need clairifications about char type

[nada saif]

Hi all ,

I found a strange code i couldn't understand , will be great if any can explain how Java compiler translate it

 class a{
    public static void main(String arg[])
  { char a=5;
 short x=3;
 x*=a;
// x=x*a;  error
    
 System.out.println(x);
    
    
    
  }
}   

Output is 15


my Questions are

1- can we use char as number??
2- what is the difference the example above between line 5 ,6


Thanks in advance

Nada

[Venu Chakravorty]

1. 'char' is actually a 16-bit unsigned 'int'
2. in line 5 there is an implicit cast, in line 6 you have to cast the resulting 'int' to a
'short'

[nada saif]

Thank you venu ,

But how char is an integer , i am lost ..
can you elaborate in this point .. or post some useful URLs..


Bests,


Nada

[Campbell Ritchie]

Java™ Language Specification. That's the link. It will (I hope) tell you that the char type is an unsigned integer type.

Try this:

for (int c = 'a'; c <= 'z'; c++)
{
    System.out.printf("The letter %c is the %dth in the alphabet.%n", c, c % 0x20);
}

[nada saif]

Thanks guys, i really appreciate your sense of cooperation .



Good luck.

Nada

[Campbell Ritchie]

You're welcome

[Venu Chakravorty]

you're welcome.

[jami siva]

The word of saying 'Thanks' after getting the reply is boosting for the people who post answers.