Mastering Java: The Ultimate Quiz for 'Thinking in Java'

How does Java handle a narrowing conversion that might lose information?

1. Compilation error

2. The compiler inserts a default value

3. Requires an explicit cast

4. Automatically rounds the value

The correct answer is: Requires an explicit cast

Java handles narrowing conversions by requiring an explicit cast. This means that when converting from a larger data type to a smaller data type, the programmer must explicitly specify that they are aware of the potential data loss and still want the conversion to occur. This is to prevent unexpected behavior and potential errors in the code. Option A is incorrect because a compilation error will only occur if the explicit cast is missing. Option B is incorrect because the compiler does not insert a default value when a narrowing conversion occurs. Option D is incorrect because Java does not automatically round the value in a narrowing conversion.