String[] variable vs String variable[]???

Programming Questions

mck.workm..

String[] variable vs String variable[]???

in Programming Questions • 1 year ago

I thought the difference between the two was the first is an array of 6 strings while the second was a string of size six in an array but I put a string in is larger than six so this cant be right. What, where, when to use which??? Same thing with i++ and ++i to increment and de-increment --i and i--...they both seem to do the same thing.

String[] target1 = new String[6]; //target1 is an array of 6 strings?
String target2[] = new String[6]; //target2 is a string of size 6?
for(int i=0; i<target1.length;i++) {
target1[i] = "target1String";
}
for(int i=0; i<target2.length;++i) {
target2[i] = "target2String";
}
for(int i=0; i<target1.length;i++) {
println(target1[i]);
}
for(int i=0; i<target2.length;i++) {
println(target2[i]);
}

Thank you for the comments.
McK

Replies(3)

jobleonard

Re: String[] variable vs String variable[]???

1 year ago

I think you're confusing Java's String objects with C-strings, which are arrays (of chars). Java doesn't use Strings that way. Ok, it actually does if you insist:

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/lang/String.html

... but why would you?

What you've done in the above code is saying the same thing in different ways. However the first is the standard convention, so don't use the second method. See here:

http://www.janeg.ca/scjp/lang/arrays.html

PhiLho

Re: String[] variable vs String variable[]???

1 year ago

The first form is the idiomatic way to declare arrays in Java. The second form is the C/C++ way, that Java tolerates to avoid confusing people coming from these languages, but which isn't really used by Java programmers.
So, drop the second method.

As for pre- and post-increment, they are the same if used in isolation, like in for loops.
But they make crucial (and sometime confusing) difference when used in expressions:
int x = 1;
int a = x++; // Assign to a, then increment x
int b = ++x; // Increment x, then assign to b
println(a + " " + b + " " + x);
Same when using the variable as array index:
a = t[i++]; // Use current value of i, and then go to next index
b = t[++i]; // First increment, then use as index
Avoid using in expressions like: a = x+++++x;

mck.workm..

Re: String[] variable vs String variable[]???

1 year ago

Got it. Thanks guys.

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