What does type mean in Java?

Java provides a class with name Class in java. … Instances of the class Class represent classes and interfaces in a running Java application. The primitive Java types (boolean, byte, char, short, int, long, float, and double), and the keyword void are also represented as Class objects.

The types of the Java programming language are divided into two categories: primitive types and reference types . The primitive types (§4.2) are the boolean type and the numeric types. The numeric types are the integral types byte , short , int , long , and char , and the floating-point types float and double .

The term type is more general than class. Types in Java include primitive types and reference types – and the reference types include classes and interfaces. So “type” can mean primitive, class, or interface, while “class” means only class .

Type generally refers to the classification of primitive values – integers, strings, arrays, booleans, null, etc. Usually, you can’t create any new types. Class refers to the named set of properties and methods which an object is associated with when it is created.