search
HomeJavajavaTutorialWhy Does Java's `==` Operator Sometimes Compare Integer Object Values and Sometimes References?

Why Does Java's `==` Operator Sometimes Compare Integer Object Values and Sometimes References?

Surprising Integer Boxing Behavior in Java

In Java, an Integer object is a wrapper for a primitive int value. When boxing an int into an Integer, one would typically expect the == operator to compare the values of the objects. However, in certain cases, the == operator instead compares the references of the objects. This behavior can lead to surprising results.

Consider the following code:

public class Scratch {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Integer a = 1000, b = 1000;
        System.out.println(a == b);

        Integer c = 100, d = 100;
        System.out.println(c == d);
    }
}

When run, this code prints:

false
true

The first output is as expected: == compares the references of two distinct Integer objects. However, the second output is surprising. Why does == return true when c and d have the same value?

The answer lies in the Java Language Specification (JLS). According to Section 5.1.7 of the JLS:

If the value p being boxed is true, false, a byte, a char in the range u0000 to u007f, or an int or short number between -128 and 127, then let r1 and r2 be the results of any two boxing conversions of p. It is always the case that r1 == r2.

This means that Integer objects created from primitive values within the specified ranges are guaranteed to have identical references. In our case, c and d are both created from the same int value, 100, which falls within the range of -128 to 127. Therefore, they have the same reference, and the == operator returns true.

While the behavior of the second line of output is guaranteed, the JLS suggests that the behavior of the first line of output is not. In theory, a Java implementation could cache Integer objects for common values to improve performance, but the JLS does not require this behavior. As a result, different Java implementations may handle this case differently.

The above is the detailed content of Why Does Java's `==` Operator Sometimes Compare Integer Object Values and Sometimes References?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Statement
The content of this article is voluntarily contributed by netizens, and the copyright belongs to the original author. This site does not assume corresponding legal responsibility. If you find any content suspected of plagiarism or infringement, please contact admin@php.cn
How does IntelliJ IDEA identify the port number of a Spring Boot project without outputting a log?How does IntelliJ IDEA identify the port number of a Spring Boot project without outputting a log?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:45 PM

Start Spring using IntelliJIDEAUltimate version...

How to elegantly obtain entity class variable names to build database query conditions?How to elegantly obtain entity class variable names to build database query conditions?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:42 PM

When using MyBatis-Plus or other ORM frameworks for database operations, it is often necessary to construct query conditions based on the attribute name of the entity class. If you manually every time...

How to use the Redis cache solution to efficiently realize the requirements of product ranking list?How to use the Redis cache solution to efficiently realize the requirements of product ranking list?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:36 PM

How does the Redis caching solution realize the requirements of product ranking list? During the development process, we often need to deal with the requirements of rankings, such as displaying a...

How to safely convert Java objects to arrays?How to safely convert Java objects to arrays?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:33 PM

Conversion of Java Objects and Arrays: In-depth discussion of the risks and correct methods of cast type conversion Many Java beginners will encounter the conversion of an object into an array...

How do I convert names to numbers to implement sorting and maintain consistency in groups?How do I convert names to numbers to implement sorting and maintain consistency in groups?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:30 PM

Solutions to convert names to numbers to implement sorting In many application scenarios, users may need to sort in groups, especially in one...

E-commerce platform SKU and SPU database design: How to take into account both user-defined attributes and attributeless products?E-commerce platform SKU and SPU database design: How to take into account both user-defined attributes and attributeless products?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:27 PM

Detailed explanation of the design of SKU and SPU tables on e-commerce platforms This article will discuss the database design issues of SKU and SPU in e-commerce platforms, especially how to deal with user-defined sales...

How to set the default run configuration list of SpringBoot projects in Idea for team members to share?How to set the default run configuration list of SpringBoot projects in Idea for team members to share?Apr 19, 2025 pm 11:24 PM

How to set the SpringBoot project default run configuration list in Idea using IntelliJ...

See all articles

Hot AI Tools

Undresser.AI Undress

Undresser.AI Undress

AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover

AI Clothes Remover

Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Undress AI Tool

Undress AI Tool

Undress images for free

Clothoff.io

Clothoff.io

AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap

Video Face Swap

Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Tools

Atom editor mac version download

Atom editor mac version download

The most popular open source editor

Dreamweaver CS6

Dreamweaver CS6

Visual web development tools

mPDF

mPDF

mPDF is a PHP library that can generate PDF files from UTF-8 encoded HTML. The original author, Ian Back, wrote mPDF to output PDF files "on the fly" from his website and handle different languages. It is slower than original scripts like HTML2FPDF and produces larger files when using Unicode fonts, but supports CSS styles etc. and has a lot of enhancements. Supports almost all languages, including RTL (Arabic and Hebrew) and CJK (Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Supports nested block-level elements (such as P, DIV),

SublimeText3 Chinese version

SublimeText3 Chinese version

Chinese version, very easy to use

MantisBT

MantisBT

Mantis is an easy-to-deploy web-based defect tracking tool designed to aid in product defect tracking. It requires PHP, MySQL and a web server. Check out our demo and hosting services.