Using contents of a String as the name for a variable

Question

I'm trying to write code that will evaluate the contents of a String variable and then use the contents as the name for an object. For example, my program will create an unknown number of Student objects. I would like to name the Student objects student1, student2,... . In the code below, how do I get the last line of the method to create a new Student called something like "student3" instead of "varName"? Thanks, Julie
int numberOfStudents= 0;
public void createStudent()
   numberOfStudents++;
   String varName = "student" + numberOfStudents;
   Student varName = new Student();
}

Answer 1

The name of the reference variable is irrelevant to the functional aspect of the application. The 'Name' should be a property of the student class. EG
class Student {
private String name;
public String getName() { return name; }
public void setName() { this.name = name; }
public Student() { this(null); }
public Student(String name) { setName(name); }
now your code becomes
public void createStudent() {
numberOfStudents++;
Student newStudent =
new Student("student"+numberOfStudents);
// now do something with the new student...
If you're expecting to use the 'Student' instance outside of this method you need to store a reference to it somewhere more accessible (like a field, in a list or an array) or return the reference from this method...