When and Where is the String initialised/stored in Java source code?

Question

This is the source code I have:

public class Koray {
    public static void main(String [] args) {
            System.out.println("This is a sample program.");
    } 
}

And when I compile this, I get the bytecode. When I look at the bytecode with a Hexadecimal viewer I see part:

19 54 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 73 61 6D 70 6C 65 20 70 72 6F 67 72 61 6D 2E

which can be read as

This is a sample program. 

if the bytes are interpreted as characters.

And when I do

javap -c Koray.class

do disassemble this class I see:

Compiled from "Koray.java"
public class Koray {
  public Koray();
    Code:
       0: aload_0       
       1: invokespecial #1                  // Method java/lang/Object."<init>":()V
       4: return        

  public static void main(java.lang.String[]);
    Code:
       0: getstatic     #2                  // Field java/lang/System.out:Ljava/io/PrintStream;
       3: ldc           #3                  // String This is a sample program.
       5: invokevirtual #4                  // Method java/io/PrintStream.println:(Ljava/lang/String;)V
       8: bipush        10
      10: istore_1      
      11: return        
}

My question is, where is this String seen in the disassembled text? I only see it in a comment.

Answer 1

See that ldc instruction? It loads a constant from the runtime constant pool. That's where the your string is stored. To print the constant pool as well, add -verbose option to javap call.