Java - Basic Syntax
Java - Basic Syntax
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Basic Syntax
About Java programs, it is very important to keep in mind the following points.
Case Sensitivity − Java is case sensitive, which means
identifier Hello and hello would have different meaning in Java.
Class Names − For all class names the first letter should be in Upper
Case. If several words are used to form a name of the class, each inner
word's first letter should be in Upper Case.
Example: class MyFirstJavaClass
Method Names − All method names should start with a Lower Case
letter. If several words are used to form the name of the method, then
each inner word's first letter should be in Upper Case.
Example: public void myMethodName()
Program File Name − Name of the program file should exactly match the
class name.
When saving the file, you should save it using the class name
(Remember Java is case sensitive) and append '.java' to the end of the
name (if the file name and the class name do not match, your program
will not compile).
But please make a note that in case you do not have a public class
present in the file then file name can be different than class name. It is
also not mandatory to have a public class in the file.
Example: Assume 'MyFirstJavaProgram' is the class name. Then the file
should be saved as 'MyFirstJavaProgram.java'
public static void main(String args[]) − Java program processing starts
from the main() method which is a mandatory part of every Java program.
Java Identifiers
All Java components require names. Names used for classes, variables, and
methods are called identifiers.
In Java, there are several points to remember about identifiers. They are as
follows −
All identifiers should begin with a letter (A to Z or a to z), currency
character ($) or an underscore (_).
After the first character, identifiers can have any combination of
characters.
A key word cannot be used as an identifier.
Most importantly, identifiers are case sensitive.
Examples of legal identifiers: age, $salary, _value, __1_value.
Examples of illegal identifiers: 123abc, -salary.
Java Modifiers
Like other languages, it is possible to modify classes, methods, etc., by using
modifiers. There are two categories of modifiers −
Access Modifiers − default, public , protected, private
Non-access Modifiers − final, abstract, strictfp
We will be looking into more details about modifiers in the next section.
Java Variables
Following are the types of variables in Java −
Local Variables
Class Variables (Static Variables)
Instance Variables (Non-static Variables)
Java Arrays
Arrays are objects that store multiple variables of the same type. However, an
array itself is an object on the heap. We will look into how to declare, construct,
and initialize in the upcoming chapters.
Java Enums
Enums were introduced in Java 5.0. Enums restrict a variable to have one of
only a few predefined values. The values in this enumerated list are called
enums.
With the use of enums it is possible to reduce the number of bugs in your code.
For example, if we consider an application for a fresh juice shop, it would be
possible to restrict the glass size to small, medium, and large. This would make
sure that it would not allow anyone to order any size other than small, medium,
or large.
Example