Why Should We Avoid Using `new` to Create Strings in Java?

Why Don't We Use new to Create Strings in Java?

While strings are indeed objects in Java, they are created differently from other objects due to a special mechanism called string interning.

In Java, string literals (enclosed in double quotes) are automatically interned. This means that multiple references to the same string literal point to the same String object in memory. Therefore, using new to create a String object is redundant and unnecessary.

For instance:

String str1 = "Hello World";
String str2 = "Hello World";

Here, str1 and str2 refer to the same String object, even though they appear to be created separately. This is because the JVM recognizes the string literal "Hello World" and retrieves the interned String object.

Now, let's understand why it's not recommended to use new to create Strings:

• Efficiency: Interning String literals improves memory consumption and performance. When using new, a new String object is created each time, leading to unnecessary object creation and overhead.
• Singletons: Interning ensures that only one instance of a String object with a particular value exists, making it effectively a singleton. This leads to consistent behavior and prevents unexpected object duplication.
• Object Equality: Interning ensures that string literals with the same value are always equal to each other. This aligns with the semantics of string equality in Java.

In summary, string interning in Java eliminates the need to use new to create Strings, provides efficiency benefits, and ensures consistent behavior when working with string literals.

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