15/1/2015

How Does System.out.println work in Java

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How System.out.println() works
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In Java, how does System.out.println()

work?
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This question is an excellent example

of how just some very basic
knowledge of Java can lead you to the
correct answer. Most interviewers
would not expect you to know the
answer to do this right away but
would like to see how you think and
arrive at an answer.
Marcus Aurelius (a Roman emperor)
once said: "Of each particular thing
ask: what is it in itself? What is its
nature?". This problem is an excellent
example of how that sort of thinking
can help one arrive at an answer with
only some basic Java knowledge.

With that in mind, lets break this down, starting with the dot operator. In Java, the dot
operator can only be used to call methods and variables so we know that out must be
either a method or a variable. Now, how do we categorize out? Well, out could not
possibly be a method because of the fact that there are no parentheses the ( ) after
out, which means that out is clearly not a method that is being invoked. And, out
does not accept any arguments because only methods accept arguments you will never
see something like System.out(2,3).println. This means out must be a variable.

What is out in System.out.println()?

We now know that out is a variable, so we must now ask ourselves what kind of
variable is it? There are two possibilities it could be a static or an instance variable.
Because out is being called with the System class name itself, and not an instance of
a class (an object), then we know that out must be a static variable, since only static
variables can be called with just the class name itself. So now we know that out is a
static member variable belonging to the System class.

Is out in System.out.println() an instance variable?

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Noticing the fact that println()

is clearly a method, we can
further classify the out in
System.out.println(). We have
already reasoned that out is a
static variable belonging to the
class System. But now we can
see that out must be an
instance of a class, because it is
invoking the method println().

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The thought process that one

should use to arrive at an answer
is purposely illustrated above.
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Without knowing the exact
answer beforehand, you can
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arrive at an approximate one by
applying some basic knowledge of Java. Most interviewers wouldnt expect you to
know how System.out.println() works off the top of your head, but would rather see you
use your basic Java knowledge to arrive at an answer thats close to exact.

When and where is the out instantiated in

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15/1/2015

How Does System.out.println work in Java

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System.out.println?
When the JVM is initialized, the method initializeSystemClass() is called that does
exactly what its name says it initializes the System class and sets the out variable.
The initializeSystemClass() method actually calls another method to set the out
variable this method is called setOut().

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Jaime 23 468

The final answer to how system.out.println() works

The more exact answer to the original question is this: inside the System class is the
declaration of out that looks like: public static final PrintStream out, and inside the
Prinstream class is a declaration of println() that has a method signature that looks
like: public void println().
Here is what the different pieces of System.out.println() actually look like:
//the System class belongs to java.lang package
class System {
public static final PrintStream out;
//...
}
//the Prinstream class belongs to java.io package
class PrintStream{
public void println();
//...
}
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How Does System.out.println work in Java

visitor

8 months ago

I was wondering how the hell can we call a non static println() method without
any instance, thanks for the info about initializeSystemClass().
12

Reply Share

Haveesh > visitor

16 days ago

Out is a object of PrintStream class that resides in System class. So

System.out.println() is correct...

Reply Share

a year ago

System is public final and PrintStream is public.

And PrintStream has println method definition, not just the declaration. Actually
there are multiple println overloaded method definitions there.
println() calls print() which in turn calls write() and then the calling chain goes
like that to print the parameter passed.
5

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hamreen ahmad

5 months ago

'out' is an object of the reference type PrintStream

3

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MichaelM

2 months ago

The questions from others is a reason why these types of questions seem
irrelevant to me. Maybe when would you use the command or what is it used
for? I wonder how many actual programmers could articulate something like
this versus use it adequately? If you're basing hiring someone on these types
of questions I'd ask if you're hiring a programmer or a professor? lol
1

Reply Share

Youngsam

a month ago

http://www.javainterview.net

Guest

Reply Share

6 months ago

The question is how is System.out connected to println(). Are you saying it's a
variable that calls a method. I think that's the puzzling part.

Reply Share

MANTU KUMAR > Guest

4 months ago

System class uses static final reference variable 'out' ( public static
final PrintStream out; ) of type PrintStream to invoke the method
'println()' defined in PrintStream class. Actually System class imports
'java.io' package to so that it can invoke the method 'println()'
You can view : System.out.println() explained for better understanding.

Reply Share

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