Java Constants. Final variables

Sometimes, you need to use a variable that should not be modified during the execution of the program. Such variables are known as constants. Java provides a special keyword called final to declare them. The only difference between a regular variable and a final variable is that we cannot modify the value of a final variable once assigned. Hence final variables must be used only for the values that we want to remain constant throughout the execution of the program.

Final variables

The following code demonstrates two final variables: constant variable PI which represents a well-known mathematical constant and HELLO_MSG which represents a string text.

final double PI = 3.1415;
final String HELLO_MSG = "Hello";

System.out.println(PI); // 3.1415
System.out.println(HELLO_MSG); // Hello

Both variables cannot be modified since they are declared as final, but they can be accessed as many times as necessary.

A good practice is to represent a final variable in all caps using an underscore to separate words. It allows you to distinguish them from regular variables. But sometimes, you will also see final variables written in lowercase: this is also admissible for local final variables.

Note, that the Java compiler will produce an error when trying to modify the value of a final variable.

Here is an example:

final double PI = 3.1415;
PI = 3.1416; // error line

And there will be a compile error: cannot assign a value to final variable 'PI;.

Important, if a final variable has not been assigned before using it, the compiler also will produce an error "variable" might not have been initialized".

Here is an example:

final boolean FALSE;
System.out.println(FALSE); // error line

To fix it, just assign a value before accessing the value of a final variable:

final boolean FALSE;       // not initialized
FALSE = false;             // initialized
System.out.println(FALSE); // no errors here

Notice that the value of a final variable can be reassigned to a regular variable without any restrictions:

final int count = 10;
int cnt = count;
cnt = 20; // no errors here, cnt is not final

The value of a regular variable can be changed any time as always.

Final reference variables

The Java final keyword can be legally used with reference variables. In this case, the final keyword means that it is not possible to reassign a reference to the variable.

Here is an example with the StringBuilder class which is a mutable version of String.

final StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
builder = new StringBuilder(); // error line

In this code, the second line won't compile since we are trying to reassign a reference to the final variable builder. But there is one important point to consider.

Note, that it is always possible to change the internal state of an object pointed at by a final reference variable, i.e. the constant is only the variable itself (the reference), not the object to which it refers.

So, the following code is absolutely correct:

final StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(); // ""
builder.append("Hello!"); // it works
System.out.println(builder.toString()); // Hello!

As you can see, this code changed the internal state of an object ("" → "Hello!") referenced by a final variable. When we invoked the append() method we changed not the object itself but just the value of its fields. The append() method is one of the main operations on a StringBuilder that are not available in String. It converts its argument to a String and then appends its characters to the character sequence.

Since Java 11, it is also possible to use final with var to use automatic type inference for a constant variable.

final var FINAL_VAR = 10; // int
final var MSG = "Hello!"; // String

When to use final variables

We hope you understand how the final keyword works for local variables. Now it's time to figure out when to use it.

Some programmers mark all variables that they do not want to modify as final. In this case, the program will contain a lot of such variables.

final Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
final int a = scanner.nextInt();
final int b = scanner.nextInt();
System.out.println(a + b);

This approach allows you to write Java programs with the minimum number of mutable variables which usually leads to fewer errors. In addition, the Java compiler can optimize code with final variables effectively and your program can be a little faster. But this is not always a predictable behavior and needs some advanced knowledge of code optimization.

There is also a counter-argument: massive use of the final keyword makes your code less readable due to more boilerplate code.

Thus, in our learning examples, we will not always write the final keyword, but sometimes you will see such examples. While you're coding, you can write or avoid this keyword. During your real work as a programmer, we hope that the issue of using finals will be standardized for all programmers in the project.

Interestingly, the final keyword can also be used in some different contexts, not only for declaring constants.