo" }
: -2 { "boo", "and", "foo" }
o 5 { "b", "", ":and:f", "", "" }
o -2 { "b", "", ":and:f", "", "" }
o 0 { "b", "", ":and:f" }

An invocation of this method of the form str.split(regex, n) yields the same result as the
expression
 expression
Pattern.compile(regex).split(str, n)

Parameters:
regex - the delimiting regular expression
limit - the result threshold, as described above
Returns:
the array of strings computed by splitting this string around matches of the given regular
expression
Throws:
PatternSyntaxException - if the regular expression's syntax is invalid
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Pattern

split
public String[] split(String regex)

Splits this string around matches of the given regular expression.

This method works as if by invoking the two-argument split method with the given expression and
a limit argument of zero. Trailing empty strings are therefore not included in the resulting array.

The string "boo:and:foo", for example, yields the following results with these expressions:

Regex Result
: { "boo", "and", "foo" }
o { "b", "", ":and:f" }

Parameters:
regex - the delimiting regular expression
Returns:
the array of strings computed by splitting this string around matches of the given regular
expression
Throws:
PatternSyntaxException - if the regular expression's syntax is invalid
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Pattern

toLowerCase
public String toLowerCase(Locale locale)

Converts all of the characters in this String to lower case using the rules of the given Locale. Case
mappings rely heavily on the Unicode specification's character data. Since case mappings are not
always 1:1 char mappings, the resulting String may be a different length than the original String.
 always 1:1 char mappings, the resulting String may be a different length than the original String.

Examples of lowercase mappings are in the following table:

Language Code of Upper Lower

Description
Locale Case Case
capital letter I with dot above -> small letter
tr (Turkish) \u0130 \u0069
i
tr (Turkish) \u0049 \u0131 capital letter I -> small letter dotless i
(all) French Fries french fries lowercased all chars in String
(all) lowercased all chars in String

Parameters:
locale - use the case transformation rules for this locale
Returns:
the String, converted to lowercase.
Since:
1.1
See Also:
toLowerCase(), toUpperCase(), toUpperCase(Locale)

toLowerCase
public String toLowerCase()

Converts all of the characters in this String to lower case using the rules of the default locale. This is
equivalent to calling toLowerCase(Locale.getDefault()).

Returns:
the String, converted to lowercase.
See Also:
toLowerCase(Locale)

toUpperCase
public String toUpperCase(Locale locale)

Converts all of the characters in this String to upper case using the rules of the given Locale. Case
mappings rely heavily on the Unicode specification's character data. Since case mappings are not
always 1:1 char mappings, the resulting String may be a different length than the original String.

Examples of locale-sensitive and 1:M case mappings are in the following table.

Language Code of
Lower Case Upper Case Description
Locale
small letter i -> capital letter I with
tr (Turkish) \u0069 \u0130
dot above
small letter dotless i -> capital
tr (Turkish) \u0131 \u0049
 small letter dotless i -> capital
tr (Turkish) \u0131 \u0049
letter I
small letter sharp s -> two letters:
(all) \u00df \u0053 \u0053
SS
(all) Fahrvergnügen FAHRVERGNÜGEN

Parameters:
locale - use the case transformation rules for this locale
Returns:
the String, converted to uppercase.
Since:
1.1
See Also:
toUpperCase(), toLowerCase(), toLowerCase(Locale)

toUpperCase
public String toUpperCase()

Converts all of the characters in this String to upper case using the rules of the default locale. This
method is equivalent to toUpperCase(Locale.getDefault()).

Returns:
the String, converted to uppercase.
See Also:
toUpperCase(Locale)

trim
public String trim()

Returns a copy of the string, with leading and trailing whitespace omitted.

If this String object represents an empty character sequence, or the first and last characters of
character sequence represented by this String object both have codes greater than '\u0020' (the
space character), then a reference to this String object is returned.

Otherwise, if there is no character with a code greater than '\u0020' in the string, then a new
String object representing an empty string is created and returned.

Otherwise, let k be the index of the first character in the string whose code is greater than '\u0020',
and let m be the index of the last character in the string whose code is greater than '\u0020'. A new
String object is created, representing the substring of this string that begins with the character at
index k and ends with the character at index m-that is, the result of this.substring(k, m+1).

This method may be used to trim whitespace from the beginning and end of a string; in fact, it trims
all ASCII control characters as well.

Returns:
A copy of this string with leading and trailing white space removed, or this string if it has no
 A copy of this string with leading and trailing white space removed, or this string if it has no
leading or trailing white space.

toString
public String toString()

This object (which is already a string!) is itself returned.

Specified by:
toString in interface CharSequence
Overrides:
toString in class Object

Returns:
the string itself.

toCharArray
public char[] toCharArray()

Converts this string to a new character array.

Returns:
a newly allocated character array whose length is the length of this string and whose contents
are initialized to contain the character sequence represented by this string.

valueOf
public static String valueOf(Object obj)

Returns the string representation of the Object argument.

Parameters:
obj - an Object.
Returns:
if the argument is null, then a string equal to "null"; otherwise, the value of
obj.toString() is returned.
See Also:
Object.toString()

valueOf
public static String valueOf(char[] data)

Returns the string representation of the char array argument. The contents of the character array are
copied; subsequent modification of the character array does not affect the newly created string.

Parameters:
data - a char array.
 data - a char array.
Returns:
a newly allocated string representing the same sequence of characters contained in the character
array argument.

valueOf
public static String valueOf(char[] data,
int offset,
int count)

Returns the string representation of a specific subarray of the char array argument.

The offset argument is the index of the first character of the subarray. The count argument
specifies the length of the subarray. The contents of the subarray are copied; subsequent modification
of the character array does not affect the newly created string.

Parameters:
data - the character array.
offset - the initial offset into the value of the String.
count - the length of the value of the String.
Returns:
a string representing the sequence of characters contained in the subarray of the character array
argument.
Throws:
IndexOutOfBoundsException - if offset is negative, or count is negative, or
offset+count is larger than data.length.

copyValueOf
public static String copyValueOf(char[] data,
int offset,
int count)

Returns a String that represents the character sequence in the array specified.

Parameters:
data - the character array.
offset - initial offset of the subarray.
count - length of the subarray.
Returns:
a String that contains the characters of the specified subarray of the character array.

copyValueOf
public static String copyValueOf(char[] data)

Returns a String that represents the character sequence in the array specified.

Parameters:
 Parameters:
data - the character array.
Returns:
a String that contains the characters of the character array.

valueOf
public static String valueOf(boolean b)

Returns the string representation of the boolean argument.

Parameters:
b - a boolean.
Returns:
if the argument is true, a string equal to "true" is returned; otherwise, a string equal to
"false" is returned.

valueOf
public static String valueOf(char c)

Returns the string representation of the char argument.

Parameters:
c - a char.
Returns:
a string of length 1 containing as its single character the argument c.

valueOf
public static String valueOf(int i)

Returns the string representation of the int argument.

The representation is exactly the one returned by the Integer.toString method of one argument.

Parameters:
i - an int.
Returns:
a string representation of the int argument.
See Also:
Integer.toString(int, int)

valueOf
public static String valueOf(long l)

Returns the string representation of the long argument.

 The representation is exactly the one returned by the Long.toString method of one argument.
Parameters:
l - a long.
Returns:
a string representation of the long argument.
See Also:
Long.toString(long)

valueOf
public static String valueOf(float f)

Returns the string representation of the float argument.

The representation is exactly the one returned by the Float.toString method of one argument.

Parameters:
f - a float.
Returns:
a string representation of the float argument.
See Also:
Float.toString(float)

valueOf
public static String valueOf(double d)

Returns the string representation of the double argument.

The representation is exactly the one returned by the Double.toString method of one argument.

Parameters:
d - a double.
Returns:
a string representation of the double argument.
See Also:
Double.toString(double)

intern
public String intern()

Returns a canonical representation for the string object.

A pool of strings, initially empty, is maintained privately by the class String.

When the intern method is invoked, if the pool already contains a string equal to this String object as
determined by the equals(Object) method, then the string from the pool is returned. Otherwise, this
String object is added to the pool and a reference to this String object is returned.
 String object is added to the pool and a reference to this String object is returned.

It follows that for any two strings s and t, s.intern() == t.intern() is true if and only if
s.equals(t) is true.

All literal strings and string-valued constant expressions are interned. String literals are defined in
§3.10.5 of the Java Language Specification

Returns:
a string that has the same contents as this string, but is guaranteed to be from a pool of unique
strings.

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