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Array element

 
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public class Default {
static boolean [] ba = new boolean [1];
static char ch;
public static void main (String []args){
System.out.println(ba[ch]);
}
}
Why does it print false?
I didn't think that the default of char '\u0000' which is unicode for null would be an suitable array element for a boolean array.
 
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Instance variables :
chars are instantiated to �\u0000'� automatically..
and booleans to false , the same way..
Arrays' elements are automatically instantiated always( instance or automatic does not differ)
if array elements are Objects then --> null
primitives are behaved the same way as the instance primitives.
ps: null IS NOT THE SAME AS '\u0000'
 
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The char will be implicitly promoted to an int. Since chars are initialized to '\u0000' it has the equivalent int value of 0. That's why you get the value of the first array element which was initialized to false.
Note that if you initialize the char to anything else, say '\u0001', you will get a RuntimeException (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException).
 
Rob Petterson
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Junilu, can you tell me why/how the char val is imlicitly promoted to an int please?
 
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From the JLS 15.13 - Array Access Expressions:


The index expression undergoes unary numeric promotion (�5.6.1); the promoted type must be int.
�5.6.1:
If the operand is of compile-time type byte, short, or char, unary numeric promotion promotes it to a value of type int by a widening conversion


so, since the index is a char, it is promoted to an int and '\u0000' becomes 0.
Francisco
[ June 14, 2002: Message edited by: Francisco A Guimaraes ]
 
Rob Petterson
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Tahnks Francisco, it's clear now.
 
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