PURE Java™ 2

Method Signatures

As shown in Chapter 3, "Java Program Features," a method signature's syntax looks like this:

<access modifier> <other modifiers> return-type
                     method-name(<parameters>) <throws
                     exception-class>

Again, the <> pairs mean this is optional. Unlike C, you do not need method prototypes. The compiler resolves method names which occur farther down in the class definition or in other classes without a problem, as long as the compiler can find the class and method. The same holds true for data members, which may be coded at the bottom of a class definition. The javac compiler doesn't care.