Java Reference
In-Depth Information
public static int getAverage(int[] intArray)
parameter list
method name
return type
modifier
access specifier
Figure 12-1 Elements of a Method Declaration
Access specifier
The method's
access specifier
is optional. The access specifier controls ac-
cess to the method. The access specifiers are
public
,
protected,
and
pri-
vate
. Public is the least restrictive one. Access specifiers for methods are
discussedinthecontextofobject-orientedprogrammingin
Chapter14
.
Modifier
The
modifier
sets the properties for the method. The value for the modifier
are
static
,
abstract
,
final
,
native
, and
synchronized
. Modifiers are related
to the method's visibility and the method's attributes within the class struc-
ture.
You can also create methods that are unrelated to objects by using the
static modifier. This is the case with the getAverage() method listed previ-
ously and with the main() method that you have been using in your pro-
grams.
Return type
The
return type
is a required element in the method declaraction. The one
exception is a special type of methods, called
constructors,
which are dis-
cussedin
Chapter15
.Allmethodscanreturnasinglevaluetothecaller.The
return type identifies the data type of the returned value. Java methods can
return any of the eight primitive data types ( int, long, short, byte, boolean,
float, and double, and char) or more complex types, such as arrays and ob-
jects. Since a string is an object of the String class, a Java method can return
a string object to the caller. When a method returns no value, its return type
is declared to be void. If the method's return type is not void, it must return
the type specified in the declaration.
The following method returns a type boolean:
public static boolean isOdd(int aValue)
{
