title: Default value of Java String: null vs ""
body: <p>The default value of a Java String is 'null'. However, when I instantiate the string, it seems to be an empty string instead. Can somebody explain this please ?</p>
  
  <pre><code>class Stuff
  {
      String a;
      String b = new String();
  }
  
  class Demo
  {
      public static void main( String[] args )
      {
         Stuff s = new Stuff();
         System.out.println( s.a );
         System.out.println( s.b );
  
         if( s.b.equals( "" ) )
         {
              System.out.println( "true" );
         }
      }
  }
  </code></pre>