Why doesn't Java initialize Array Objects?

Question

If one runs the following code in java:

public class Testing {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        TestObject[] array = new TestObject[4];
         


        

Answer 1

What happens if you want to fill up your array with real objects that are subclasses of TestObject, or which are constructed with non-default constructors? In the real world, you rarely want an array with a bunch of identical objects.

Answer 2

With new TestObject[4] you create an array, wich can hold 4 references to TestObject. So understand the difference between TestObject[] and TestObject:

TestObject[] is a reference store for TestObject - objects. If you create a List<TestObject> you'll have to fill up the list with references too.