STRING OPERATIONS
Java Programming
Java Programming — Course Module
CHARACTER vs STRING IN JAVA
Unlike C (null-terminated char array), Java strings are objects.
Declaration Description
char c = 'a'; 1 character, primitive type, stored in 2 bytes (UTF-16)
String s = "a"; Object on heap, contains 'a' + metadata, immutable
String s = new String("a"); Explicit heap object (avoids string pool)
■ In Java, String is immutable. Operations like concatenation create new String objects. Use StringBuilder for
mutable strings.
DECLARE AND INITIALISE STRINGS
String s1 = "Hello"; // string literal (uses pool)
String s2 = new String("Hello"); // new heap object
char[] ch = {'H','e','l','l','o'};
String s3 = new String(ch); // from char array
// char array approach (like C)
char[] arr = new char[6];
arr[0]='H'; arr[1]='e'; arr[2]='l';
arr[3]='l'; arr[4]='o'; arr[5]='\0'; // '\0' not needed in Java
READ A STRING
Method Behaviour C Equivalent
[Link]() Reads one token (stops at whitespace) Like scanf("%s",str)
[Link]() Reads entire line including spaces Like fgets()
[Link]().charAt(0) Reads single character Like getchar()
[Link]() Reads raw byte Low-level (avoid)
import [Link];
Scanner sc = new Scanner([Link]);
String s1 = [Link](); // reads word
[Link](); // consume leftover newline
String s2 = [Link](); // reads full line
[Link](s1);
[Link](s2);
STRING METHODS — [Link]
Method Returns Description
[Link]() int Number of characters (no null term needed)
[Link](i) char Character at index i
[Link](ch) int First occurrence of ch (or substring)
[Link](ch) int Last occurrence of ch
[Link](i,j) String Chars from i to j-1
[Link]() String All lowercase
[Link]() String All uppercase
[Link]() String Remove leading/trailing whitespace
[Link](a,b) String Replace all a with b
[Link](sub) boolean True if sub is present
[Link](p) boolean True if starts with p
[Link](p) boolean True if ends with p
[Link](t) boolean True if equal (case-sensitive)
[Link](t) boolean True if equal ignoring case
[Link](t) int Lexicographic comparison (like strcmp)
[Link](t) String Append t (like strcat)
[Link](regex) String[] Split by pattern
[Link]() char[] Convert to char array
[Link](n) String Convert int/double to String
[Link](s) int Convert String to int
C vs JAVA — QUICK REFERENCE
C Function Java Equivalent
strlen(s) [Link]()
dst = src (Strings are immutable; assignment is
strcpy(dst,src) fine)
strcat(s1,s2) s1 + s2 or [Link](s2)
strcmp(s1,s2) [Link](s2)
strncmp(s1,s2,n) [Link](0,n).compareTo([Link](0,n))
strchr(s,c) [Link](c)
strstr(s1,s2) [Link](s2)
strrev(s) new StringBuilder(s).reverse().toString()
strlwr/strupr [Link]() / [Link]()
sprintf(buf,...) [Link]("...",...)
String vs StringBuilder vs StringBuffer
Class Mutability Thread Safety Performance Use When
String Immutable Thread-safe Slow for repeated concat General use
Fast for repeated Single-thread
StringBuilder Mutable Not thread-safe concat loops
StringBuffer Mutable Thread-safe Moderate speed Multi-thread
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) [Link](i).append(" ");
[Link]([Link]()); // 0 1 2 3 4
[Link](0, "Numbers: ");
[Link](0, 9);
[Link]();
[Link](sb);
PALINDROME CHECK
// Method 1 — two pointers // Method 2 — StringBuilder
static boolean isPalin(String s){ static boolean isPalin(String s){
int i=0, j=[Link]()-1; String rev = new StringBuilder(s)
while(i<j){ .reverse().toString();
if([Link](i)!=[Link](j)) return [Link](rev);
return false; }
i++; j--;
return true;
CHARACTER CLASS — [Link]
Method Returns true if C Equivalent
[Link](c) Alphabetic? Like isalpha(c)
[Link](c) Digit 0-9? Like isdigit(c)
[Link](c) Letter or digit? Like isalnum(c)
[Link](c) Lowercase? Like islower(c)
[Link](c) Uppercase? Like isupper(c)
[Link](c) Space/tab/newline? Like isspace(c)
[Link](c) To lowercase Like tolower(c)
[Link](c) To uppercase Like toupper(c)
[Link](c) Digit value —
FREQUENCY OF EACH CHARACTER
String str = "programming";
int[] freq = new int[26];
for (char c : [Link]())
if ([Link](c))
freq[[Link](c) - 'a']++;
for (int i = 0; i < 26; i++)
if (freq[i] > 0)
[Link]("%c : %d%n", (char)('a'+i), freq[i]);
SORTING NAMES LEXICOGRAPHICALLY
// Manual bubble sort // Using [Link] (recommended)
String[] names = {"Bob","Alice","Charlie"}; import [Link];
int n = [Link]; String[] names = {"Bob","Alice","Charlie"};
for(int i=0;i<n-1;i++) [Link](names);
for(int j=0;j<n-1-i;j++) // Case-insensitive:
if(names[j].compareTo(names[j+1])>0){ [Link](names,
String t=names[j]; String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER);
names[j]=names[j+1]; for(String nm : names)
names[j+1]=t; [Link](nm);
}
PATTERN PRINTING WITH STRINGS
public class Pattern {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str = "JavaProgramming";
int len = [Link]();
// Expanding triangle
for (int c = 1; c <= len; c++)
[Link]([Link](0, c));
// Shrinking triangle
for (int c = len; c >= 1; c--)
[Link]([Link](0, c));
COMMON SCANNER PITFALLS
When mixing nextInt() and nextLine(), the newline left in the buffer will be consumed by the next nextLine() call,
giving an empty string. Always call [Link]() after [Link]() to flush the buffer.
Scanner sc = new Scanner([Link]);
int n = [Link]();
[Link](); // flush leftover newline
String[] names = new String[n];
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
names[i] = [Link](); // now reads correctly
STRING IMMUTABILITY — KEY RULE
String s = "Hello";
[Link](); // returns new String — s unchanged!
[Link](s); // still "Hello"
// Correct:
s = [Link]();
[Link](s); // "HELLO"
Every String method that 'modifies' text actually returns a new String. Always assign the result back: s =
[Link]();
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
# Task
1 Check anagram
2 Count vowels and consonants
3 Reverse words in a sentence
4 Remove duplicate characters
5 Find longest word in a sentence
