Wrapper classes in Java are used for several important reasons:
Object Representation: Java is primarily an object-oriented programming language, and wrapper classes allow primitive data types (like int, char, double, etc.) to be treated as objects. This is necessary when you need to work with collections, such as ArrayList, which can only store objects.
Null Values: Wrapper classes can be assigned null, which allows for better representation of missing or undefined values. For example, an Integer can be null, while an int cannot.
Utility Methods: Wrapper classes provide useful methods for converting between types, parsing strings to numeric values, and other utility functions. For instance, Integer.parseInt(String s) converts a string to an integer.
Synchronization: Some wrapper classes are immutable and thread-safe, which can be beneficial in multi-threaded environments.
Autoboxing and Unboxing: Java supports autoboxing (automatically converting a primitive to its corresponding wrapper class) and unboxing (converting a wrapper class back to its primitive type), making it easier to work with mixed types in collections and APIs.
Overall, wrapper classes enhance the flexibility and functionality of Java programming by bridging the gap between primitive types and object-oriented design.