Can we compare a string with == to an empty value

Question

Lets say we have a string in java. Can we compare this string to "" using the ==? For example:

String myString = "";
if(myString == "");

You can but it won't return correct result. Use `"".equals(myString)` instead. — Darshan Mehta, Aug 10 '17 at 08:18
There is nothing specific to `""` - in particular `new String("") == ""` will return false. — assylias, Aug 10 '17 at 08:21
we can, but it is always better to use isEmpty() method like myString.isEmpty() — sForSujit, Aug 10 '17 at 08:27
@f1sh - Yes I tried it and it was working fine.But then I read somewhere that it does not always give the right results.So I wanted to know the reason of it. — Surbhi Mittal, Aug 11 '17 at 06:20

Bathsheba · Accepted Answer · 2017-08-10T08:26:14.853

1

Of course you can (insofar that compilation will pass), although you will probably not get the result you expect since using == will compare references not contents.

My favourite way is to use the Yoda Expression "".equals(myString) since then you don't need to pre-test myString for null.

Else you could use myString.isEmpty().

edited Aug 10 '17 at 08:26

answered Aug 10 '17 at 08:19

Bathsheba

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Thanks for your help. – Surbhi Mittal Aug 11 '17 at 06:40

Can we compare a string with == to an empty value

1 Answers1