• Java Strings ➢ String Length ➢ More String Methods ➢ Finding a Character in a String ➢ Complete String Reference ➢ Java String Concatenation ➢ Java Numbers and Strings ➢ Java Special Characters Java Operators Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values. In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values: Example int x = 100 + 50;
Although the + operator is often used to add together two values, like in the example above, it can also be used to add together a variable and a value, or a variable and another variable:
Example int sum1 = 100 + 50; // 150 (100 + 50) int sum2 = sum1 + 250; // 400 (150 + 250) int sum3 = sum2 + sum2; // 800 (400 + 400)
Java divides the operators into the following groups:
Arithmetic Operators Arithmetic operators are used to perform common mathematical operations.
Operator Name Description Example
+ Addition Adds together two values x+y
- Subtraction Subtracts one value from another x-y
* Multiplication Multiplies two values x*y
/ Division Divides one value by another x/y
% Modulus Returns the division remainder x%y
++ Increment Increases the value of a variable by 1 ++x
-- Decrement Decreases the value of a variable by 1 --x
Java Assignment Operators Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. In the example below, we use the assignment operator (=) to assign the value 10 to a variable called x: Example int x = 10;
The addition assignment operator (+=) adds a value to a variable:
Example int x = 10; x += 5;
A list of all assignment operators:
Operator Example Same As
= x=5 x=5
+= x += 3 x=x+3
-= x -= 3 x=x-3
*= x *= 3 x=x*3
/= x /= 3 x=x/3
%= x %= 3 x=x%3
&= x &= 3 x=x&3
|= x |= 3 x=x|3
^= x ^= 3 x=x^3
>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3
<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3
Java Comparison Operators Comparison operators are used to compare two values (or variables). This is important in programming, because it helps us to find answers and make decisions.
The return value of a comparison is either true or false. These values are known as Boolean values, and you will learn more about them in the Booleans and If..Else chapter.
In the following example, we use the greater than operator (>) to find out if 5 is greater than 3: Example int x = 5; int y = 3; System.out.println(x > y); // returns true, because 5 is higher than 3
Operator Name Example
== Equal to x == y
!= Not equal x != y
> Greater than x>y
< Less than x<y
>= Greater than or equal to x >= y
<= Less than or equal to x <= y
Java Logical Operators
You can also test for true or false values with logical operators. Logical operators are used to determine the logic between variables or values:
Operator Name Description Example
&& Logical and Returns true if both statements are true x < 5 && x < 10
|| Logical or Returns true if one of the statements is true x < 5 || x < 4
! Logical not Reverse the result, returns false if the result is true !(x < 5 && x < 10)
Exercise: Multiply 10 with 5, and print the result.
System.out.println(10 5); Java Strings Strings are used for storing text. A String variable contains a collection of characters surrounded by double quotes: Example Create a variable of type String and assign it a value: String greeting = "Hello";
String Length A String in Java is actually an object, which contain methods that can perform certain operations on strings. For example, the length of a string can be found with the length() method: Example String txt = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"; System.out.println("The length of the txt string is: " + txt.length());
More String Methods
There are many string methods available, for example toUpperCase() and toLowerCase(): Example String txt = "Hello World"; System.out.println(txt.toUpperCase()); // Outputs "HELLO WORLD" System.out.println(txt.toLowerCase()); // Outputs "hello world"
Finding a Character in a String
The indexOf() method returns the index (the position) of the first occurrence of a specified text in a string (including whitespace): Example String txt = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!"; System.out.println(txt.indexOf("locate")); // Outputs 7
Java counts positions from zero.
0 is the first position in a string, 1 is the second, 2 is the third ...
Exercise:
Fill in the missing part to create a greeting variable of type String and assign it the value Hello.
greeting = ; Java String Concatenation String Concatenation The + operator can be used between strings to combine them. This is called concatenation: Example String firstName = "John"; String lastName = "Doe"; System.out.println(firstName + " " + lastName);
Note that we have added an empty text (" ") to create a space between firstName and lastName on print.
You can also use the concat() method to concatenate two strings: Example String firstName = "John "; String lastName = "Doe"; System.out.println(firstName.concat(lastName));
Java Numbers and Strings
Adding Numbers and Strings WARNING! Java uses the + operator for both addition and concatenation. Numbers are added. Strings are concatenated.
If you add two numbers, the result will be a number:
Example int x = 10; int y = 20; int z = x + y; // z will be 30 (an integer/number)
If you add two strings, the result will be a string concatenation:
Example String x = "10"; String y = "20"; String z = x + y; // z will be 1020 (a String)
If you add a number and a string, the result will be a string concatenation: Example String x = "10"; int y = 20; String z = x + y; // z will be 1020 (a String) Java Special Characters Strings - Special Characters Because strings must be written within quotes, Java will misunderstand this string, and generate an error:
String txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";
The solution to avoid this problem, is to use the backslash escape character. The backslash (\) escape character turns special characters into string characters:
Escape character Result Description
\' ' Single quote
\" " Double quote
\\ \ Backslash
The sequence \" inserts a double quote in a string:
Example String txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";
The sequence \' inserts a single quote in a string:
Example String txt = "It\'s alright.";
The sequence \\ inserts a single backslash in a string:
Example String txt = "The character \\ is called backslash.";
Other common escape sequences that are valid in Java are:
