String Reference String · StringBuffer · StringBuilder Bu
String — immutable sequence of characters. Every modification creates a new object.
StringBuffer — mutable, thread-safe (synchronized). Use in multi-threaded code.
StringBuilder — mutable, not thread-safe but faster. Preferred in single-threaded code.
1. [Link] — Built-in Methods
String objects are immutable. Every method returns a new String; the original is unchanged. String literals are
automatically interned in the string pool.
Method Description Example
length() Returns length of the string "hello".length() → 5
charAt(i) Returns char at index i "Java".charAt(1) → 'a'
indexOf(str) First index of str, -1 if not found "hello".indexOf("l") → 2
lastIndexOf(str) Last occurrence index "hello".lastIndexOf("l") → 3
substring(i) Substring from index i to end "hello".substring(2) → "llo"
substring(i,j) Substring from i (inclusive) to j "hello".substring(1,4) → "ell"
(exclusive)
toLowerCase() Converts to lower case "JAVA".toLowerCase() → "java"
toUpperCase() Converts to upper case "java".toUpperCase() → "JAVA"
trim() Removes leading/trailing whitespace " hi ".trim() → "hi"
strip() Like trim() but Unicode-aware (Java " hi ".strip() → "hi"
11+)
replace(old,new) Replaces all occurrences of old with "aabbcc".replace("b","x") → "aaxxcc"
new
replaceAll(regex,rep) Replace using regex pattern "a1b2".replaceAll("[0-9]","#") →
"a#b#"
replaceFirst(regex,re Replace first regex match "a1b2".replaceFirst("[0-9]","#") →
p) "a#b2"
contains(seq) True if string contains the sequence "hello".contains("ell") → true
Method Description Example
startsWith(prefix) True if starts with prefix "Java".startsWith("Ja") → true
endsWith(suffix) True if ends with suffix "Java".endsWith("va") → true
equals(obj) Case-sensitive equality check "abc".equals("abc") → true
equalsIgnoreCase(s) Case-insensitive equality check "ABC".equalsIgnoreCase("abc") → true
compareTo(s) Lexicographic comparison; 0 if equal "a".compareTo("b") → -1
split(regex) Split string by regex; returns String[] "a,b,c".split(",") → ["a","b","c"]
join(delim,…) Join strings with a delimiter (static) [Link]("-","a","b") → "a-b"
concat(s) Appends s to the string "Hello".concat(" World") → "Hello
World"
isEmpty() True if length == 0 "".isEmpty() → true
isBlank() True if blank/whitespace (Java 11+) " ".isBlank() → true
toCharArray() Converts string to char[] "hi".toCharArray() → ['h','i']
valueOf(x) Converts x to String (static) [Link](42) → "42"
format(fmt,…) Formatted string (static) [Link]("Hi %s",name)
matches(regex) True if whole string matches regex "12".matches("[0-9]+") → true
intern() Returns canonical representation from "hello".intern()
pool
chars() Returns IntStream of char values (Java "ab".chars() → IntStream
8+)
repeat(n) Repeats string n times (Java 11+) "ab".repeat(3) → "ababab"
stripLeading() Removes leading whitespace (Java " hi ".stripLeading() → "hi "
11+)
stripTrailing() Removes trailing whitespace (Java " hi ".stripTrailing() → " hi"
11+)
lines() Stream of lines (Java 11+) "a\nb".lines() → Stream["a","b"]
codePointAt(i) Unicode code point at index i "A".codePointAt(0) → 65
hashCode() Returns hash code of the string "hello".hashCode() → int
* Methods marked Java 11+ require JDK 11 or later. Java 8+ methods require JDK 8+.
2. [Link] — Built-in Methods
StringBuffer is mutable and thread-safe (all public methods are synchronized). Use it when multiple threads share a
mutable character sequence. Constructors: StringBuffer(), StringBuffer(int capacity),
StringBuffer(String str).
Shared Methods (StringBuffer & StringBuilder)
Method Description Example
append(x) Appends x (any type) to the sequence [Link]("Hi").append(42)
insert(i, x) Inserts x at index i [Link](2, "XX")
delete(i, j) Deletes chars from i to j-1 [Link](1, 3)
deleteCharAt(i) Deletes char at index i [Link](0)
replace(i,j,str) Replaces chars i to j-1 with str [Link](1, 3, "ZZ")
reverse() Reverses the character sequence [Link]() // "abc" → "cba"
indexOf(str) First index of str [Link]("lo")
lastIndexOf(str) Last index of str [Link]("o")
charAt(i) Returns char at index i [Link](2)
setCharAt(i,c) Sets char at index i to c [Link](0, 'H')
length() Current length of sequence [Link]()
capacity() Current allocated capacity [Link]() // default 16
ensureCapacity(min) Ensures capacity >= min [Link](50)
substring(i) Substring from i to end [Link](3)
substring(i,j) Substring from i to j-1 [Link](1, 4)
toString() Converts to immutable String [Link]()
codePointAt(i) Unicode code point at index i [Link](0)
indexOf(str,from) Search starting from fromIndex [Link]("a", 2)
StringBuffer-specific Behaviour
Method Description Example
synchronized methods All methods are synchronized (thread-safe) new StringBuffer("safe")
3. [Link] — Built-in Methods
StringBuilder has an identical API to StringBuffer but is not synchronized, making it faster for single-threaded
scenarios. It was introduced in Java 5 as the preferred replacement for StringBuffer in non-concurrent code.
All Shared Methods (same as StringBuffer above)
Method Description Example
append(x) Appends x (any type) to the sequence [Link]("Hi").append(42)
insert(i, x) Inserts x at index i [Link](2, "XX")
delete(i, j) Deletes chars from i to j-1 [Link](1, 3)
deleteCharAt(i) Deletes char at index i [Link](0)
replace(i,j,str) Replaces chars i to j-1 with str [Link](1, 3, "ZZ")
reverse() Reverses the character sequence [Link]() // "abc" → "cba"
indexOf(str) First index of str [Link]("lo")
lastIndexOf(str) Last index of str [Link]("o")
charAt(i) Returns char at index i [Link](2)
setCharAt(i,c) Sets char at index i to c [Link](0, 'H')
length() Current length of sequence [Link]()
capacity() Current allocated capacity [Link]() // default 16
ensureCapacity(min) Ensures capacity >= min [Link](50)
substring(i) Substring from i to end [Link](3)
substring(i,j) Substring from i to j-1 [Link](1, 4)
toString() Converts to immutable String [Link]()
codePointAt(i) Unicode code point at index i [Link](0)
indexOf(str,from) Search starting from fromIndex [Link]("a", 2)
StringBuilder-specific Behaviour
Method Description Example
Non-synchronized Same API as StringBuffer but new StringBuilder("fast")
unsynchronized — faster in single-threaded
use
4. Quick Comparison
Feature String StringBuffer StringBuilder
Mutability Immutable Mutable Mutable
Thread-safe Yes (immutable) Yes (sync) No
Performance Slowest (concat) Medium Fastest
Memory Pool / heap Heap Heap
Since Java 1.0 1.0 1.5
Common use Literals, keys Multi-thread Single-thread
Reference covers Java SE 17 LTS. Methods introduced in later versions are noted inline. All classes reside in the [Link]
package (auto-imported).
