School of Computing

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 2
Java Methods
What is a method in Java?
A method is a block of code or collection of statements or a set of code grouped together to
perform a certain task or operation. It is used to achieve the reusability of code. We write a method
once and use it many times. We do not require to write code again and again. It also provides the
easy modification and readability of code, just by adding or removing a chunk of code. The
method is executed only when we call or invoke it.

The most important method in Java is the main() method.

Method Declaration
The method declaration provides information about method attributes, such as visibility,
return-type, name, and arguments. It has six components that are known as method header, as we
have shown in the following figure.

• Method Signature: Every method has a method signature. It is a part of the method
declaration. It includes the method name and parameter list.
• Access Specifier: Access specifier or modifier is the access type of the method. It specifies
the visibility of the method. Java provides four types of access specifier:
• Public: The method is accessible by all classes when we use public specifier in our
application.
• Private: When we use a private access specifier, the method is accessible only in the
classes in which it is defined.
• Protected: When we use protected access specifier, the method is accessible within
the same package or subclasses in a different package.
• Default: When we do not use any access specifier in the method declaration, Java
uses default access specifier by default. It is visible only from the same package only.
• Return Type: Return type is a data type that the method returns. It may have a primitive
data type, object, collection, void, etc. If the method does not return anything, we use void
keyword.

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• Method Name: It is a unique name that is used to define the name of a method. It must be
corresponding to the functionality of the method. Suppose, if we are creating a method for
subtraction of two numbers, the method name must be subtraction(). A method is invoked
by its name.
• Parameter List: It is the list of parameters separated by a comma and enclosed in the
pair of parentheses. It contains the data type and variable name. If the method has no
parameter, left the parentheses blank.
• Method Body: It is a part of the method declaration. It contains all the actions to be
performed. It is enclosed within the pair of curly braces.

Naming a Method
While defining a method, remember that the method name must be a verb and start with
a lowercase letter. If the method name has more than two words, the first name must be a verb
followed by adjective or noun. In the multi-word method name, the first letter of each word must be
in uppercase except the first word. For example:

Single-word method name:

sum(), area()

Multi-word method name:

areaOfCircle(), stringComparision()

It is also possible that a method has the same name as another method name in the same
class, it is known as method overloading.

Types of Method
• Predefined Method
In Java, predefined methods are the method that is already defined in the Java
class libraries is known as predefined methods. It is also known as the standard library
method or built-in method. We can directly use these methods just by calling them in the
program at any point. Some pre-defined methods are length(), equals(), compareTo(),
sqrt(), etc. When we call any of the predefined methods in our program, a series of codes
related to the corresponding method runs in the background that is already stored in the
library.

Each and every predefined method is defined inside a class. Such as print()
method is defined in the java.io.PrintStream class. It prints the statement that we write
inside the method. For example, print(“Java”), it prints Java on the console.

public class Demo{

public static void main(String[] args){
// using the max() method of Math class
System.out.print(“The maximum number is: “ + Math.max(9,7));
}
}

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User-defined Method
The method written by the user or programmer is known as a user-defined method. These
methods are modified according to the requirement.

How to Create a User-defined Method

//user defined method

public static void findEvenOdd(int num){
//method body
if(num%2==0)
System.out.println(num+” is even”);
else
System.out.println(num+” is odd”);
}

How to Call or Invoke a User-defined Method

Once we have defined a method, it should be called. The calling of a method in a
program is simple. When we call or invoke a user-defined method, the program control
transfer to the called method.

import java.io.*;
public class EvenOdd{
public static void main (String args[]){
BufferedReader scan=new BufferedReader(new
InputStreamReader(System.in));
System.out.print(“Enter the number: “);
int num=Integer.parseInt(scan.readLine());
findEvenOdd(num);
}
}

Static Method
A method that has static keyword is known as static method. In other words, a method that
belongs to a class rather than an instance of a class is known as a static method. We can also create
a static method by using the keyword static before the method name.

The main advantage of a static method is that we can call it without creating an object.
It can access static data members and also change the value of it. It is used to create an instance
method. It is invoked by using the class name. The best example of a static method is the main()
method.

public class Display{

public static void main(String[] args){
show();
}

static void show(){

System.out.println(“It is an example of static method.”);
}
}

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Instance Method
The method of the class is known as an instance method. It is a non-static method defined
in the class. Before calling or invoking the instance method, it is necessary to create an object of its
class.

public class InstanceMethodExample{

public static void main(String [] args){

//Creating an object of the class

InstanceMethodExample obj = new InstanceMethodExample();
System.out.println(“The sum is: “+obj.add(12, 13));
}

int s;

//user-defined method because we have not used static keyword

public int add(int a, int b){
s = a+b;
return s;
}
}

The void Keyword

The void keyword allows us to create methods which do not return a value.

Passing Parameters by Value

While working under calling process, arguments is to be passed. These should be in the
same order as their respective parameters in the method specification. Parameters can be passed by
value or by reference.

Passing Parameters by Value means calling a method with a parameter. Through this, the
argument value is passed to the parameter.

References/Sources:

https://www.javatpoint.com/method-in-java
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/java_methods.htm