Java Projects - Second Edition

Object initializers and constructors

When an object is instantiated, the appropriate constructor is called. The constructor declaration looks like a method with the following deviation—the constructor does not have a return value. That is because the constructors work on the not-fully-ready instance when the new command operator is invoked and does not return anything. Constructors, having the same name as the class, cannot be distinguished from each other. If there is a need for more than one constructor, they have to be overloaded. Constructors, thus, can call each other, almost as if they were void methods with different arguments. However, there is a restriction—when a constructor calls another, it has to be the very first instruction ...