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  • Can you give a source for the maximum length? Commented Mar 13, 2010 at 17:30
  • The length of an array is an int, which is a signed 32-bit value. The value Pindatjuh quotes is Integer.MAX_VALUE, which is correct. But the classes themselves do not impose this maximum length, and so in a sense Pindatjuh is incorrect, as he is looking behind the curtain at the implementation. There is no reason why String could not be implemented as a char[][], which would then be limited to Long.MAX_VALUE, and so on. Commented Mar 13, 2010 at 17:33
  • @Thomas Lötzer added sources. Commented Mar 13, 2010 at 17:36
  • Where in the JLS does it say that a String has to be implemented as a single array? Also: String literals can not be Integer.MAX_VALUE characters long, since they are put into the constant pool. They can only be 2^16 characters. How can one be sure that such limits are not present for other Strings as well? Commented Mar 13, 2010 at 17:37
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    @GregS: however, String has a toCharArray() method, which could not be implemented if you had a String longer than Integer.MAX_VALUE characters. Commented Mar 13, 2010 at 17:42