Method declaration in Java has two parts - the method header and method body. The method header contains modifiers, return type, method name, and parameter list. There are different types of modifiers like private, public, protected, final, abstract, static, synchronized and native. Methods can be invoked on objects or classes using the dot operator. Java allows method overloading by having multiple methods with the same name but different parameters. The main method is required to run a Java program and must be public, static and void. Constructors are special methods that are used to initialize objects and have the same name as the class. Objects are stored in the heap and can be accessed only through their references. Garbage collection is the process of automatically

1. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
Method Declaration:


Method declaration has two parts
 Method Header
 Method Body
Method Header :
o consists of modifiers (optional), return
type, method name, parameter list and a
throws clause (optional)
o types of modifiers




private
public
protected
final




Abstract
Static
synchronized
native
Note :
 Static methods can
only access static
methods and static
fields.
 Final methods
cannot be overridden in sub-class
 Abstract methods
have no body
Method invocations :

invoked as operations on objects/classes using
the dot ( . ) operator

static method:
o Outside of the class: “reference” can
either be the class name or an object
reference belonging to the class
o Inside the class: “reference” can be
omitted

non-static method:
o “reference” must be an object reference
Method overloading:

A class can have more than one method with
the same name as long as they have different
parameter list.
public class Lakshya {
...
public void setPrice (float newPrice) {
price = newPrice;
}
public void setPrice () {
price = 0;
}
}
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2. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
main method :

the system locates and runs the main method
for a class when you run a program

other methods get execution when called by the
main method explicitly or implicitly

must be public, static and void
Constructor:











is special member method
has the same name of its class
doesn’t return any thing (even if void)
can only be called with new operator to create
object
There must be at least one constructor for every
class
If no explicit constructor is there in class then
java language provides one called default
constructor
The access specifier of the default constructor is
same as the class.
is never inherited
can be parameterized and overloaded
can be used to initialized the object
if there is only parameterized constructors
present in the super class , then it is became
mandatory to provide a constructor in the sub
class.
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3. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
Default Constructor :


Java provides a default constructor which takes
no arguments and performs no special actions
or initializations, when no explicit constructors
are provided.
The only action taken by the implicit default
constructor is to call the super class constructor
using the super() call.
class Lakshya{
Lakshya(){
super();
}
}
Default
Constructor
public class Lakshya{
public Lakshya(){
super();
}
}
Java overloaded constructor :
Like java method java constructor can be over loaded.
class Lakshya{
Lakshya(){
……
}
Constructor 1
Lakshya (String name){
……
}
}
Note :
 If a class is having
more than one
constructor it gives
the flexibility to the
programmer to
instantiate the class
in different fashion.
Constructor 2
Constructor Chaining :

Every constructor calls its super class constructor. An
implied super() is therefore included in each
constructor which does not include either the this()
function or an explicit super() call as its first
statement. The super() statement invokes a
constructor of the super class.

The implicit super() can be replaced by an explicit
super(). The super statement must be the first
statement of the constructor.

It is possible to use this() construct, to implement
local chaining of constructors in a class. The this() call
in a constructor invokes the an other constructor with
the corresponding parameter list within the same
class.
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4. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
Example :
public class Lakshya{
Lakshya(){
System.out.println("Hello");
}
Lakshya(int i){
this();
System.out.println("i="+i);
}
}
Arbitrary Number of Arguments :
25% 
Note :
 Parameters refers to
the list of variables
in a method
declaration.
Arguments are the
actual values that
are passed.
a construct called varargs to pass an arbitrary
number of values to a method
Example:
public class Lakshya{
Lakshya(int...i){
for(int c=0; c<i.length;c++)
System.out.println(i[c]);
}
public static void main(String args[]){
int nums[]={1,2,3,4,5};
Lakshya ob1= new Lakshya(10,20);
Lakshya ob2= new Lakshya(10,20,30,40);
Lakshya ob3= new Lakshya(nums);
 Varargs are treated
same as arrays.
}
}
Accessing shadowed Arguments :
 A parameter can have the same name as one of
the class's fields. If this is the case, the
parameter is said to shadow the field.
 “this” keyword is used to access the shadowed
fields :
public class Lakshya{
int a,b
Lakshya(int a, int b){
this.a=a;
this.b=b;
}
}
Note :
 Within an instance
method or a
constructor, this is a
reference to the
current object. It is
not available to
static methods.
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5. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
Initializing Fields :

Simple initialization can be done inline.
class Lakshya {
int a=10,b=20;
….
}

If initialization involves some kind of logic then
constructors are useful.

The facility given by constructors for instance
variables can be achieved through static
initializers for class variables.
Static Initializers:
 A static initialization block is a normal block of
25%
code enclosed with curly braces and preceded
by the static keyword.
class Lakshya{
….
satic{
// initialization code here
}
}

A class can have multiple static block.

Static blocks are executed exactly in the order
as they present in the source code.
Initializer Blocks :




Java provides an initializer block as an
alternative to constructor .
Initializer blocks for instance variable are like
static initializer blocks, but without the static
keyword.
The initializer block is copied into all the
constructors without a call to this().
The block can be useful to avoid code
redundancy from constructors.
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6. Core Java
Debasish Pratihari
Java Objects:





Java object can be created by using the new
keyword.
They are stored in JVM’s heap area.
Java objects are nameless.
They can be accessed through their reference
only.
They are garbage collected if they don’t have
any reference.
Object & Object Reference
25%
Lakshya ob = new Lakshya( );
Note:
Heap Area
 There is another
way to create
 objects using
100
ob
newInstance()
method of Class
“Class”.
Object reference
100
(Object of
Lakshya class)
Garbage Collection :




It the process of automatically destroying objects
that are no-longer referenced by the program.
It is a process for automatic memory
management.
Basic principles of garbage Collection:
o Locate objects that can’t be accessed in
future.
o Re-claim the resources used by those
objects.
In java an object may have a finalizer: a method
that the garbage collector must run on the object
prior to freeing the object.
Note :
 The Finalizer
method in java in
finalize().

Finalizers are
useful to avoid
Resource
Leak.
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