Why equal operator works for Integer value until 128 number?

Why Integer == operator does not work for 128 and after Integer values? Can someone explain this situation?

This is my Java environment:

java version "1.6.0_37"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_37-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.12-b01, mixed mode)

Sample Code:

Integer a;
Integer b;
a = 129;
b = 129;

for (int i = 0; i < 200; i++) {
    a = i;
    b = i;

    if (a != b) {
        System.out.println("Value:" + i + " - Different values");
    } else {
        System.out.println("Value:" + i + " - Same values");
    }
}

Some part of console output:

Value:124 - Same values
Value:125 - Same values
Value:126 - Same values
Value:127 - Same values
Value:128 - Different values
Value:129 - Different values
Value:130 - Different values
Value:131 - Different values
Value:132 - Different values

Solution

Check out the source code of Integer . You can see the caching of values there.

The caching happens only if you use Integer.valueOf(int), not if you use new Integer(int). The autoboxing used by you uses Integer.valueOf.

According to the JLS, you can always count on the fact that for values between -128 and 127, you get the identical Integer objects after autoboxing, and on some implementations you might get identical objects even for higher values.

Actually in Java 7 (and I think in newer versions of Java 6), the implementation of the IntegerCache class has changed, and the upper bound is no longer hardcoded, but it is configurable via the property "java.lang.Integer.IntegerCache.high", so if you run your program with the VM parameter -Djava.lang.Integer.IntegerCache.high=1000, you get "Same values" for all values.

But the JLS still guarantees it only until 127:

Ideally, boxing a given primitive value p, would always yield an identical reference. In practice, this may not be feasible using existing implementation techniques. The rules above are a pragmatic compromise. The final clause above requires that certain common values always be boxed into indistinguishable objects. The implementation may cache these, lazily or eagerly.

For other values, this formulation disallows any assumptions about the identity of the boxed values on the programmer's part. This would allow (but not require) sharing of some or all of these references.

This ensures that in most common cases, the behavior will be the desired one, without imposing an undue performance penalty, especially on small devices. Less memory-limited implementations might, for example, cache all characters and shorts, as well as integers and longs in the range of -32K - +32K.