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What is the Difference Between Autoboxing and Unboxing in Java?

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Viraj Yadav
What is the Difference Between Autoboxing and Unboxing in Java?

Wrapper classes, which are composed of two components known as "Autoboxing" and "Unboxing," came into being as a direct result of the Java programming language's unique approach to the management of fundamental data types. The action of converting a primitive value into an object of the underlying wrapper class is referred to as "autoboxing," and it is denoted by the aforementioned word. As an example, let's convert int to the Integer class. When a primitive value meets the following criteria, the Java compiler will automatically box it:


  • A method that anticipates receiving an object of the applicable wrapper class receives this value as a parameter.
  • A value was given to a variable in the wrapper class that was a match.


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Unboxing, on the other hand, is the process of converting an item of a wrapper type to the primitive value that is equal to it. Take, for instance, the conversion from int to int as an example. When an object of a wrapper class meets the following criteria, the Java compiler uses the information from the unbox method:


  • The object of this fundamental type is passed on to a method that anticipates receiving it.
  • A value of the appropriate primitive type was given to the variable.


Autoboxing in Java


The process of changing a fundamental data type into an object of the underlying wrapper class is referred to as autoboxing. For instance, changing int to Integer or long to long object are both examples of conversions. The Java compiler will resort to autoboxing if a primitive value is any of the following:


  • A method that anticipates receiving an object of the applicable wrapper class receives this value as a parameter. For instance, a method that accepts an integer argument may be called by providing an int parameter instead; in this case, the Java compiler would handle the translation of int to integer.
  • A value was given to a variable in the wrapper class that was a match. For illustration's sake, a long variable may have a long object allocated to it.



Unboxing in Java

Unpacking refers to the process of converting an object from a wrapper type to the primitive data type that is comparable to it. Unpacking is a feature that is implemented by the Java compiler when an object of a wrapper class is:

  • The object of this fundamental type is passed on to a method that anticipates receiving it.
  • A value of the appropriate primitive type was given to the variable.


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Autoboxing and Unboxing in Java- When and How to do it?


We will learn about autoboxing and unpacking in Java in this lesson. We have briefly explored this concept in our lesson about Java wrapper classes. Since Java 5, the Autoboxing and Unboxing concepts have been available in Java. Using this technique, we may alternately transform the basic data types into their corresponding wrapper classes.


What is Autoboxing and Unboxing in Java


Autoboxing: Using autoboxing, a basic data type may be transformed into an instance of its wrapper class in Java. Integers, longs, and doubles may all be converted to the Integer class, for example.

Unboxing: In Java, unboxing refers to the process in which the compiler converts the value of an object that belongs to a wrapper class into the value of the primitive data type with which it is associated. In other words, it is the total antithesis of autoboxing in every possible way. when converting from one type to another, for as when going from an integer datatype to an int datatype or from a double datatype to a double datatype.


Advantage of Autoboxing and Unboxing in Java

It is not essential for a Java programmer to directly or manually construct the code to change basic data into a wrapper class object, and vice versa. This is because Java supports automatic code generation. The autoboxing and unpacking processes are taken care of on the fly by the Java compiler whenever they are required. A java developer course fees can go up to INR 60 thousand.

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