Is int an object in Java?

Question

More precisely, is int a part of the Integer class (a stripped down version or something) or is it something else entirely?

I am aware that int is a value type and Integer a reference type, but does int inherit from Object anyway?

(I am assuming that in this regard int, long, boolean etc are all similar. int was just chosen for convenience)

Answer 1

• The basic types in Java are not objects and does not inherit from Object.

• Since Java 1.5 introduced allowed auto boxing between int and Integer(and the other types).

• Because ints aren't Objects that can't be used as generic type parameters eg the T in list<T>

Answer 2

If you talk about Integer:

The Integer class wraps a value of the primitive type int in an object. An object of type Integer contains a single field whose type is int.

In addition, this class provides several methods for converting an int to a String and a String to an int, as well as other constants and methods useful when dealing with an int.

int is not object, its a primitive type.