An array is a data structure used to store data of the same type. Arrays store their elements in contiguous memory locations.

In Java, arrays are objects. All methods of class object may be invoked in an array. We can store a fixed number of elements in an array.

Let’s declare a simple primitive type of array:

int[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

Now let’s try to print it with the System.out.println() method:

System.out.println(intArray);
// output: [I@74a14482

Why did Java not print our array? What is happening under the hood?

The System.out.println() method converts the object we passed into a string by calling String.valueOf() . If we look at the String.valueOf() method’s implementation, we'll see this:

public static String valueOf(Object obj) {
    return (obj == null) ? "null" : obj.toString();
}

If the passed-in object is null it returns null, else it calls obj.toString() . Eventually, System.out.println() calls toString() to print the output.

If that object’s class does not override Object.toString()'s implementation, it will call the Object.toString() method.

Object.toString() returns getClass().getName()+‘@’+Integer.toHexString(hashCode()) . In simple terms, it returns: “class name @ object’s hash code”.

In our previous output [I@74a14482 , the [ states that this is an array, and I stands for int (the type of the array). 74a14482 is the unsigned hexadecimal representation of the hash code of the array.

Whenever we are creating our own custom classes, it is a best practice to override the Object.toString() method.

We can not print arrays in Java using a plain System.out.println() method. Instead, these are the following ways we can print an array:

1. Loops: for loop and for-each loop
2. Arrays.toString() method
3. Arrays.deepToString() method
4. Arrays.asList() method
5. Java Iterator interface
6. Java Stream API

Let’s see them one by one.

1. Loops: for loop and for-each loop

Here's an example of a for loop:

int[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

for(int i=0; i<intArray.length; i++){
    System.out.print(intArray[i]);
    // output: 25461234
}

All wrapper classes override Object.toString() and return a string representation of their value.

And here's a for-each loop:

int[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

for(int i: intArray){
    System.out.print(i);
    // output: 25461234
}

2. Arrays.toString() method

Arrays.toString() is a static method of the array class which belongs to the java.util package. It returns a string representation of the contents of the specified array. We can print one-dimensional arrays using this method.

Array elements are converted to strings using the String.valueOf() method, like this:

int[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(intArray));
// output: [2, 5, 46, 12, 34]

For a reference type of array, we have to make sure that the reference type class overrides the Object.toString() method.

For example:

public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Student[] students = {new Student("John"), new Student("Doe")};
        
        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(students));
        // output: [Student{name='John'}, Student{name='Doe'}]
    }
}

class Student {
    private String name;

    public Student(String name){
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Student{" + "name='" + name + '\'' + '}';
    }
}

This method is not appropriate for multidimensional arrays. It converts multidimensional arrays to strings using Object.toString() which describes their identities rather than their contents.

For example:

// creating multidimensional array
int[][] multiDimensionalArr = { {2,3}, {5,9} };

System.out.println(Arrays.toString(multiDimensionalArr));
// output: [[I@74a14482, [I@1540e19d]

With the help of Arrays.deepToString(), we can print multidimensional arrays.

3. Arrays.deepToString() method

Arrays.deepToString() returns a string representation of the “deep contents” of the specified array.

If an element is an array of primitive type, it is converted to a string by invoking the appropriate overloading of Arrays.toString() .

Here is an example of the primitive type of multidimensional array:

// creating multidimensional array
int[][] multiDimensionalArr = { {2,3}, {5,9} };

System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(multiDimensionalArr));
// output: [[2, 3], [5, 9]]

If an element is an array of reference type, it is converted to a string by invoking Arrays.deepToString() recursively.

Teacher[][] teachers = 
{{ new Teacher("John"), new Teacher("David") }, {new Teacher("Mary")} };

System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(teachers));
// output: 
[[Teacher{name='John'}, Teacher{name='David'}],[Teacher{name='Mary'}]]

We have to override Object.toString() in our Teacher class.

If you are curious as to how it does recursion, here is the source code for the Arrays.deepToString() method.

NOTE: Reference type one-dimensional arrays can also be printed using this method. For example:

Integer[] oneDimensionalArr = {1,4,7};

System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(oneDimensionalArr));
// output: [1, 4, 7]

4. Arrays.asList() method

This method returns a fixed-size list backed by the specified array.

Integer[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

System.out.println(Arrays.asList(intArray));
// output: [2, 5, 46, 12, 34]

We have changed the type to Integer from int, because List is a collection that holds a list of objects. When we are converting an array to a list it should be an array of reference type.

Java calls Arrays.asList(intArray).toString() . This technique internally uses the toString() method of the type of the elements within the list.

Another example with our custom Teacher class:

Teacher[] teacher = { new Teacher("John"), new Teacher("Mary") };

System.out.println(Arrays.asList(teacher));
// output: [Teacher{name='John'}, Teacher{name='Mary'}]

NOTE: We can not print multi-dimensional arrays using this method. For example:

Teacher[][] teachers = 
{{ new Teacher("John"), new Teacher("David") }, { new Teacher("Mary") }};
        
System.out.println(Arrays.asList(teachers));

// output: [[Lcom.thano.article.printarray.Teacher;@1540e19d, [Lcom.thano.article.printarray.Teacher;@677327b6]

5. Java Iterator Interface

Similar to a for-each loop, we can use the Iterator interface to loop through array elements and print them.

Iterator object can be created by invoking the iterator() method on a Collection. That object will be used to iterate over that Collection’s elements.

Here is an example of how we can print an array using the Iterator interface:

Integer[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

// creating a List of Integer
List<Integer> list = Arrays.asList(intArray);

// creating an iterator of Integer List
Iterator<Integer> it = list.iterator();

// if List has elements to be iterated
while(it.hasNext()) {
    System.out.print(it.next());
    // output: 25461234
}

6. Java Stream API

The Stream API is used to process collections of objects. A stream is a sequence of objects. Streams don’t change the original data structure, they only provide the result as per the requested operations.

With the help of the forEach() terminal operation we can iterate through every element of the stream.

For example:

Integer[] intArray = {2,5,46,12,34};

Arrays.stream(intArray).forEach(System.out::print);
// output: 25461234

Now we know how to print an array in Java.

Thank you for reading.

Cover image by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash.

You can read my other articles on Medium.

Happy Coding!