what is the difference between parse() [which is used to parse from string to any data type] and valueOf() which also seems to be the same?

Answer 1

valueOf() return the string representation of the passed argument.
Example:

double d = 123456.789
System.out.println("Return Value: " + String.valueOf(d));

output:
Return Value: 123456.789

So the double became a string and went through string formatting like any other string would

Answer 2

value of() returns value in object which later on converted to primitive data types whereas,parse()
returns value directly in primitive data types