USER-DEFINED METHODS - Java Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design - page 394

abstract . More information about these modifiers is provided in
Chapter 8. Meanwhile, we will use the modifiers public and/or
static , as used in the method main .
￿ returnType is the type of value that the method returns. This type is
also called the type of the value-returning method.
￿ methodName is a Java identifier, giving a name to the method.
￿ Statements enclosed between braces form the body of the method.
In Java, public , protected , private , static , and abstract are reserved words.
Abstract methods are covered in Chapter 10. Chapter 8 describes, in detail, the meaning
of the modifiers public , private , and static .
SYNTAX: FORMAL PARAMETER LIST
The syntax of a formal parameter list is:
dataType identifier, dataType identifier,....
METHOD CALL
The syntax to call a value-returning method is:
methodName(actual parameter list)
SYNTAX: ACTUAL PARAMETER LIST
The syntax of an actual parameter list is:
expression or variable, expression or variable, ...
Thus, to call a value-returning method, you use its name, with the actual parameters (if any)
in parentheses.
A method's formal parameter list can be empty, but the parentheses are still needed. If the
formal parameter list is empty, the method heading of the value-returning method takes
the following form:
modifier(s) returnType methodName()
If the formal parameter list is empty, in a method call, the actual parameter list is also
empty. In the case of an empty formal parameter list, in a method call, the empty