Primitive java - Data Structures and Problem Solving Using Java - page 18

figure 1.5
Layout of a switch
statement

1 switch( someCharacter )
2 {
3 case '(' :
4 case '[' :
5 case '{' :
6 // Code to process opening symbols
7

break;

8
9 case ')' :
10 case ']' :
11 case '}' :
12 // Code to process closing symbols
13 break;

14
15 case '\n' :
16 // Code to handle newline character
17 break;

18
19 default:
20 // Code to handle other cases
21 break;

22 }

methods

1.6

A method is similar
to a function in
other languages.
The method header
consists of the
name, return type,
and parameter list.
The method decla-
ration includes the
body.

What is known as a function or procedure in other languages is called a method
in Java. A more complete treatment of methods is provided in Chapter 3. This
section presents some of the basics for writing functions, such as main , in a non-
object-oriented manner (as would be encountered in a language such as C)
so that we can write some simple programs.
A method header consists of a name, a (possibly empty) list of parame-
ters, and a return type. The actual code to implement the method, sometimes
called the method body , is formally a block . A method declaration consists of
a header plus the body. An example of a method declaration and a main routine
that uses it is shown in Figure 1.6.
By prefacing each method with the words public static , we can mimic the
C-style global function. Although declaring a method as static is a useful
technique in some instances, it should not be overused, since in general we do
not want to use Java to write “C-style” code. We will discuss the more typical
use of static in Section 3.6.
The method name is an identifier. The parameter list consists of zero or
more formal parameters , each with a specified type. When a method is
called, the actual arguments are sent into the formal parameters using normal

A public static
method is the
equivalent of a
“C-style”
global function.

In call-by-value , the
actual arguments
are copied into the
formal parameters.
Variables are
passed using call-
by-value.