toString method

The Java toString() method is a built-in method provided by the Object class and is available for all objects. It is used to obtain a string representation of an object. The default implementation of toString() in the Object class returns a string containing the class name and the object’s hash code.

However, it is often a good practice to override the toString() method in your own classes to provide a meaningful and human-readable representation of the object’s state. This is especially useful for debugging and logging purposes.

To override the toString() method, follow these steps:

1. Add the toString() method to your class, typically by providing your own implementation.
2. Inside the toString() method, construct a string that represents the object’s state or properties.
3. Return the constructed string.

Here’s an example of overriding the toString() method in a custom class:

public class Person {
    private String name;
    private int age;

    public Person(String name, int age) {
        this.name = name;
        this.age = age;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Person{name='" + name + "', age=" + age + '}';
    }
}

In this example, the Person class has overridden the toString() method to provide a custom string representation of a Person object. The overridden method returns a string containing the person’s name and age.

You can then use the toString() method to obtain a string representation of a Person object like this:

Person person = new Person("Alice", 30);
String personInfo = person.toString();
System.out.println(personInfo); // Output: Person{name='Alice', age=30}

It’s a good practice to provide a meaningful toString() method for your custom classes because it makes debugging and logging easier, as you can quickly see the state of objects in a human-readable format.