What is a literal in Java?

Literals are fixed values expressed in Java source code: 3, 55.2, 'c', "string".

Any fixed value that can be expressed with some dedicated syntax in Java is a literal:

  • Integers 48123
  • Longs 943L
  • Doubles 33.2
  • Octals 023
  • Hexadecimals 0x64
  • Characters 'c'
  • Strings "a string"