Java: Float Vs Double | What’s the Difference?

Are you curious to know the difference between Float vs Double in Java? Do you know what data types are present in floating point numbers in Java programming languages? In this article, we will discuss different data types associated with floating point numbers in Java programs. Still, if you get stuck somewhere and need help with Java homework then you can hire a Java expert at CodingZap.

In Java programming languages, there are two floating point numbers are present. They are Float data type & double data type. We will find out key differences present in the Java float vs double data types, but before that, we need to understand the basic concept.

So, let us start our discussion with the definition of the float data type & double data types.

What Is Float Data Type In Floating Point Numbers?

From the word Floating point numbers, we are emphasizing the numeric data where some fractional data is present. And in the case of the Java float data type, fractional numeric data is present. So, it comes under the floating point number concept.

Java float data type is considered as the IEEE 754 bit value data type where the size of the bits is 32 bits. By declaring the Java float data type, the compiler of the program allocates 4 bytes of the memory space in the device. Also, the Java float data type has a special wrapper class available.

public class Main
{
	public static void main(String[] args) {
        float zap =  1.5f; // Providing Some Float Value
}}

What Is Double Data Type In Floating Point Numbers?

The double data type is another data type that is used to represent floating point numbers in Java programs. When we use the double data type, we are using some of the numbers that hold some fractional data which is similar to the Java float data types.

But still, there are some differences present in the Java float and double data type. Like, the double data type required 8 bytes of memory space while declaring it in the Java program. Also, the size of the bits in the double data types is 64 bits & many more differences are present.

What Are The Differences Present In Java Float Vs Double Data Type?

After clearing all the basic doubts regarding the float and double data types, it is time to focus on the differences that existed between the float and double data types. We will discuss all of them one by one with one example to clarify the concept.

Java Float Vs Double Difference In Range Value:

There is a difference between the range value of the float and double data type in the Java program. There are two inbuilt functions present which provide the range of the float and double data type. Using those we can get the range value difference.

Like, the lower range of the float values is 4.9E-324 & the upper range value is 1.797. On the other hand, the lower range of the double values is 1.4E-45 & the upper range value is 3.4. So, there is a difference in the range number.

It can be demonstrated with the help of one example.

Code To Implement The Range Difference In Float And Double Data Type:

public class Main
{
	public static void main(String[] args) {
	    // Printing Range Of Double
        System.out.println("Range Of Double Data Type From " +Double.MIN_VALUE+ " To "+Double.MAX_VALUE);
        System.out.println();
        // Printing Range Of Float
        System.out.println("Range Of Float Data Type From " +Float.MIN_VALUE+ " To "+Float.MAX_VALUE);
	}
}

Explanation Of The Code:

1. Inside the program, two print statements have been implemented. These will be used to print the range value of the float and double data type.
2. Now, two inbuilt function is used in the program. The MIN_VALUE function will be used to get lower values & the MAX_VALUE will be used to get upper values.

Output:

From the above output, we can see that the range values are different from Java float and double keyword. So, this can be considered one of the major key differences in Java float vs double.

Java Float Vs Double Difference In Double Precision Condition:

Decimal value is considered with the help of the Precision data. And there is a difference in Float vs Double in regard to the precision points. The double data type holds the double precision number & the single precision is used as the float precision number.

In the case of the float variable, there can only be 7 decimal points can be included. And in the case of the double data type, the decimal point can reach up to 15 points which is nearly double the float data type. That is the reason, it is called double precision.

Code To Implement The Precision Difference In Float And Double Data Type:

public class Main
{
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		double zap =  5.6 + 5.8; // Adding Two Double Numbers
        System.out.println("Double Number Precision Gives: " + zap);
        float one =  5.6f + 5.8f; // Adding The Same Two Float Numbers
        System.out.println("Float Number Precision Gives: " + one);
	}
}

Explanation Of The Code:

1. Inside the program, two double values are added using one variable. And the result will be printed.
2. Now, the same data will be used in the float variable & will perform the addition operation. The data will again be printed.
3. Now, there will be a small change in the output.

Output:

From the output, we can see that the double data type is providing the right value after doing addition. While the float data type makes some modifications in the result & providing the rounding-off value. Such difference occurs due to the use of single precision.

Java Float Vs Double Difference For Holding Default Data Type Condition:

Among Float and double variables, the double is recognized as the default data type inside of the Java program. That means any floating point value will automatically be recognized as the double data type in the Java program.

If you have to identify any floating point arithmetic data as a float data type, you should use one special character. That is the use of ‘f’. In the case of the double data type, the character ‘d’ can be used. But it is optional.

Code To Implement The Default Data Type Difference In Float And Double:

public class Main
{
	public static void main(String[] args) {
        float one =  5.6f; // Providing Some Float Value
        one = one + 5.6; // Trying To Add Float & Double
        System.out.println("Result: " + one); // Error Occurs
	}
}

Explanation Of The Code:

1. Inside the program, one float data will be declared & some values will be provided there.
2. Now, we will try to add one fractional data to that variable. It should be noted that we have not used the ‘f’ character after the data. So, it will be considered as double data.
3. Now, we will try to print the result in the console.

Output:

The output is giving an error because we have tried to implement a possible lossy conversion. That means, either we tried to convert float to double or tried to convert double to float data type. There will be no error if both Java float data are used for addition.

Java Float Vs Double Difference In Wrapper Class:

Both Java Float and Double falls under primitive data types in Java program. That means they come with all the library functions in Java. So, there is a presence of wrapper class in these double float variables. The wrapper class is used to make an object from a function.

The wrapper class of float will be the java.lang.Float & for double is the java.lang.Double. The use of these classes for floating point values is discussed below.

Code To Implement The Wrapper class In Float And Double:

import java.lang.*; // Importing Package
public class Main {
   public static void main(String args[]) {
      Float zap = new Float("41.87"); // Using Float Wrapper Class
      System.out.println("Data Using Float Wrapper Class: "+ zap); // Printing Data
      Double one = new Double("41.87"); // Using Double Wrapper Class
      System.out.println("Data Using Double Wrapper Class: "+ one); // Printing Data
   }
}

Explanation Of The Program:

1. Inside the program, one necessary package has been imported to where all the wrapper classes belong
2. Now, one float object will be declared using the above-mentioned class. And the double object will be created with the same process. To avoid any exceptions or errors that may occur during the conversion process, it is important to convert an object to an integer in Java.
3. Now, both the data will be printed which will provide decimal digits that are required for floating point calculation.

Output:

From the output, we can see that the decimal points have been printed on the console. We don’t use any specific characters for printing the decimal digits. Only proper class is used to get the floating point types.

Comparison Table To Get The Difference In Between Float And Double In Java:

After we discussed Java float and Java double with a high level of data compression, it is time to make different tables among them. Because of the different tables, you need to memorize them to get marks in the exam.

The discussion is solely done to clear data compression between Foat & Double in Java. Now, it is time to focus on the following table.

Conclusion:

As we saw it is very important to understand Float & Double in Java program.

Every student gets confused with the decimal numbers implementation process in Java. Because they don’t know the major differences between the Float & Double in Java.

If they understood the concept from the root, there will be no misunderstanding. That is the reason, we advise to clear the basic concept of the Java programming language to have a nice grip on the topic.

Also, if you’re looking to write more efficient, organized, and performant code then you can learn more about data structures. You can take Data structure help from CodingZap.