Primitive Data Types

Let's start by diving into the primitive data types that Java offers.

The primitive data types include byte, short, int, long, float, double, boolean, and char. The primitive data type specifies the size and type of variable values.

byte

A Byte data type is used to save space in larger arrays in the place of integers. A byte is four times smaller than an integer. The default value of a byte is 0.

byte b = 90 ;

short

A short data type can be used to save memory similar to a byte data type. A short is two times smaller than an integer. The default value of a short is 0.

short s = 1200;

int

An integer is the conventionally used default data type for values unless there is a concern about memory. The default value of an integer is 0.

int var = 5;

long

A long is a type used when a wider range than an int is needed. The default value of a long is 0L.

long l = 1000l;

float

A float is mainly used to save memory in large data structures of floating point numbers or to represent a collection of floating point numbers. The default value of a float is 0.0f.

float f = 3.14f

boolean

A boolean data type is used for flags that examine true or false conditions. There are only two possible values: true and false. The default value is false.

boolean var = true;

double

A double is generally used as the default data type for decimal values. It can be used to represent both floating point and decimal numbers. The default value is 0.0d.

double d = 1000.2;

char

A char is used to store any character.

char ch= 'A';