When an array is created, what are the default values for its elements?

When an array is created in Java, it automatically initializes its elements to default values based on their data types. For primitive numeric types, such as integers and floating-point numbers, the default value is 0. For the boolean type, the default value is false. Character types are initialized to the null character, which can be thought of as a representation of an uninitialized state in this context.

Therefore, for an array of essentially any numeric primitive type, the default will be 0; for booleans, it will be false; and for character types, it will be the corresponding null character. This default initialization ensures that arrays are ready to be used without needing to explicitly initialize each element. Understanding these defaults is crucial for handling arrays correctly in programming, as it affects computations and logical evaluations made in the code.