What function is used to read user input from the console in Java?

The function that is used to read user input from the console in Java is the Scanner.nextLine() method. The Scanner class provides a simple way to capture input text, including entire lines, making it particularly user-friendly for reading strings from the console.

When you create a Scanner object and pass System.in as an argument, it sets up the Scanner to read from the standard input stream (the console). The nextLine() method reads everything on the current line until a newline character is encountered, allowing you to capture complete user inputs efficiently.

Using Scanner is generally preferred for its simplicity and ability to handle various data types conveniently. Other options, while they have their uses, do not align with this straightforward approach of reading console input in an easy-to-use manner.