假設有個物件object，如果object不是null，那麼兩者是沒啥區別的。但是如果object是null，對於String.valueOf(object)返回的是null（從原始碼可以看出，已經對object做了判斷），而object.toString()則會報空指標異常。 兩種方法的原始碼code如下： String.valueOf(object)的原始碼：

    /**
     * Returns the string representation of the <code>Object</code> argument.
     *
     * @param   obj   an <code>Object</code>.
     * @return  if the argument is <code>null</code>, then a string equal to
     *          <code>"null"</code>; otherwise, the value of
     *          <code>obj.toString()</code> is returned.
     * @see     java.lang.Object#toString()
     */
    public static String valueOf(Object obj) {
        return (obj == null) ? "null" : obj.toString();
    }
 

object.toString()的原始碼：

    /**
     * Returns a string representation of the object. In general, the
     * {@code toString} method returns a string that
     * "textually represents" this object. The result should
     * be a concise but informative representation that is easy for a
     * person to read.
     * It is recommended that all subclasses override this method.
     * <p>
     * The {@code toString} method for class {@code Object}
     * returns a string consisting of the name of the class of which the
     * object is an instance, the at-sign character `{@code @}', and
     * the unsigned hexadecimal representation of the hash code of the
     * object. In other words, this method returns a string equal to the
     * value of:
     * <blockquote>
     * <pre>
     * getClass().getName() + '@' + Integer.toHexString(hashCode())
     * </pre></blockquote>
     *
     * @return  a string representation of the object.
     */
    public String toString() {
        return getClass().getName() + "@" + Integer.toHexString(hashCode());
    }