hi
it returns false because like sharada said returns two new String objects and since == checks the refernces this returns false
also note that if the same code was replaced with Boolean or String objects instead of Byte or any other wrapper classes then the value printed would be false .... this is because in both these cases the Strings are maintained in the Constants pool and share the same String object ... hence would return TRUE
hope that helps
Samith.P.Nambiar
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harder u try luckier u get