Java, A Beginner's Guide, 5th Edition, 5th Edition

Varargs: Variable-Length Arguments

Sometimes you will want to create a method that takes a variable number of arguments, based on its precise usage. For example, a method that opens an Internet connection might take a user name, password, file name, protocol, and so on, but supply defaults if some of this information is not provided. In this situation, it would be convenient to pass only the arguments to which the defaults did not apply. To create such a method implies that there must be some way to create a list of arguments that is variable in length, rather than fixed.

In the past, methods that required a variable-length argument list could be handled two ways, neither of which was particularly pleasing. First, if the maximum number of arguments ...