14 May String startsWith(String prefix) method in Java

The startsWith(String prefix) method in Java tests if this string starts with the specified prefix.

Syntax

Let us see the syntax,

boolean startsWith(String prefix)

Parameters

Let us see the parameters,

• prefix − prefix to be matched

Example 1

The following is an example of boolean startsWith(String prefix),

public class StudyopediaDemo {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
	 
      String message = new String("Studyopedia provides free learning content!");
      System.out.println("String: "+message);
	  
      System.out.print("Result= " );
      System.out.println(message.startsWith("learning"));

      System.out.print("Result= " );
      System.out.println(message.startsWith("content"));
	  
      System.out.print("Result= " );
      System.out.println(message.startsWith("Studyopedia"));
	  
      System.out.print("Result= " );
      System.out.println(message.startsWith("Study"));
  } 
}

Output

The following is the output,

Example 2

Here, let us take the substring from the user using the Scanner class:

// Check if a string starts with the specified prefix in Java (take the substring from user input)

import java.util.Scanner;

class Demo62 {
  static void main(String[] args) {

    Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
    String message = "Never Stop Learning";

    System.out.print("Enter the substring = ");
    String subString = sc.nextLine().trim(); // trim removes leading/trailing spaces

    if (subString.isEmpty()) {
      System.out.println("You did not enter any substring!");
    } else {
      System.out.println("Does the string start with the specific substring? = " +
        message.startsWith(subString));
    }
  }
}

Output

Enter the substring = Nev
Does the string starts with a specific substring = true