java - Parse String to long with leading zero

Question

Long story short (in Java):

String input= "0888880747;

long convert = Long.parseLong(input);

The value of convert is now: 888880747

How can I parse the String to a long but retain the leading zero?

Answer 1

You cannot because a long does not have a leading zero. A long is supposed to store integers (the mathematical concept, not int), i.e.

A string of characters like 05 is not an integer, 5 is. What you can do is format a long that holds 5 with a leading zero when you print it, see e.g. java.util.Formatter.

Are you sure you even want to have a long/an integer? What do you want to do with it?