In Java What is the default value stored in Local Variables?
In Java, local variables do not have a default value. Unlike instance variables (fields of a class) and static variables, which are automatically initialized to default values (e.g., 0
for numeric types, false
for boolean, null
for object references), local variables must be explicitly initialized before they can be used. If you try to use a local variable without initializing it, the Java compiler will throw a compilation error.
Here's an example to illustrate this:
public class Example {
public void myMethod() {
int localVar; // local variable declared but not initialized
// System.out.println(localVar); // This will cause a compilation error
localVar = 10; // Now it's initialized
System.out.println(localVar); // This will work fine
}
}
In the above code, if you uncomment the line that tries to print localVar
before it is initialized, you will get a compilation error indicating that the variable might not have been initialized.