Differences between == and equals() method in Java

In java both == and equals() method is used to check the equality of two variables or objects.

Following are the important differences between == and equals() method.

Sr. No.	Key	==	equals() method
1	Type	== is an operator.	equals() is a method of Object class.
2	Comparision	== should be used during reference comparison. == checks if both references points to same location or not.	equals() method should be used for content comparison. equals() method evaluates the content to check the equality.
2	Object	== operator can not be overriden.	equals() method if not present and Object.equals() method is utilized, otherwise it can be overridden.

Example of == vs equals method

JavaTester.java

public class JavaTester {
   public static void main(String args[]) {
      String s1 = new String("TUTORIALSPOINT");
      String s2 = new String("TUTORIALSPOINT");
      //Reference comparison
      System.out.println(s1 == s2);
      //Content comparison
      System.out.println(s1.equals(s2));
      // integer-type
      System.out.println(10 == 10);
      // char-type
      System.out.println('a' == 'a');
   }
}

Output

false
true
true
true