Where do array Methods Come From?

Question

I've been curious about this for awhile. I can't find anything useful on google; all I end up with are array tutorials, which don't go into the "meat and potatoes" of my question at all.
It's probably easiest to point out what I'm asking by posting the following first:
public class TestArray{
   public static void main(String [] args){
      String [] catSounds = {"meow", "purr", "growl"};
      System.out.println(catSounds.toString());
      System.out.println("length: " + catSounds.length);
}Okay, so given a basic String array (could be an array of anything, including primitives, but I just used String for simplicity's sake), we can call functions on it, like toString above. However, for lack of better wording, where does that method come from? I used eclipse's "open declaration" feature on the method, and it took me to toString in Object. But I didn't think a basic array was an Object?
Similarly, where is the length field stored (eclipse's "open declaration" feature doesn't work on it)? It has to be encapsulated by some class somewhere, right?
Is there a hidden class that extends Object (duh) and encapsulates the information for an array, and does the java compiler just translate the array syntax into calls to that class? Or am I missing something?

Answer 1

kevinaworkman wrote:
That link explains some of it. It explains all of it. ;o)
So was I correct when I said there's a "hidden" (inaccessible and not listed in the API) class that extends Object and encapsulates the array data?Sort of yes, sort of no.
10.8 Class Objects for Arrays
Every array has an associated Class object, shared with all other arrays with the same component type. The direct superclass of an array type is Object. Every array type implements the interfaces Cloneable and java.io.Serializable.
There isn't a general single Array class the way you're thinking (java.lang.reflect.Array isn't what you're looking for). Arrays have special support in the Java language, as described in the JLS.
Why go through the trouble of having special syntax for an array if there's a class that could have been used just like any other class?Tradition.
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