Why does my String method allow a return value of a String and int?

Question

I'm new to Java, and currently learning how methods work in Classes. I wrote a simple method that should return a String value, but when i concatenated it with a int value it still works.

I tried flipping the return value to start off with the int and that also worked. Does java know to convert the int value into a String value?

public class MyOwnJavaProject 
{

    int favoriteNumber;

....
// This method worked
public String showFavNumber()
    {
        return "My favorite number is " + this.favoriteNumber;
    }

// This method also worked
public String showFavNumber()
    {
        return this.favoriteNumber + " is my favorite number";
    }

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 09 '19 at 17:13

0

You are returning a String in both. When you + (concatenate) a String and an int it returns a String. This would not work:

public String showFavNumber()
{
    return this.favoriteNumber;
}

but this would:

public int showFavNumber()
{
    return this.favoriteNumber;
}

answered Jul 09 '19 at 17:13

brso05

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Ah i get it. So whenever i use a int value but then concatenate it, then the whole return value just becomes a String? – Matthew Mortensen Jul 09 '19 at 17:15
@MatthewMortensen correct... – brso05 Jul 09 '19 at 17:16
Programmers often use this as a convenient way to convert an int to a String. For example, return this.favoriteNumber + ""; There are other ways to do it, but it works well. – Craig Parton Jul 09 '19 at 17:41

Why does my String method allow a return value of a String and int?

1 Answers1