Strings as function arguments

[kanna kesavan]

When strings are passed as arguments to functions,is it pass by value or pass by reference?

[Timmy Marks]

According to this,

Java never uses call by reference. It always uses call by value.

but this link says that:

The objects, i.e. all the classes which derive from the base Object class, are passed as references in functions.

I tend to agree with the javaranch one (the second link). A method will get a reference to the String, and since Strings are immutable, you cannot change the value of the String in the caller.

[Krishnan Loganathan]

Hi,
In java, the primitive type variables are call-by-value and objects are call-by-reference. But for String, still its a call-by-reference, u cannt modify the value since it is immutable.


Cheers,
Loga

[Sripathi Krishnamurthy]

Java only fakes pass by reference.
Java always uses pass by value.
Java copies and passes the reference by value, not the object

http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/javaqa/2000-05/03-qa-0526-pass.html

[Karan Rajan]

I agree with Sripathi.

My two-cents worth :

Java always passes by value ( or as the Sierra and Bates put it ... pass by copy of the variable ) for all variables.

- in case of primitive you are passing a copy of the bits representing the value.

- in case of object references you are passing a copy of the bits representing a specific object on the heap. ( thus "faking" the pass by reference).