Yes, if you called myMethod() 10 times it will create 10 unique and separate objects.

The new keyword does exactly what it says on the tin, it creates a brand new object, irrespective of whether one already exists. It creates a new object and stuffs the reference to that object inside the variable it has been given, overwriting any previous value (object) the variable held.

Is the myObject variable reallocated every time?

Again, yes it would be re-allocated with a new object every time the method was called. An interesting note about this would be that the variable wouldn't "really" be re-allocated as you are defining the variable within the method body itself, so every time the method ends it will remove the variables that were defined within its' scope. So what it actually does is create 10 individual variables and assign 10 individual objects, although as I said the others should have been removed automatically so it wouldn't use any additional memory.

In a nutshell: should I write code like that only if I plan to invoke that method only once?

Well as I said, in the example above each object would be destroyed at the end of method execution (assuming you didn't assign the object reference to a variable outside the scope of the method) so in your example you could happily call the method as many times as you wanted but each time would in no way be connected to the previous calls.

I realise my way of writing can be confusing, so if you want me to clarify anything just ask.

Updated Answer to reflect edited question

'why not declare FileWriter, FileReader, BufferedReader and BufferedWriter at the top of the class as they did for the other variables?'

Okay, I assume you understand that the variables are not actually called FileWriter, FileReader, BufferedReader, and BufferedWriter, but rather this is the variable type. Their names are fw, fr, br, and bw. If you don't understand what I mean just ask. From now on I will refer to the variables by the names you did to make reading more easy, afterall fw just stands for FileWriter anyway so there should not be too much confusion.

The key to this question is hidden within the names of the variables themselves. Notice how they either end in Reader or Writer this can give us a subtle clue about their uses. Clearly FileWriter and BufferedWriter are to do with output in some way. By looking over the code we see that our suspicions were right and that at no point other than within the writeText(JTextArea area) method do these variables appear. So if the variable aren't used anywhere else within the code it would make logical sense to define and initialise them within the method that they are used in, not only does it make the code easier to read because we then "know" those variables are only related to that method, but also has the benefit of those variables being removed at the end of method execution, thereby not leaving variables in existence that were only used very briefly. By these rules we can say the same is true of FileReader and BufferedReader.

Observe this example about variable scope. (Look at the comments I added to the code)

public class DataBase {

private static String buf, retString = "\n"; // buf & retString - created
private static File file = new File("test.txt"); // file - created

public static void readText(JTextArea area) {   
    try {
        FileReader fr = new FileReader (file); // fr (FileReader) - created
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr); // br (BufferedReader) - created
        while ((buf = br.readLine()) != null) {
            area.append(buf); 
            area.append(retString);
        }
        br.close();
        fr.close();
    } // fr (FileReader & br (BufferedReader) - destroyed
    catch (IOException e) {
        System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
    }
}

public static void writeText(JTextArea area) {
    try {
        FileWriter fw = new FileWriter (file); // fw (FileWriter) - created
        BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw); // bw (BufferedWriter) - created
        bw.write(area.getText());
        bw.close(); 
        fw.close();
    } // fw & bw - destroyed
    catch (IOException e) {
        System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
    }
}
} // buf, retString and file - Still exist as long as the object exists

From this example it becomes more clear as to why the variables are defined in the methods rather than as instance variables and initialised within the constructor. It allows for much cleaner code as well as being more readabe.

Why doing it every time the method is called rather than using maybe the same instance variable?

Well this question has to do with variable types. We couldn't reuse a single variable for all the information as the types would have needed to be different.

If we take all the variables from the code

private static String buf, retString = "\n"; // valid
private static File file = new File("test.txt"); // valid

FileReader fr = new FileReader (file); // valid
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr); // valid
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter (file); // valid
BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw); // valid

Now we know that we cannot place a value that is not of the same type as the variable into that variable so something like

FileReader fr = new BufferedReader(fr); // Is not valid!

Because the types simply don't match.

Make sense?

Answer from linuscash on Stack Overflow
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Javatpoint
javatpoint.com › new-keyword-in-java
Java new Keyword - Javatpoint
The Java new keyword is used to create an instance of the class. In other words, it instantiates a class by allocating memory for a new object and returning a reference to that memory. We can also use the new keyword to create the array object. - Learn basics of Java new Keyword
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › [java] what does the "new" keyword in java mean, in simple english?
r/learnprogramming on Reddit: [Java] What does the "new" keyword in java mean, in simple english?
October 10, 2017 -

I've just started learning java, and i'm not very familiar with the concepts of objects, i just started learning about taking in inputs in java and using scanner within the process. One thing I don't understand after I declare a variable and say it belongs in the class of a Scanner, why do i have to initialize it and type in "new Scanner(System.in)". I understand that the system.in used to get bytes from the keyboard but I don't understand why we have to use the new keyword and also Scanner after that.

EDIT : Thanks a lot for all the help everyone, i've now got pretty good understanding of the "new" keyword.

Top answer
1 of 5
66
Simply put, the new keyword creates a new object of the specified type. It does this by allocating memory for the object on the heap . So if you were to declare the following Scanner scanner1 = new Scanner(System.in); Scanner scanner2 = new Scanner(new File("some/path/to/file.txt"); You now have 2 different scanners that read input from different input streams. I don't understand why we have to use the new keyword and also Scanner after that. The reason why you have to use the keyword new followed by Scanner is you are telling Java to "create a new object of type Scanner, using the constructor Scanner(InputStream)"
2 of 5
16
Simple explanation: when you do int foo; there's no actual number in foo, you've created the variable, but not the value. Middle explanation: the new keyword actually creates the object and allocates memory for it. Deeper explanation: So you need to understand the concept of pointers. In Java you can't actually access pointers, but it's an important thing to understand. In languages like C a pointer is literally a number that's the memory address of something else. So your int* variable is a pointer, that tells you where in memory to find your int. This seems rather redundant at first, until you look at objects. The compiler has no idea how big your object is, or how big it might become. If you have an array in there it could be null or it could be a zillion items long. So, what does the compiler do? You do this: Image img; And the compiler says "OK, so we need to make sure we have enough space for one address (a handful of bytes), no problem". Then, later in the program, there's the line: img = open("vvvvvLargeImage.png"); And then the compiler can say "oh, that image is 100MB, let's allocate that much memory now". If the compiler had tried to allocate the memory before it knew what it was allocating it for it would be using more memory than needed, would need to free up that memory should the created object not fit in it and generally do stuff that's not needed.
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › java › ref_keyword_new.asp
Java new Keyword
assert abstract boolean break byte case catch char class continue default do double else enum exports extends final finally float for if implements import instanceof int interface long module native new package private protected public return requires short static super switch synchronized this throw throws transient try var void volatile while Java String Methods
Top answer
1 of 6
26

Yes, if you called myMethod() 10 times it will create 10 unique and separate objects.

The new keyword does exactly what it says on the tin, it creates a brand new object, irrespective of whether one already exists. It creates a new object and stuffs the reference to that object inside the variable it has been given, overwriting any previous value (object) the variable held.

Is the myObject variable reallocated every time?

Again, yes it would be re-allocated with a new object every time the method was called. An interesting note about this would be that the variable wouldn't "really" be re-allocated as you are defining the variable within the method body itself, so every time the method ends it will remove the variables that were defined within its' scope. So what it actually does is create 10 individual variables and assign 10 individual objects, although as I said the others should have been removed automatically so it wouldn't use any additional memory.

In a nutshell: should I write code like that only if I plan to invoke that method only once?

Well as I said, in the example above each object would be destroyed at the end of method execution (assuming you didn't assign the object reference to a variable outside the scope of the method) so in your example you could happily call the method as many times as you wanted but each time would in no way be connected to the previous calls.

I realise my way of writing can be confusing, so if you want me to clarify anything just ask.

Updated Answer to reflect edited question

'why not declare FileWriter, FileReader, BufferedReader and BufferedWriter at the top of the class as they did for the other variables?'

Okay, I assume you understand that the variables are not actually called FileWriter, FileReader, BufferedReader, and BufferedWriter, but rather this is the variable type. Their names are fw, fr, br, and bw. If you don't understand what I mean just ask. From now on I will refer to the variables by the names you did to make reading more easy, afterall fw just stands for FileWriter anyway so there should not be too much confusion.

The key to this question is hidden within the names of the variables themselves. Notice how they either end in Reader or Writer this can give us a subtle clue about their uses. Clearly FileWriter and BufferedWriter are to do with output in some way. By looking over the code we see that our suspicions were right and that at no point other than within the writeText(JTextArea area) method do these variables appear. So if the variable aren't used anywhere else within the code it would make logical sense to define and initialise them within the method that they are used in, not only does it make the code easier to read because we then "know" those variables are only related to that method, but also has the benefit of those variables being removed at the end of method execution, thereby not leaving variables in existence that were only used very briefly. By these rules we can say the same is true of FileReader and BufferedReader.

Observe this example about variable scope. (Look at the comments I added to the code)

public class DataBase {

private static String buf, retString = "\n"; // buf & retString - created
private static File file = new File("test.txt"); // file - created

public static void readText(JTextArea area) {   
    try {
        FileReader fr = new FileReader (file); // fr (FileReader) - created
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr); // br (BufferedReader) - created
        while ((buf = br.readLine()) != null) {
            area.append(buf); 
            area.append(retString);
        }
        br.close();
        fr.close();
    } // fr (FileReader & br (BufferedReader) - destroyed
    catch (IOException e) {
        System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
    }
}

public static void writeText(JTextArea area) {
    try {
        FileWriter fw = new FileWriter (file); // fw (FileWriter) - created
        BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw); // bw (BufferedWriter) - created
        bw.write(area.getText());
        bw.close(); 
        fw.close();
    } // fw & bw - destroyed
    catch (IOException e) {
        System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
    }
}
} // buf, retString and file - Still exist as long as the object exists

From this example it becomes more clear as to why the variables are defined in the methods rather than as instance variables and initialised within the constructor. It allows for much cleaner code as well as being more readabe.

Why doing it every time the method is called rather than using maybe the same instance variable?

Well this question has to do with variable types. We couldn't reuse a single variable for all the information as the types would have needed to be different.

If we take all the variables from the code

private static String buf, retString = "\n"; // valid
private static File file = new File("test.txt"); // valid

FileReader fr = new FileReader (file); // valid
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr); // valid
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter (file); // valid
BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw); // valid

Now we know that we cannot place a value that is not of the same type as the variable into that variable so something like

FileReader fr = new BufferedReader(fr); // Is not valid!

Because the types simply don't match.

Make sense?

2 of 6
4

Yes, a new object is created every time. The reference to each myObject is allocated in the stack.

In a nutshell: should I write code like that only if I plan to invoke that method only once?

If you want myObject to disappear after the method execution is completed, then yes. If for some reason, you need to keep a reference to it, then you can declare it as a class member.

class MyClass {
    AnotherClass myObject;
    void myMethod() {
        myObject = new AnotherClass();
        myObject.doStuff();
    }
}

This way, it will still be created each time you call myMethod(), but it will still exist after myMethod completes. This can be handy, or not, depending on the situation.

Does the complier skip that like of code as it sees that the object has already been created and the variable myObject already been assigned to such object?

This won't happen when using new. It is guaranteed that it will create a fresh instance. It can be implemented using FactoryMethods (not the compiler skipping lines of code, but preventing the creation of a new object). For example, the Integer class implements this: If you try to get an integer between -128 and 127, it will always return the same instance (won't create a new object) when using its Factory Method valueOf

 Integer five = Integer.valueOf("5");//Will always return the same instance.
 Integer otherFive = Integer.valueOf("5");

 assert(five==otherFive);//true

Of course, using new won't return the same instance, but always a new one:

 Integer five = new Integer("5");//Will create a new object each time.
 Integer otherFive = new Integer("5");

 assert(five==otherFive);//false

After question update

There's really not much to say about the code you added. However, if you take a look, you'll notice two methods. Based on its names, once seems to write, the other one seems to read. That behaviour is specific to each method, so the method that writeFile doesn't care about objects used for reading. And the method readFile doesn't care about objects used to write. So there's no sense on making a fileReader available to the writeFile method, and so on.

Coming back to your original question, yes, this instantiates a new object each time the method is called. It's not important. It's preferable to having to ask yourself "why does the readFile method has access to a FileWriter instance?

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Javatpoint
javatpoint.com › java-keywords
Java Keywords - Javatpoint
Java int keyword · Java new Keyword · Java null reserved word · Java private keyword · Java protected keyword · Java public keyword · Java return Keyword · Java Control Statements · Java If-else · Java Switch · Java For Loop · Java While Loop · Java Do While Loop ·
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › the-new-operator-in-java
The new operator in Java
Initialization − The 'new' keyword is followed by a call to a constructor. This call initializes the new object. ... public class Puppy { public Puppy(String name) { // This constructor has one parameter, name. System.out.println("Passed Name is : " + name ); } public static void main(String ...
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Medium
medium.com › @rohitdoshi9 › what-does-new-keyword-do-in-java-c93d82b2a5f0
What does “new” keyword do in Java? | by Rohit Doshi | Medium
March 17, 2024 - What does “new” keyword do in Java? In Java, the new keyword is used to create an instance of a class. When you declare a class in Java, you are defining a blueprint for objects of that class. To …
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DataCamp
datacamp.com › doc › java › new
new Keyword in Java: Usage & Examples
Learn how the `new` keyword in Java dynamically allocates memory for objects, enabling class instantiation. Explore syntax, examples, and best practices for effective object-oriented programming in Java.
Find elsewhere
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NxtWave
ccbp.in › blog › articles › new-keyword-in-java
What is New Keyword in Java? | Learn Object Creation & Initialisation
The new keyword in Java is used to create objects, which are class instances. It has a role in allocating memory for the object and initialising it. When you use the new keyword, Java automatically calls the class's constructor.
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › home › articles on trending technologies › new keyword in java
New Keyword in Java
March 6, 2020 - Learn about the 'new' keyword in Java, its usage for creating objects, and how it plays a crucial role in memory management.
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Team Treehouse
teamtreehouse.com › community › can-someone-help-me-understand-the-new-and-this-keywords-in-java
Can someone help me understand the 'new' and 'this' keywords in java? (Example) | Treehouse Community
March 21, 2016 - You could say by making say a batch of 24 cookies you're making 24 unique (new) instances of a cookie (in Java this would be new cookie, which means creating a cookie). Now let's say you want to eat one of the 24 cookies, how do you know which one to eat? You point to that one that has the most chocolate chips on it and say, "I'll eat this cookie!" (this cookie) However each new cookie has its own cool properties that you can assign...like one say, looks like a triangle. Each new instance can be referred to by the keyword this (which always refers to the object...in this case one of the cookies).
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Javatpoint
javatpoint.com › this-keyword
this keyword in Java
Java int keyword · Java new Keyword · Java null reserved word · Java private keyword · Java protected keyword · Java public keyword · Java return Keyword · Java Control Statements · Java If-else · Java Switch · Java For Loop · Java While Loop · Java Do While Loop ·
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Hero Vired
herovired.com › home page › blogs › new keyword in java: uses with examples - hero vired
New Keyword in Java: Uses with Examples - Hero Vired
January 22, 2025 - Moreover, after an object is no longer used, Java’s garbage collector takes care of the memory, freeing it up for the future. The new keyword is a savior in Java because it creates objects, a must-have for Java’s classes and methods.
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Scaler
scaler.com › topics › new-keyword-in-java
New Keyword in Java - Scaler Topics
May 13, 2022 - The new keyword requires a single postfix constructor to instantiate the corresponding class. The key phrase “instantiating a class” can be described as “creating an object.” When we create an object, we are actually creating an “instance” of the class.
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Javatpoint
javatpoint.com › q › 6203 › what-is-the-use-of-creating-string-object-by-new-keyword
what is the use of creating String object by new keyword | 6203
Java Data Structures C Programming C++ Tutorial C# Tutorial PHP Tutorial HTML Tutorial JavaScript Tutorial jQuery Tutorial Spring Tutorial · Tcs Intuit Wipro Adobe Infosys Amazon Accenture Cognizant Capgemini Microsoft
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Javatpoint
javatpoint.com › how-to-create-object-in-java
How to Create Object in Java - javatpoint
Java int keyword · Java new Keyword · Java null reserved word · Java private keyword · Java protected keyword · Java public keyword · Java return Keyword · Java Control Statements · Java If-else · Java Switch · Java For Loop · Java While Loop · Java Do While Loop ·
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PrepBytes
prepbytes.com › home › java › new keyword in java
new Keyword in Java
April 17, 2023 - Object Polymorphism: The new keyword in java is used to create instances of subclasses that inherit from a superclass, the runtime type of the object will be the type of the subclass, making the object able to use the method overridden by the ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-does-the-new-keyword-do-exactly-in-Java
What does the new keyword do exactly in Java? - Quora
Answer (1 of 9): In java, New keyword is basically used for creating objects. It allocates memory for an object and it is handle at run time. e.g.: Class Student { int marks=90; public static void main(string args[]) { Student s=new Student(); ...
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Geekster
geekster.in › home › new keyword in java
Java New Keywords (with Example)
June 27, 2024 - The new keyword in Java is used to create an instance of a class, also known as an object.
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Sololearn
sololearn.com › en › Discuss › 2099612 › what-is-the-use-of-new-keyword-in-java
What is the use of new keyword in java? | Sololearn: Learn to code for FREE!
"new" keyword is used to create an object of a class. Only after you use a new keyword, a memory block on the heap is allocated for that object. ... I think that going through the Java tutorial may help.