Question

Assuming the following Java statement: Circle c1 = new Circle(3); What does the variable c1 store?

a) The constructed Circle object itself.
b) A reference to the Circle class.
c) A reference to the memory location of the constructed Circle object.
d) The numeric value 3.

Answer 1

The variable c1 in the Java statement stores a reference to the memory location of the constructed Circle object, where 3 is the argument for the circle's radius.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Java, the statement Circle c1 = new Circle(3); means that c1 stores a reference to the memory location of the constructed Circle object, not the object itself or its class. This is similar to most object-oriented programming languages where variables such as c1 hold a reference to an object. When a new object is created, the actual object is stored in a memory location (on the heap), and the variable c1 holds the reference to that location. The numeric value 3 in the example is an argument passed to the Circle object's constructor, which typically initializes the object's state, in this case, likely setting the radius of the circle.