Primitive Data Types (byte, short, int, long, float, double, char, boolean)

Beginner13 min read•Updated: 2026-10-22

🔢 Java's 8 Primitive Data Types

Introduction

Java is a strongly-typed language. Data is stored either as primitive types (allocated directly on the stack) or reference types (objects allocated on the heap). Java specifies exactly 8 primitive types, with identical bit sizes across all platforms.

📊 The 8 Primitives Summary

Type	Size	Range	Default Value	Example Literal
`byte`	1 byte (8 bits)	-128 to 127	`0`	`byte b = 100;`
`short`	2 bytes (16 bits)	-32,768 to 32,767	`0`	`short s = 25000;`
`int`	4 bytes (32 bits)	-2.14B to +2.14B	`0`	`int count = 450000;`
`long`	8 bytes (64 bits)	-9 quintillion to +9 quintillion	`0L`	`long pop = 8000000000L;` (Requires `L`)
`float`	4 bytes (32 bits)	~7 decimal digits	`0.0f`	`float temp = 98.6f;` (Requires `f`)
`double`	8 bytes (64 bits)	~15 decimal digits	`0.0d`	`double fee = 4999.75;`
`char`	2 bytes (16 bits)	0 to 65,535 (Unicode UTF-16)	`'\u0000'`	`char grade = 'A';`
`boolean`	JVM-dependent	`true` or `false`	`false`	`boolean active = true;`

💻 Working Example

1public class PrimitiveDemo {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
      int studentRoll = 101;
      double courseFee = 3499.50;
      char section = 'B';
      boolean isFeePaid = true;
      long transactionId = 9876543210123L; // Note trailing 'L'
8 
      // Modern numeric literals can use underscores for readability:
      int million = 1_000_000;
11 
      System.out.println("Roll: " + studentRoll);
      System.out.println("Fee: ₹" + courseFee);
      System.out.println("Section: " + section);
      System.out.println("Fee Cleared: " + isFeePaid);
      System.out.println("Txn ID: " + transactionId);
  }
18}

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Structure of a Java Class & public static void main(String[] args)	Widening and Narrowing Type Casting & Type Safety

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Widening and Narrowing Type Casting & Type Safety

Primitive Data Types (byte, short, int, long, float, double, char, boolean)

Beginner13 min read•Updated: 2026-10-22

Study Materials

🔢 Java's 8 Primitive Data Types

Introduction

📊 The 8 Primitives Summary

Type	Size	Range	Default Value	Example Literal
`byte`	1 byte (8 bits)	-128 to 127	`0`	`byte b = 100;`
`short`	2 bytes (16 bits)	-32,768 to 32,767	`0`	`short s = 25000;`
`int`	4 bytes (32 bits)	-2.14B to +2.14B	`0`	`int count = 450000;`
`long`	8 bytes (64 bits)	-9 quintillion to +9 quintillion	`0L`	`long pop = 8000000000L;` (Requires `L`)
`float`	4 bytes (32 bits)	~7 decimal digits	`0.0f`	`float temp = 98.6f;` (Requires `f`)
`double`	8 bytes (64 bits)	~15 decimal digits	`0.0d`	`double fee = 4999.75;`
`char`	2 bytes (16 bits)	0 to 65,535 (Unicode UTF-16)	`'\u0000'`	`char grade = 'A';`
`boolean`	JVM-dependent	`true` or `false`	`false`	`boolean active = true;`

💻 Working Example

1public class PrimitiveDemo {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
      int studentRoll = 101;
      double courseFee = 3499.50;
      char section = 'B';
      boolean isFeePaid = true;
      long transactionId = 9876543210123L; // Note trailing 'L'
8 
      // Modern numeric literals can use underscores for readability:
      int million = 1_000_000;
11 
      System.out.println("Roll: " + studentRoll);
      System.out.println("Fee: ₹" + courseFee);
      System.out.println("Section: " + section);
      System.out.println("Fee Cleared: " + isFeePaid);
      System.out.println("Txn ID: " + transactionId);
  }
18}

Next Lesson

Widening and Narrowing Type Casting & Type Safety

Continue learning with hands-on practice, examples, and exercises in the upcoming topic.

Related Lessons

Previous Lesson	Next Lesson
Structure of a Java Class & public static void main(String[] args)	Widening and Narrowing Type Casting & Type Safety

Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of this lesson with 1 questions. Each question has one correct answer.

Previous Next