Literals#

Number Literals#

Integer Literals#

• Description: Represents whole numbers without any fractional or decimal component.
• Technical Details: Can be positive or negative. Typically represented in decimal (base 10), but can also be in binary (base 2), octal (base 8), or hexadecimal (base 16).
• Usage: Used for counting, indexing, and basic arithmetic operations.
• Example:

  Int positiveInt = 123;
  Int negativeInt = -456;
  Int binaryInt = 0b1010;   // Binary literal
  Int octalInt = 0123;      // Octal literal
  Int hexInt = 0x1A3;       // Hexadecimal literal
  

Floating-point Literals#

• Description: Represents numbers with fractional or decimal components.
• Technical Details: Can be positive or negative. Typically represented in decimal notation or scientific notation.
• Usage: Used for calculations requiring precision with decimal points, such as scientific and financial computations.
• Example:

  Float simpleFloat = 123.45;
  Float negativeFloat = -67.89;
  Float scientificFloat = 1.23e4;   // Scientific notation (1.23 x 10^4)
  

Text Literals#

Character Literals#

• Description: Represents a single character enclosed in single quotes.
• Technical Details: Can include letters, digits, symbols, or escape sequences.
• Usage: Used to store and manipulate individual characters.
• Example:

  Char letter = 'A';
  Char digit = '7';
  Char symbol = '#';
  Char escapeSequence = '\n';   // Newline character
  

String Literals#

• Description: Represents a sequence of characters enclosed in double quotes.
• Technical Details: Can include letters, digits, symbols, and escape sequences. Supports concatenation and various string operations.
• Usage: Used to store and manipulate text data.
• Example:

  String greeting = "Hello, world!";
  String multiline = "This is line 1.\nThis is line 2.";
  String concatenated = "Hello, " + "world!";
  

Boolean Literals#

• Description: Represents logical values indicating true or false.
• Technical Details: Used in conditional statements and logical operations.
• Usage: Indicates the truthiness or falsiness of a condition.
• Example:

  Boolean isActive = true;
  Boolean isComplete = false;
  if (isActive) {
      // Perform some action
  }
  

Null Literals#

• Description: Represents the absence of a value or a non-existent reference. none
• Technical Details: Indicates that a variable does not currently hold a valid value.
• Usage: Used to signify uninitialized or optional values.
• Example:

  Object value = none;
  if (value == none) {
      // Handle the absence of a value
  }