Java: println with char array gives gibberish
When you say
System.out.println(b);It results in a call to print(char[] s) then println()
The JavaDoc for print(char[] s) says:
Print an array of characters. The characters are converted into bytes according to the platform's default character encoding, and these bytes are written in exactly the manner of the write(int) method.
So it performs a byte-by-byte print out.
When you say
System.out.println("char[] b: " + b);It results in a call to print(String), and so what you're actually doing is appending to a String an Object which invokes toString() on the Object -- this, as with all Object by default, and in the case of an Array, prints the value of the reference (the memory address).
You could do:
System.out.println("char[] b: " + new String(b));Note that this is "wrong" in the sense that you're not paying any mind to encoding and are using the system default. Learn about encoding sooner rather than later.
Use
System.out.println("char[] b: " + Arrays.toString(b));The gibrish you get is the Class name followed by the memory address of the object. Problem occurs when you try to append b with a string char[] b: in this case the char array b.toString() method is called thus [C@56e5b723 is printed.
[ indicates that it is an arrayC indicates the class in this case char@56e5b723 indicates the memory location