Introduction to Programming

Final method

The keyword final in front of a method makes it impossible to override it in a child class instance or hide if, the method is static. It provides an assurance that the method functionality cannot be changed through overriding. The class java.lang.Object, for example, has many of its methods as final.

But if a final method uses non-final ones, this may allow for the backdoor introduction of undesirable changes. Naturally, such considerations are very important for security.

Sometimes, one can read that making methods final can improve code performance. It may be the case, but in some very specific situations and does not seem to help significantly in mainstream programming. For performance improvements, there are usually much ...