---
title: Java String replace() Method - Scaler Topics
description: In Java, we can replace occurrences of a character or substring using the replace() method. Learn more on Scaler topics.
category: Java
author: Bharat L. Vora
---

:::section{.main}

In Java, we can replace occurrences of a character or substring using the `replace()` method, which has two variations:

1. `replace(char oldChar, char newChar)`
2. `replace(CharSequence oldString, CharSequence newString)`

These methods return a new string with the replacements made. Note that the original string is not modified since strings in Java are immutable.

### Syntax

The `replace()` method in Java has two syntaxes.

* 1. Syntax for Replacing a Character:

public String replace(char searchChar, char newChar)

* 2. Syntax for Replacing a Substring:

string.replace(CharSequence oldString, CharSequence newString);

### Parameters Values

To replace all occurrences of a particular character with another character in Java, we use the first syntax of the replace() method in Java.

> 1. **`oldChar`** - The character to be replaced in the string.
> 2. **`newChar`** - The character to be used instead of oldChar in the string.

To replace all occurrences of a particular string or substring with another string or substring, we use the second syntax of the replace() method in java.

> 1. **`oldString`** - The string or substring to be replaced in the original string.
> 2. **`newString`** - The string or substring to be used in place of the old string or substring in the original string.
:::

:::section{.main}
### Return Value

The `replace()` method in Java returns a new string where each occurrence of a character/word/sentence has been replaced with a new character/word/sentence.

If there is no match for the new character/word/sentence, the `replace()` in java method returns the original string.

### Exception

We cannot use `null` as an argument in the `replace()` method. If we use `null` as an argument, the system will throw a `NullPointerException`.

### Internal Implementation

Here is the internal implementation of the replace method in java:

public String replace(char oldChar, char newChar) {
    // If the characters are not equal
    if (oldChar != newChar) {
        int len = value.length; // Length of the string
        int i = -1; // Initialize index variable
        
        char[] val = value; // Get the character array of the string

        // Find the index of the first occurrence of oldChar
        while (++i < len) {
            if (val[i] == oldChar) {
                break;
            }
        }

        // If oldChar is found
        if (i < len) {
            char buf[] = new char[len]; // Create a new character array to store the modified string
            
            // Copy characters from the original string until the index of oldChar
            for (int j = 0; j < i; j++) {
                buf[j] = val[j];
            }

            // Replace all occurrences of oldChar with newChar
            while (i < len) {
                char c = val[i];
                buf[i] = (c == oldChar) ? newChar : c;
                i++;
            }
            
            // Return the new string created from the modified character array
            return new String(buf, true);
        }
    }
    
    // If oldChar is not found or oldChar equals newChar, return the original string
    return this;
}

:::

:::section
## Java String replace() Method Examples

### Example 1: Java String replace(char old, char new) Method

Replacing One Character with Another in Java Using `replace()` in java.

public class Main {

  public static void main(String[] arg) {
    System.out.println("Original String - G00d M0rning");

    //replacing '0' with 'o' and displaying it on the screen.
    System.out.println(
      "Corrected String - " + "G00d M0rning".replace('0', 'o')
    );
  }
}

**Output:**

Original String - G00d M0rning
Corrected String - Good Morning

In the above code, we display the string object "`G00d M0rning`" and then call the replace() method on this object. We replace '0' with 'o' and then print the modified string on the screen.

### Example 2: Java String replace(CharSequence target, CharSequence replacement) Method

Example of the `replace(CharSequence oldString, CharSequence newString)` method in Java:

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String originalString = "Hello, World!";
        String newString = originalString.replace("World", "Java");
        
        System.out.println("Original String: " + originalString);
        System.out.println("Replaced String: " + newString);
    }
}

**Output:**

Original String: Hello, World!
Replaced String: Hello, Java!

### Exception 3: Exception in Java replace() method

public class Main {

  public static void main(String[] arg) {
    String obj = "Hello World";
    try {
      //replacing "World" with null and trying to store it again in 'obj'
      obj = obj.replace("World", null);

      //Displaying the replaced string
      System.out.println(obj);
        
    } catch (NullPointerException e) {
      System.out.println("NullPointerException occurred!");
    }
  }
}

**Output**

NullPointerException occurred!

:::

:::section{.summary}
## Conclusion

- The `replace()` in java is a built-in method of the Java `String` class.
- It is utilized to replace characters or substrings within a string.
- If the replacement does not find a match, the original string remains unchanged and is returned as the result.

:::

:::section{.faq-section}
## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

**Q**. What implementations are available for the replace() in Java String class?

**A**. There are various other built-in method implementations, such as:
* replaceFirst()
* replaceAll()

**Q**. Do replaceAll() and replace() work the same?

**A**. replaceAll() is an advanced implementation of replace() where regular expressions can be used to replace in java all occurrences of characters in a string.