How To Print In Java

In Java, should you need to print the statement then most people will usually use the printIn() method.

This is a part of the PrintScreen class of Java. The overall class  also gives you the opportunity to use other methods for the exact same purpose. 

Printing in Java can be exceptionally useful, and it is a fairly common command used by many Java users. 

Today, we will talk you through how you can print using Java. Whether you are a rookie or a Java veteran, this will give you the opportunity to learn all you need to know about doing so. 

We will also give you the chance to understand the statement System.out. Println, in Java. 

Whatever method you want to use, will depend on what you are seeking to print, as well as the output that you want from this. There are three methods of printing your statements with Java. 

These are print(), printIn(), and printf() methods. 

We will look at each of these individually, so you can understand which you should use and when, as well as how. 

Understand The Print() Method

The first method is the print() method. This method is usually used as a way to print text on the console. 

This is an overloaded part of the PrintStream class, it allows string as being a parameter, and once it has printed the statement, you will find that the cursor will sit on the same line. 

Note that if the argument is null then it will print null. However, when you pass by a string as being a parameter, then you will find that the characters of this will be converted into bytes.

This happens due to the default encoding. After this, the bytes will be written in the exact same way as the method for write().

There are a few different prints for the overload method. 

You can use; 

print(boolean b) which prints a Boolean value.

Print (char c) which prints a character.

Print (Char[] s) which will print out a multitude of characters. 

Print(double d) which will print out a floating-point, double-precision number. 

Print(float f) which gives you a floating-point number. 

print(int i) which provides an integer.

print(object obj) for an object. 

And you can also use methods print(string s) or A string. 

Understanding The PrintIn() Method 

The print() method is slightly outdated, but the printIn() method is actually an upgraded version of this. 

This is the version which is used to allow the display of text on your console. This is another method overloaded of the class PrintStream. 

This method accepts string as its parameter. 

Once you have printed the statement, it will not do what print() does, but instead it will throw your cursor to the very start of the next line. 

This is actually the main difference between the print() and the printIn() methods for printing in Java. 

As for prints, these are the same as print(), however you can also get print(long i) which is a long integer. 

Understanding The Printf() Method

Then we have the printf() method of printing in Java. This is the method that you should decide to use if you want to print your formatted string out to your console through the use of arguments and a specific formatted string. 

This is another method of overload in the PrintStream class of Java printing. 

It will actually behave fairly similarly to the use of the format() method you will also be familiar with if you are a Java veteran. 

As you return to the output stream, you will find that there are two different parameters that it will accept. 

You will first find ‘format’. Which is a formatted string.

You will also find ‘args’ which is an argument that is referred to by the specifiers of the format.

If the arguments number is higher than that of the specifiers of the format, then you can expect the other (excess) arguments to be ignored. 

In fact, the number of arguments might even drop to zero!

It will also throw out a NullPointerException if your format is null, and then if the string contains any illegal syntax then it will also throw the IllegalFormatException. 

There is also another overloaded print(f) method in Java as well though.

This is printf(locale I, String format, Object….) this is a method that is made to write up a format string to your output stream by using a specific format arguments and strings. 

However, nothing is perfect, as we all well know, and the issue with these three methods is that you cannot actually directly use these methods.

This is because we simply are unable to craft an object of the PrintStream class.

Outputting Your Print In Java

So, if you decide to use the print() or printIn() method in order to print your statement, do note that these methods will be slow performers, as they are synched methods. 

Many threads can lead to a more minimal performance. It will rack up a heavy overhead and load on your machine when compared to other operations. 

It will require quite a lot of the kernel time in order to actually complete this task. And if you did not know, kernel time actually means time for the CPU. 

Of course, you can also use other methods like PrintWriter class for outputting, it is actually quite fast when you compare it to PrintStream. But, we will let you be the judge of that. 

To Conclude

Overall, we cannot tell you which is the best way to print, it all depends on what you need to print.

However, we would say that once you have tried printing, it is good to try different methods. 

It’s about trial and error, you may feel that the PrintStream class just is not working for you. That’s okay, try something else.