Ton Duc Thang University

Faculty of Information Technology

OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING
LAB 3: STRINGBUFFER, STRINGBUILDER, STRINGTOKENIZER
I. Objective
After completing this tutorial, you can:

• Understand how to program with StringBuffer, StringBuilder, and StringTokenizer.

II. The class StringBuffer

In some situations, it is useful to be able to alter the sequence of characters stored in a string. But
class String supports only nonmutable string. To create mutable string use the class StringBuffer from
the package java.lang. This class provides the same functionality as the class String, plus the
following methods that actually modify the value stored in the StringBuffer object.
StringBuffer Constructors
1. StringBuffer()

Creates a StringBuffer with empty content and 16 reserved characters by default.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();

2. StringBuffer(int sizeOfBuffer)

Creates a StringBuffer with the passed argument as the size of the empty buffer.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer(20);

3. StringBuffer(String string)

Creates a StringBuffer with the passed String as the initial content of the buffer. 16 contingent memory
characters are pre-allocated, not including the buffer, for modification purposes.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello World!");

StringBuffer Methods
1. length()
Returns the StringBuffer object’s length.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello");

int sbLength = sb.length();
System.out.println("String Length of " + sb + " is " + sbLength);
// String Length of Hello is 5

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2. capacity()

Returns the capacity of the StringBuffer object.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello");

int sbCapacity = sb.capacity();
System.out.println("Capacity of " + sb + " is " + sbCapacity);
// Capacity of Hello is 21
3. append()

Appends the specified argument string representation at the end of the existing String Buffer. This
method is overloaded for all the primitive data types and Object.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Happy ");

sb.append("New Year ");
sb.append(2020);
System.out.println(sb);
// Happy New Year 2020
4. insert()
The string str is inserted into this string buffer at the index indicated by offset. Any characters originally
above that position are moved up and the length of this string buffer increased by the length of str.
If str is null, the string null is inserted into this string buffer.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("HelloWorld ");

sb.insert(5, " ");
sb.insert(sb.length(), 2020);
System.out.println(sb);
//Hello World 2020
5. reverse()
Reverses the existing String or character sequence content in the buffer and returns it. The object must
have an existing content or else a NullPointerException is thrown.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello World");

System.out.println(sb.reverse());
//dlroW olleH
6. delete(int start, int end)

Removes the characters in a substring of this string buffer starting at index start and extending to the
character at index end - 1 or to the end of the string buffer if no such character exists. If start is
equal to end, no changes are made. This method may throw StringIndexOutOfBoundsException if
the value of start is negative, greater than the length of the string buffer, or greater than end.

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StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello World");

System.out.println(sb.delete(5,11));
//Hello
7. setCharAt(int index, char ch)

The character at index indexof this string buffer is set to ch. This method may
throw IndexOutOfBoundsException if the value of index is negative or is greater than or equal to
the length of the string buffer.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello World");

System.out.println(sb.setCharAt(2, 'E'));
//HEllo World
8. replace(int start, int end, String str)

Replaces the characters in a substring of this string buffer with characters in the specified string str.
The substring to be replaced begins at index start and extends to the character at index end - 1 or
to the end of the string buffer if no such character exists. The substring is removed from the string buffer,
and then the string str is inserted at index start. If necessary, the string buffer is lengthened to
accommodate the string str. This method may throw StringIndexOutBoundsException if the
value of start is negative, greater than the length of the string buffer, or greater than end.

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Hello World!");

System.out.println(sb.replace(6,11,"Earth"));
//Hello Earth!

III. The class StringBuilder

Java StringBuilder class is mutable sequence of characters. StringBuilder Class can be comparable
to String however the StringBuilder class provides more versatility because of its modification
features.

• StringBuilder class provides an API similar to StringBuffer, but unlike StringBuffer, it

doesn’t guarantee thread safety.

• Java StringBuilder class is designed for use as a drop-in replacement for StringBuffer in
places where the string buffer was being used by a single thread (as is generally the case).

• If execution speed and performance is a factor, StringBuilder class can be used in place
of StringBuffer.

• The bread-and-butter operations provided by the StringBuilder Class are the append() and
insert() methods. These methods are overloaded within StringBuilder in order to
accommodate different data type.

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• The general process flow of StringBuilder append and insert methods is: (1) converts a given
data to a string then (2) appends or inserts the characters of that string to the string builder.
Java StringBuilder append() method always adds these characters at the end of the
builder; insert() method inserts character(s) at a specified point.

StringBuffer and StringBuilder

StringBuilder
StringBuffer
Not synchronized, not thread safe.
Synchronized, hence thread safe.
Better performance compared to StringBuffer
Operates slower due to thread safety feature
Has some extra methods – substring, length, Not needed because these methods are present in
String too
capacity etc.

StringBuilder Constructors
1. StringBuilder()
Creates an empty string builder with a default capacity of 16 (16 empty elements).

StringBuilder str = new StringBuilder();

2. StringBuilder(CharSequence seq)
Constructs a string builder containing the same characters as the specified CharSequence, plus an extra
16 empty elements trailing the CharSequence.

StringBuilder str1 = new StringBuilder("AAAABBBCCCC");

3. StringBuilder(int capacity)
Creates an empty string builder with the specified initial capacity.

StringBuilder str2 = new StringBuilder(10);

4. StringBuilder(String str)
Creates a string builder whose value is initialized by the specified string, plus an extra 16 empty elements
trailing the string.

StringBuilder str3 = new StringBuilder("Hello World");

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StringBuilder Methods
1. append()

StringBuilder append() method concatenates or attaches the passed String argument with the existing
declared string. It attaches it after the declared string.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("Hello ");

sb.append("World");
System.out.println(sb);
// Hello World
2. insert()

StringBuilder insert() method inserts the passed String argument at the passed String index.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("HellWorld");

sb.insert(4, "o ");
System.out.println(sb);
// Hello World
3. replace(int startIndex, int endIndex, String str)

StringBuilder replace() method replaces the existing declared string. String replacement occurs
from the passed startingIndex up to the endingIndex.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("Hello World!");

sb.replace(6,11,"Earth");
System.out.println(sb);
// Hello Earth!
4. delete(int startIndex, int endIndex)

StringBuilder delete() method deletes a character or sets of characters. Deletion occurs at passed
startingIndex up to endingIndex.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("Dung Cam Quang");

sb.delete(0,9);
System.out.println(sb);
//Quang
5. reverse()

The reverse() method of StringBuilder class reverses the existing declared string. Invoking
a reverse() method on a StringBuilder object with no existing declared value
throws NullPointerException.

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StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("devil");

sb.reverse();
System.out.println(sb);
// lived
6. capacity()

The capacity() method of StringBuilder class returns the current capacity of

the StringBuilder object. The default capacity of the Builder is 16. If the number of character increases
from its current capacity, it increases the capacity by (old_capacity2)+2 e.g. at current capacity 16, it
becomes (162)+2=34.

StringBuilder sb=new StringBuilder();

System.out.println(sb.capacity()); // default value 16
sb.append("Java");
System.out.println(sb.capacity()); // still 16
sb.append("Hello StringBuilder Class!");
System.out.println(sb.capacity()); // (16*2)+2

IV. The class StringTokenizer

Another useful class when working with strings is StringTokenizer in the package java.util. This
class allows a program to break a string into pieces or tokens. The tokens are separated by characters
known as delimiters. When you create a StringTokenizer instance, you must specify the string to be
tokenized. Other constructors within StringTokenizer allow you to specify the delimiting characters
and whether the delimiting characters themselves should be returned as tokens.

String Tokenizer Constructors

1. StringTokenizer(String str)

This constructor creates a string tokenizer for the specified string str. The tokenizer uses the default
delimiter set, which is the space character, the tab character, the newline character, the carriage-return
character, and the form feed character. Delimiter characters themselves are not treated as tokens.

StringTokenizer st1 = new StringTokenizer("Hello guy How are you");

2. StringTokenizer(String str, String delim)

This constructor creates a string tokenizer for the specified string str. All characters in
the delim string are the delimiters for separating tokens. Delimiter characters themselves are not treated
as tokens.

StringTokenizer st2 = new StringTokenizer("JAVA : Code : String", " :");

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3. StringTokenizer(String str, String delim, boolean returnTokens)

This constructor creates a string tokenizer for the specified string str. All characters in
the delim string are the delimiters for separating tokens. If the returnTokens flag is true, the
delimiter characters are also returned as tokens. Each delimiter is returned as a string of length 1. If the
flag is false, the delimiter characters are skipped and serve only as separators between tokens.

StringTokenizer st3 = new StringTokenizer("JAVA : Code : String", " :", true);

StringTokenizer Methods
1. nextToken()

Returns the next token in the string. If there are no more tokens in the string, it throws the
exception NoSuchElementException.

2. hasMoreTokens()
Returns true if the string contains more tokens.

StringTokenizer st1 = new StringTokenizer("Hello guy How are you", " ");
while (st1.hasMoreTokens())
{
System.out.println(st1.nextToken());
}
// Hello
// guy
// How
// are
// you
3. countTokens()
Calculates the number of times that this tokenizer's nextToken method can be called before it generates
an exception. The current position is not advanced. This function returns the number of tokens remaining
in the string using the current delimiter set.

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IV. Exercises
1. Write a Java program:
o Split the full name into first name and last name (using StringTokenizer).

2. Write a Java program:

o Count number of words in string (using StringTokenizer)

o Concatenate one string contents to another (using StringBuffer or StringBuilder).

o Check a string is palindrome or not (using StringBuffer or StringBuilder).

3. Write a Java program:

o Remove leading white spaces from a string (using StringTokenizer and
StringBuffer/StringBuilder).
o Remove trailing white spaces from a string (using StringTokenizer and
StringBuffer/StringBuilder).
o Remove extra spaces from a string (using StringTokenizer and StringBuffer/StringBuilder).

4. Write a Java program:

o Write a function that processes a String paragraph, count occurrences of each word in the
paragraph, and store them in a 2D-array.
o Write a main function, use the above function and print the matrix to the screen.
For example: "I live in Ho Chi Minh city. I study at TDTU"

Screen:

I 2
live 1
in 1
Ho 1
Chi 1
Minh 1
city 1
study 1
at 1
TDTU 1

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