14. The equals( ) method

• How the equals method of the Object class works:

  • (a) Both variables refer to the same object:

    
        Product product1 = new Product();
        Product product2 = product1;
        if ( product1.equals( product2 ) ) // true
    
    

  • (b) Both variables refer to different objects that store the same data:

    
        Product product1 = new Product();
        Product product2 = new Product();
        if ( product1.equals( product2 ) ) //false