title: What does the this == obj syntax mean?
body: <p>the following is the equals method from the String class:</p>
  
  <pre><code>public boolean equals(Object anObject) {
      if (this == anObject) {
          return true;
      }
      if (anObject instanceof String) {
          String aString = (String)anObject;
          if (coder() == aString.coder()) {
              return isLatin1() ? StringLatin1.equals(value,aString.value)
                                : StringUTF16.equals(value, aString.value);
          }
      }
      return false;
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What does the comparison: 'this == anObject' at the first if statement mean?</p>