Question

Consider the following code:

String a = "CSA";
String b = a;
a = "AP";
System.out.println(a + " " + b");

What is printed when the code is run? Hint: Remember Strings are immutable.

Answer 1

The code will print "AP CSA". Strings in Java are immutable, so when a new value is assigned to a string variable, it doesn't modify the original string; it creates a new string object instead.

Step-by-step explanation:

The code will print "AP CSA". Let's break down what happens step by step:

1. String a is assigned the value "CSA".

2. String b is assigned the value of a, which is currently "CSA".

3. The value of a is changed to "AP".

4. The System.out.println statement will print the value of a, which is "AP", followed by a space, and then the value of b, which is still "CSA".

Strings in Java are immutable, which means that once a string is assigned a value, it cannot be changed. When we assign a new value to a string variable, such as in step 3, it doesn't modify the original string; it creates a new string object instead.

In this case, when we assign "AP" to a, a new string object is created and a now references this new object. However, b still references the original string object, "CSA". That's why when we print a and b, we see "AP CSA".