How to override toString() method ?

Question

class  Test
String x[];
int c;
Test(int size)
x=new String[size];
c=-1;
public void addString(String str)
x=new String
x[++c]=str;
public void String toString()
//  i want to override toString method to view the strings existing in the x[]...
//   how do i view the strings ?
//  probabily i should NOT use println() here (..as it is inside tostring() method ..right? )
//   so i should  RETURN   x[] as an array...but the  toString() method return  type is String not the String array!.
//   so i am in trouble.
so in a simple way my question is how do i override toString() method to view the Strings stored in the array ?
i am avoiding println() bcoz of bad design.
}

Answer 1

AS you said, the toString method returns a String - this String is supposed to be a representation of the current instance of your class's state. In your case, your class's state is a String array, so you just pick a format for that and make a String that fits that format. Maybe you want it to spit out something like:
Test[1] = "some string"
Test[2] = "some other String"If so, code something like:public String toString() {
    StringBuffer returnValue = new StringBuffer();
    for (int i = 0; i < x.length; i++) {
        returnValue.append("Test[" + i + "] = \"" + x[i] + "\"";
    return returnValue.toString();
} If you don't mind the formatting of the toString method that Lists get, you could just do something like:public String toString() {
    return java.util.Arrays.asList(this).toString();
} and call it good. That will print out something like:
[Some String, another String, null]Depending on what's in your array.
Good Luck
Lee