Relation between == Operator and .equals() Methods in Java

In Java, comparing objects for equality often involves two key approaches: the == operator and the .equals() method. Understanding the fundamental differences between these methods is crucial to writing accurate and efficient code.

== Operator

• Purpose: Performs reference equality comparison. It checks if two objects refer to the same memory location in the heap.
• Behavior:
• Returns true if both operands refer to the same object instance.
• Returns false if they refer to different objects, even if their values are identical.
• Use Cases:
• Primarily for primitive data types (e.g., int, double, boolean).
• Not recommended for objects, as it often leads to unexpected behavior.

.equals() Method

• Purpose: Performs value equality comparison. It determines if the contents (attributes/fields) of two objects are the same.
• Behavior:
• Defined in the Object class, but can be overridden in custom classes to provide specific comparison logic.
• By default, compares reference equality if not overridden.
• For most classes, it’s…