Pass by Value/ Pass by reference

[Gaurav x Jain]

Ques. Is java is Pass by refernce or Pass by Value?

I got so many answers on net but they are confusing. Please help me

[Wouter Oet]

Check out the faq.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Gaurav x Jain wrote: . . . Is java is Pass by refernce or Pass by Value? . . .

Pass by value. Full stop. If you have found something saying, "primitives are passed by value and objects are passed by reference," it is mistaken.

[Ralph Cook]

I think the article at http://www.javaworld.com/javaqa/2000-05/03-qa-0526-pass.html does a good job of explaining things.

Java passes by value, but since the value of an object is a reference to that object, then a called procedure can change the internal values of an object passed to it. So if you are thinking of "pass by value" to mean "called procedure cannot change it", it's a little confusing. A called procedure can change things about an object passed to it, but it cannot change the object reference.

As I say, the above article explains more fully, with several good examples.

rc

[Jesper de Jong]

Java only supports pass-by-value.

Note that variables of non-primitive types are references in Java. When you pass such a value to a method, you're passing a reference by value - the reference is copied, but not the object that the reference refers to. Passing a reference by value is not the same as passing by reference.

Have a look at the JavaRanch Campfile story Pass-by-Value Please.

Ralph Cook wrote:... but since the value of an object is a reference to that object, ...

That's not accurate. You mean: The value of a (non-primitive) variable is a reference to an object.