toString()

Why override it

The default toString() prints ClassName@hexHashCode — useless for debugging. System.out.println(obj), string concatenation, and most logging frameworks call toString() automatically, so a good one pays off everywhere.

A useful override

Keep it concise and include the fields that identify the object. Modern record types (Java 16+) generate a sensible toString(), equals() and hashCode() automatically.

@Override public String toString() {
    return "Point[x=" + x + ", y=" + y + "]";
}

// Or skip all the boilerplate with a record:
record Point(int x, int y) {}
System.out.println(new Point(1, 2));  // Point[x=1, y=2]