Question

Considering the code below:

1. How is the str1 object created without using new String()?
2. Why do the str1 and str2 objects refer to same memory location?

String str1 = "hello";
String str2 = "hello";

Answer 1

It is all described in the java language specification.

See 3.10.5 String Literals:

Each string literal is a reference (§4.3) to an instance (§4.3.1,
§12.5) of class String (§4.3.3). String objects have a constant value.
String literals-or, more generally, strings that are the values of
constant expressions (§15.28)-are “interned” so as to share unique
instances, using the method String.intern.