Difference between String.valueOf() and new String()

Question

What is the difference between String.valueOf() and new String()? When would you use one over the other?

example 1:

public String fun(){

 int foo = 55;
 return String.valueOf(foo);

}

example 2:

public String fun(){

int foo = 55;
return new String(foo);

}

Update: Yes, the second example doesn't compile as pointed out by others below. I didn't realize it because I have been using new String("something" + foo) and it has worked, as pointed out by fastcodejava. So is there a difference between the two if I use new String("something" + foo) or String.valueOf(foo) ?

Answer 1

The first method takes an integer and converts it to String. However, the second method is just a constructor that creates a new object of type String. It cannot take an integer as argument.

Answer 2

There is no constructor for String that takes a single integer.

• String(byte[] bytes)
• String(char[] value)
• String(String original)
• String(StringBuffer buffer)
• String(StringBuilder builder)

You should use:

Integer.toString(foo);

Answer 3

In example2, it should be

return new String(Integer.toString(foo));

Your one doesn't compile. So there's no need to think about the difference between them, they take different parameters.

Answer 4

The first method tries to convert the type to String and creates a new string with that value. The second method is a constructor which just creates a new string out of a string-like format (not a typeconversion in the sense of Integer -> String).

So the comments are right...it doesnt compile :)

Answer 5

The second code won't even compile. But if you did return new String("" + foo); , it would. They are pretty much same after that.

Answer 6

I can't see any difference between String.valueOf() and new String() apart from the points given by others, as I see both are creating a new String object. I tried using -

    char[] chars = {'c','a','t'};
    System.out.println(String.valueOf(chars) == String.valueOf(chars));
    System.out.println(new String(chars) == new String(chars));

Both give stating that both are different String objects.的说明，它们都是不同的 String 对象。

Answer 7

Strangely, the following code pieces produced different results. Looks like there is some difference when it comes to handling Base64 encoded byte[]

Incorrect:

byte[] bytesArray = new byte[(int) a_imageFile.length()];
FileInputStream fis= new FileInputStream(a_imageFile);
fis.read(bytesArray);
byte[] encoded = Base64.getEncoder().encode(bytesArray);            
result = "data:image/jpg;base64,"+ String.valueOf(encoded);

Correct:

...
result = "data:image/jpg;base64,"+ new String(encoded);

Answer 8

Another example of how they differ:

When reading in files and using readAllBytes(), using new String() allows you to print the content of that file.

String template = new String(fileName.readAllBytes());
Log.info("File content: " + template;

//content of the file is logged like 'hello, this is the content of my txt file'

However, when using String.valueOf, you get the address location instead.

String template = String.valueOf(fileName.readAllBytes());
Log.info("File address: " + template;

//an address location is logged instead like 'A@24gj49bj'