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Reference Data Types in Java

Reference data types in Java refer to dynamically created objects stored in memory. They contain the address or reference to objects. Examples include classes and arrays. Primitive data types are predefined in Java as basic building blocks, while reference types are created by the programmer as needed and hold references to objects in memory. The five main reference types are classes, interfaces, arrays, enumerations, and annotations.

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167 views3 pages

Reference Data Types in Java

Reference data types in Java refer to dynamically created objects stored in memory. They contain the address or reference to objects. Examples include classes and arrays. Primitive data types are predefined in Java as basic building blocks, while reference types are created by the programmer as needed and hold references to objects in memory. The five main reference types are classes, interfaces, arrays, enumerations, and annotations.

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eyn batalla
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TLE-ICT 10

JAVA - Programming
Fourth Grading

Reference Data Types in Java


Java provides two types of data types:
• The primitive data types are predefined in Java that serves as a fundamental building block.

• The reference data type refers to where data is stored.

What is a reference data type in Java, and how do they differ from the primitive data type?
In Java, non-primitive data types are known as reference types. In other words, a variable
of class type is called reference data type. It contains the address (or reference) of dynamically
created objects. For example, if Demo is a class and we have created its object d, then the variable
d is known as a reference type.
It refers to objects. It is not pre-defined. It is created by the programmer if required. The
reference types hold the references of objects. All reference types are a subclass of type
java.lang.Object. It provides access to the objects stored in the memory. The examples of reference
data types are:

Java Reference Types


There are the following five types of reference types in Java:
Reference vs Primitive Data Types

Memory Allocation and Garbage Collection


In Java, the new keyword is used to create an instance of the class. In other words, it
instantiates a class by allocating memory for a new object and returning a reference to that memory.
Objects occupy memory in the Java heap space. We can also use the new keyword to create the
array object.
ClassName objectName = new ClassName();

If there are no references to an object, the memory used by that object can be reclaimed
during the garbage collection process.

Conversion Between Primitive Type and Reference Type


The conversion of primitive type to reference type is called autoboxing and the conversion
of reference type to primitive type is called unboxing.
Comparing Reference Type
We can also compare the reference types in Java. Java provides two ways to compare
reference types:

• By using the equal (==) operator


It compares the memory locations of the objects. If the memory address (reference) of both
objects is the same, the objects are equal. Note that it does not compare the contents of the object.
For example:

• By using the String.equals() Method


The method belongs to the String class. It overrides the equals() method of the Object class.
It also uses the equal operator (==) for comparing the reference type. For example, consider the
following code snippet:

Copying Reference Type


There are two possibilities when we copy reference types, either a copy of the reference to
an object is made or an actual copy (creating a new copy) of the object is made.
In the following example, we have assigned a reference to the object. If we made any
changes in the object, it will also reflect the reference and vice-versa.

Reference/s:
https://www.javatpoint.com/reference-data-types-in-java

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