A simple Math.pow example, display 2 to the power of 8.

In Math
2^8 = 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 =256
In Java
Math.pow(2, 8)

package com.mkyong.test;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;
public class TestPower {
	static DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat(".00");
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		//1. Math.pow returns double, need cast, display 256
		int result = (int) Math.pow(2, 8);
		System.out.println("Math.pow(2, 8) : " + result);
		//2. Wrong, ^ is a binary XOR operator, display 10
		int result2 = 2 ^ 8;
		System.out.println("2 ^ 8 : " + result2);
		//3. Test double , display 127628.16
		double result3 = Math.pow(10.5, 5);
		System.out.println("Math.pow(10.5, 5) : " + df.format(result3));

Output

Math.pow(2, 8) : 256
2 ^ 8 : 10
Math.pow(10.5, 5) : 127628.16

References

1. Math.pow JavaDoc
2. Wikipedia Exclusive or (XOR)