BITS, Bytes, char, String

[Angela D'souza]

Hi,
I need to confirm:
1 bytes = 8 bits
1 char = 1 byte
string is collection of chars
Am I right?
Thanks,
Angela

[Cindy Glass]

1 byte = 8 bits correct.
1 char = 16 bits (Note that a short is also 16 bits)
A string is not a collection of chars in the same way C++ deals with it. It is a squence of Unicode characters.
From the JLS Spec

4.3.3 The Class String
Instances of class String represent sequences of Unicode characters. A String object has a constant (unchanging) value. String literals (�3.10.5) are references to instances of class String.

[Cindy Glass]

From the JVM Spec
2.15.1 Array Types

In the Java programming language, unlike in C, an array of char is not a String (�2.4.7), and neither a String nor an array of char is terminated by '\u0000' (the NUL-character). A String object is immutable (its value never changes), while an array of char has mutable elements.

[Angela D'souza]

Thanks to all,
Is String is terminated by newline terminator?
Thanks
Angela

[Cindy Glass]

NO - there is no specific thing that YOU can look at that terminates a String.

[Bosun Bello]

Angela, the Java Tutorial at Sun's site and Beginning Java 2 by Ivor Horton, helped me out a lot when I started to learn Java a few years ago. They will definitely help answer most of your questions. Actually any descent java textbook should have answers to most of your questions.

[Lucy Smaile]

Originally posted by Cindy Glass:
[QB]1 byte = 8 bits correct.
1 char = 16 bits (Note that a short is also 16 bits)
A string is not a collection of chars in the same way C++ deals with it. It is a squence of Unicode characters.

Isn't a char a Unicode character? What's the difference if both are 16 bits? (or am i completely confused?)
Thanks

[Cindy Glass]

Isn't a char a Unicode character? What's the difference if both are 16 bits? (or am i completely confused?)
Thanks

Yes a char is a Unicode character. Angela asked if a char was 8 bits. It is not.
It sort of depends on what she meant by "string is collection of chars". At String is a bunch of Unicode characters maintained in a special place. It is NOT a "collection" such as an array. In some languages Strings ARE just arrays of characters with a terminator character. This is not true in java.