Upcasting and Downcasting in Java - Full Tutorial

Learn about Upcasting and Downcasting in Java! Full tutorial with concrete examples.
In Java, upcasting and downcasting are used along with method overriding to do some really cool things. But what exactly is upcasting, what is downcasting, and how do you use them in your Java programs?
When can you upcast, and when can you downcast? What do you need to know to use upcasting and dowcasting safely? We'll talk about all of that and more beginner-friendly Java tutorial video.
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Hi, I'm John! I'm a Lead Java Software Engineer and I've been in the programming industry for more than a decade. I love sharing what I've learned over the years in a way that's understandable for all levels of Java learners.
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[@arturmelo3681]

the "meow" at 5:05 was the best part of the video, thanks john

[@callmesej6935]

I have my java exam in university in 15 days and I was so stressed about it but watching your videos made it so easy to understand Java. Lots of love to you from Stockholm. :)

[@samcousins3204]

hvordan var det?

[@jospherstudies]

really? i got my sem exam tommorow and its 9pm now. i just started now btw. people get sick very quickly bruh

[@callmesej6935]

@@jospherstudies omg good luck.

[@callmesej6935]

@@samcousins3204 det var inte så dåligt haha

[@Ali-kg6mv]

I have mine tomorrow, and I'm learning more here than I have in class.

[@Christian-ry3ol]

I've been learning java for a few years and NEVER had such a good explanation about this. Thank you John you're saving my degree.

[@findlestick]

Excellent, clear video. Thanks. 😊 Also, I liked the characterisation you gave Java… it trusted us “but we betrayed its trust by throwing-in a cat” 😂

[@mo0ndawg]

This made me genuinely laugh 😂. And at the end of it all, we come to know that good code is does not trust people. Better safe than sorry 🙌🏼

[@rw4564]

this guy always makes subjects easy and fun to learn

[@renzotorr537]

Great video, loving your channel so far! I want to add for new learners: One of the most important uses of upcasting is when you have an ArrayList, List, LinkedList, etc, and you can make it of type Animal while adding all types of animals like Cats, Dogs and whatever

[@rolay8043]

yeah and after that you can check for each animal (if you wish) what kind of animals they actually are, to use specific methods

[@moltony]

TX tjh

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

Or you can have an array as well. Array of chess pieces for instance. And then every chess piece is actually a pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen or a king but they are all upcasted as chess pieces in the array.

[@rickmemmer5625]

Thank you for sharing that. Appreciate it!

[@josephthecreator]

HANDS DOWN the absolute best channel I've found regarding Java tutorials and explanations. Thank you John!

[@LuckyMakhado]

First time KZbin recommendation worked for me. Came across you video's and haven't stopped watching ever since. Thank you so much, your explanation are unbelievably good and easy to understand.

[@MishaKoroliov]

I've been searching for a specific answer for over and hour, came over your video and got the answer in less than 5 minute, thank you very much!

Lots of people know Java very well, but only a handful of people know how to pass the knowledge on. Congrats for being one of them!!!

[@aileenchan3741]

This video is a life saver for upcasting and downcasting. Thank you!!

[@natnaelhaftu9283]

i havemore than a couple of videos to understand casting, but i found yours so clear , thanks jo

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

What a great video! I am reading a book on Java and I didn't understand downcasting, upcasting, instanceof at all until I watched this video. This explanation is so much better than the explanation in my book.

[@dominiqueradtke1262]

This was so helpful! My professor just randomly assumed that we know what casting is and I didn't quite get the hang of it til this video! Thanks!!

[@redblade79x]

I’m a relatively new C# programmer and even though this video was explained in Java it made PERFECT sense to me. Great job!

[@evangrove599]

I was taking this online java course and in it they threw in upcasting and down casting while teaching polymorphism without explaining what this casting is. This was such a great explanation!

[@user-rw4lr7pl2o]

The best enjoyable way to learn Java is your lovely channel. I appreciate your efforts.

[@lr5648]

A difficult topic explained in such a simple way. Great video! Thanks bud!

[@front-endfatih4030]

Love your videos John, you are not bad at explaining topics that I need more clarification on.

[@rg_1971]

Love your videos John, I am using them to supplement the course materials in my intermediate java college course. They are extremely helpful for a 52 year old.

[@sabari360]

OMG ! this video made my day , I have been searching for upcast and downcast for a day , none cleared me , but the example in your video told why we have to use this upcast and downcast , caught my mind , thankyou so much , you are an amazing explainer. and I subscribed your channel , keep posting amazing contents.

[@chiranjibdash1843]

Thank you so much for explaining these concepts. I'm learning java. I'm new to to your channnel. No one can explain concepts in more simple way other than you. Keep uploading new tutorials.

[@adityendrapratapsingh4628]

massive respect sir I've been struggling with this but you finally cleared it for me. thank you so much

[@pstlvictoras]

I love your channel as a java programmer, I have learned a lot of new things. Thanks!

[@codelibre5651]

Fantastic tutorial - simple and easy to follow (and it works for C#).

[@lynnwai152]

The best explanation of casting ever. Thanks, John.

[@KAROMII1]

for a week i was trying to wrap my head around why we would need to cast objects, this literally lifted a weight off my shoulders thank you!

[@rickmemmer5625]

I know the feeling -- and this video just blew that door wide open. What a relief!! :o)

[@nasirnesirli5446]

Great explanation! I have finally understood the hardest part of OOP for me. Thank you.

[@robert4598]

What the f... those are the best explanations I've heard so far. That sums up 3 hours of Uni lecture in 10 minutes!

[@Tuxon24rus]

I love that you put extra tips and hints for beginners, let alone explaining naming conventions and providing useful code style notes in your videos. I was wondering misconception of what basic concept/topic of Java is more common among Intern/Junior level programmers in your opinion? Thank you!

[@halilibrahimustun50]

You are awesome! I've been searching the answer of this type of code on the internet for a couple of days and even in the stack overflow I couldn't find a satisfactory answer. You made it crystal clear. One more time, Thank you :)

[@SoD_Stunning]

Damn, it's so clear now. The polymorphism. Thank you, John.

[@sanghamitrabhowmick6674]

It was one of the best explanations about topcasting. Thank you so much for posting!!!

[@emreibrahim8504]

this video is life saver, nobody on internet explained it this way, whenever i read an article or watch a video about up/down casting they just tell you the syntax which is pretty easy, but i never understood the concept of it, why should i use up/down casting? since i already can call each method from it's own object? but finally i found this video although i'm coming from C# background and i could still understand everything he said. Thumbs up for this man!

[@beat-fustudio8910]

I try to teach my daughter about upcasting and downcasting for 2 weeks with no avail, And she immediately got it after watching this video, Best explanation !

[@Cablur]

Mate, what a great and fully comprehensive video about this subject on which I smacked my head at the wall the whole day ❤

[@mahzadseyedalikhani9865]

This vidio survived me from miss understanding. After reading lots of blogs and watch some videos, just your vidio clarified all the concepts and reasons to me🤩

[@mohamedelmouktafi7557]

Simpliest explaining method i've ever seen , thanks sir keep up 👍

[@anujtiwari6949]

Thanks, This concept was very confusing for me but you have explained beautifully.

[@ihsannuruliman3656]

Hi John, I really love your videos it really fresh up my mind on things I forget on Java.

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

I remember watching this video a couple of months ago. That was the moment I understood downcasting and upcasting. The book that I was reading explained it so poorly that I wasn't able to understand what was going on, how downcasting and upcasting work. This guy is such a talented teacher, in 10 minutes he perfectly explained a topic which I wasn't able to understand whatsoever.

[@bausantodomingo6766]

Great video John! The explanation was clear and engaging! Thank you!

[@asaphferreira6448]

Sir, your explanation is amazing. Thank you a lot.

[@manarsalem1685]

I still had my doubts about this despite having read my textbook and having attended my university lecture about this two times. I don't normally comment but THANKS A TON for explaining this in just 10 minutes! May God bless you 💞

[@spooki6637]

GREAT TUTORIAL!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH I LEARNED A LOT FROM THIS CHANNEL.

[@rickmemmer5625]

As top-notch as it gets. Just exceptional work. Thanks a million! :o)

[@felipeiideaustria8696]

Thank u you are saving my tomorrow exam and helping me understand the things my teacher couldnt, ive seen 4 videos in the last hour

[@hotcupofbeans]

These videos are great 👍 love the way you explain things. Thanks!

[@matiasmoresi5040]

Hey John, thanks for sharing so your knowledge! Loving your channel

[@khasannishanov5830]

thanks for such a clear and positive explanation from Uzbekistan

[@aajbakeraajbaker8444]

This is a really good explanation, it helped me get through learning this pretty fast.

[@SoftwareTestSolutions]

Loved this again! My 9 years old son is watching you on KZbin and practicing the Java.

[@lookupverazhou8599]

@Daniel Bunting Having a stable career in 9 years, as well as making hardware do exactly what you want it to do is indeed a fun life.

[@peril7531]

found my uni lecture on this a bit difficult to understand but this video laid it out so clearly!!

[@ness_cek]

This saved mee thank you so much!! Been re-reading the notes given by my lecturers and couldn't wrap my head around it. This video made is so easy to understand!

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

I had the same impression when I learned this a couple of months ago. The book that I was reading explained it so poorly and then I watched this video and suddenly I understood upcasting and downcasting while also wondering how could I ever not understand this.

[@sydneygoeury6102]

Man that's quality content here! Thanks for this, I'm a CS major and it helps me a lot in my Java class.

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

Yes, he made the concept easy to understand while the book that I was reading made this concept unnecessary hard. Someone posted a sequence from their book which "explains" casting in Java and yeah, you can see how bad the "explanation" is. It is more of a description of casting for people who already understand what casting is and who are experienced in Java then it is an explanation aimed at learners who don't already understand casting and who are Java beginners. People who write such books are talented, it is not easy to make such easy concepts hard to understand, but they manage to do it.

[@user-sz9nf9lh6q]

This video really helps understand what downcasting and upcasting do! Thnx a lot :D

[@ryvikun4325]

very clear explanation with the right amount of pacing, love it!, great video thanks for helping me understand!

[@RokayaId-ElMouedden]

so clear, perfect explanation

[@hgatl]

you made it super simple to understand, thank a lot

[@dmitricherleto8234]

Best java teacher I've ever had.

[@user-xj6uo3mn3i]

I love these explanations! Thanks Sir!!!

[@zainabedin9842]

This video is the best explanation for this topic. Thanks.

[@vineethamuralidhar5176]

Your explanation is crystal clear!

[@vinayakrodd8837]

Thank you John for your explanation on Casting thank you ...

[@bokas5]

Exactly what I needed! Thank you :)

[@cagla3360]

Thank you so much John! Learned a lot as always :)

[@inoobbeyt1031]

that instanceof operator is new to me nice i learn new thing

[@hectorgil3495]

Thank you , greetings from Costa Rica !

[@jaaeamor7901]

The instanceof part was soooo cool 🤯

[@user-vg3qn8xt3c]

you explained exactly what I needed! tnx

[@yourlinuxguy]

Really exactly the video that I needed.

[@dudeiknowman]

Super helpful. Thank you!

[@AVINASHRANJAN21]

I am having 8+ year of exp bt still i love to watch ur videos even i know all the point which u covered. Great

[@user679jk7]

What a fantastic explanation!

[@perox1982]

I love your channel, is my favorite. This summer hope takes yours Java course asap.

[@ddp1863]

Great video John helped me loads thanks

[@gabrielfono844]

as new backend engineer, I really enjoy this project love from Virginia

[@amalelayeb874]

Thank u for your time ❤I really did learn 🥰

[@asyakatanani8181]

I enjoyed, I learned way more than merely "something", I subscribed and I am surprised why I didn't meet you before...

[@mahmoudalarebi9174]

Thanks alot for the Help John

[@MyDisal]

High quality stuff, I'm learning C# but the underlying concepts are very well taught, even if it's in Java. Thank you!

[@c.ladimore1237]

i like c# over java (very different usages), but (don't kill me) javascript over c# for game dev. in unity, even though they dropped it. slower, but easier to write IMO

[@itzdm0r3]

They're both OOP languages so a lot of the underlying concepts are the same as other "C" based ones.

[@sharmfernando3040]

Nicely explained!! Thank you

[@shubhamkotnala6743]

Goes straight to my brain 👍

[@ronakpatel9109]

You are awesome, you have cleared my doubt Thank you. ❤

[@gautamanimesh8909]

Thanks for the explanation! Grateful to be a subscriber!💯💯

[@macharla.saicharan.2285]

Frankly, This video cleared all my doubts regarding object casting ..Thanks john for this amazing video...and I request you to create a complete java tutorials playlist for beginners so that we can go with a flow..try considering this request :)

[@OkLittleBuddyCalmDown]

Your videos are very well done. Thank you.

[@borisvasilev4893]

Thanks, your videos are incredible! (Comment for the support because of your support!)

[@carina.zip2002]

You teach better than my professor, thank you so much!

[@135_afshashaikh2]

Thank you for the explanation.

[@spd5696]

It was a good explanation, really helpful.Thanks

[@user-tf6no2wr2u]

Thank you so much, John❤😊

[@leandroacevedo3339]

Thanks a lot! I ended up learning OOP concepts with Java since I made the mistake to start learning programming with Dart... Anyway, very well explained, keep it up!

[@savagepeng]

Perfect explanation!

[@oneilobi822]

nice tutorials from him in java. he teaches with simple and understanding examples. keep up the good job.

[@CodingWithJohn]

Glad you like them!

[@rajachemali7977]

Great video as always. Thank you sir!

[@siphesilekhumelo8884]

Bro just made it look super easy

[@imadabid1672]

Thanks ! This video helped me a lot.

[@overspyx44]

Great video! Very good and simple explanation!

[@alvinchipmunk7279]

John, you are the best! Big respect to you from Russia!)