Casting one type to another type

Question

For this block statement:
       public static String methodEx(MyClass  objRef)
           if (objRef  !=  null)
              StringBuffer dat = new StringBuffer();
              for(int i=0;i < 40;i++)
                     dat.append( "myData" + i );
       return dat.toString();
       }I assume this line: return dat.toString();
is casting the StringBuffer object reference (dat) to a String object reference?

Answer 1

I assume this line: return dat.toString();
is casting the StringBuffer object reference
(dat) to a String object reference?Nope. Casting is when you don't really change the data, but rather you change the name of the "box" that its in. For instance the code below casts a long variable as an int:
   long longVar = 500L;
   int intVar = (int)longVar;toString is a method that takes the StringBuffer data, and changes it to something completely different, a String, and no casting is involved. Another way that I look at it, casting is almost a passive process while the toString method above is an active process.