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Variable Versus Object Reference Assignment | page 5 of 10 |
Notice that there is a difference between the two statements:
primitiveValue = 18234;
and
str = new String("example string");
In the first statement, primitiveValue is a primitive type, so the assignment statement puts the data directly into it. In the second statement, str is an object reference variable (the only other possibility) so a reference to the object is put into that variable.
There are only variables containing primitive data and variables containing object references, and each contains a specific kind of information. A variable will never contain an object:
Kind of Variable | Information it Contains | When on the left of "=" | primitive variable | Contains actual data | Previous data is replaced with new data. | reference variable | Contains information on how to find an object. | Old reference is replaced with a new reference |
The two types of variable are distinguished by how they are declared. Unless it was declared to be of a primitive type, it is an object reference variable. A variable will not change its declared type.
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