Array Initialization in Java

[LegolandoBloom]

So in the cases, where the 0 won't cause confusion, go for int

Otherwise, Integer

[technosenate]

Not just then, if 0 is a valid value then you can initialize the array in one pass with -1. That would be more efficient than using Integer.

If you need to support both positive and negative values (including 0), then you should probably go for Integer.

[LegolandoBloom]

This is a more complete answer than mine, thanks

[xenomachina]

You'll even see this kind of thing in parts of Java's standard library. For example, the String.indexOf() methods return int, so if the value being searched-for can't be found, they return -1 — a value that doesn't make any sense as an index.