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a question about the toString()

 
Sheriff
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A good question came with a nitpick submission that I got so I'm posting it here so more people can see it (and undoubtedly improve my answer .
The question:
If you get the day, date and time by using the object only what is toString for?
(Here "the object" refers to a Date object).
[ August 28, 2003: Message edited by: Pauline McNamara ]
 
Chicken Farmer ()
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I'm not sure I understand the full context, but what I think they are referring to is how toString automagically gets called whenever an object, ANY object, is placed within a print or println statement. So
System.out.println( new Date() );
is the same thing as
System.out.println( new Date().toString() );
Is this what is being asked?
 
Greenhorn
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There are a couple of possible answers to that...
1) In places where you are using the object that will convert a String, such as in a println, toString() is redundant except for documentation purposes.
2) In places where you are using the object that need a String, such as a parameter to a method call, toString() is usually needed to provide the String value instead of an object reference.
 
Pauline McNamara
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Here's how I was going to answer it...

I'll start by bouncing back a different question to you: what does the print method do for you? (I'll get back to that in a sec.)
toString gives you, like its name suggests, a String representation of the object you call it on. In this case it gives you the current day, date and time. Almost all objects have a toString method that do this for you.
Here's the cool thing though. When you pass an object only (without toString) to the print or println method, you automatically get the same thing as you would if you'd called toString explicitly. (There's more going on back there, like a little detour to another method called String.valueOf(Object), but we don't really need to worry about that.)
Let's say you weren't trying to print the Date object, but wanted to do something else with it where you needed it to be a String. Maybe you want to store it in a variable as a String - that's when a Date object's toString method might come in handy.
 
whippersnapper
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What means "using the object only"?
If you pull something like
System.out.println( new SomeObject() );
or
SomeObject someObject = new SomeObject();
System.out.println( someObject );
toString() is called behind the scenes. Look at the docs for PrintStream.println(Object), PrintStream.print(Object), and String.valueOf(Object) for further details.
 
Michael Matola
whippersnapper
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And don't forget how nulls get handled with kid gloves in all of this. See this old thread for details.
 
Pauline McNamara
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Hey! Wait til I finish typing for cryin' out loud!
You guys just hanging out on the prowl around here? Sheesh.
[ August 28, 2003: Message edited by: Pauline McNamara ]
 
village idiot
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I feel like a little kid trying to follow the adults' conversation.........
Waaahhhhhh.....
 
jason adam
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No Carol, the problem is you are trying to follow Pauline's conversation, and that's typically hard to do

Throw in Mr. Matola, and you've got yerself a recipe for complete and udder (MOO!) strangeness!
[ August 31, 2003: Message edited by: jason adam ]
 
Pauline McNamara
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MOO right back atcha!
 
Michael Matola
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Se�or Matola esta ahora en Barcelona. Come tapas y bebe sangria con esposa y amigos... No vacas aqui.
 
Sheriff
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Originally posted by Michael Matola:
Se�or Matola esta ahora en Barcelona. Come tapas y bebe sangria con esposa y amigos... No vacas aqui.


Translation:
Mr. Matola is now in Barcelona. He is eating tapas and drinking wine with his wife and friends... No cows here.
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