IT1908 Method Naming Conventions

Study Notes

A method declaration provides necessary information to call a method, including its name, return type, parameters, and body.
Naming convention: method names should be a verb in lowercase (e.g., run), or a multi-word name starting with a lowercase verb (e.g., runFast).
Example method declaration: public final void nap(int minutes) throws Exception { //statements }

Access Modifier: Defines visibility. public, private, protected, and package-private (default with no modifier).
Optional Specifier: Can include keywords like final (prevents method overriding) and static (indicates a class method).
Return Type: Indicates the data type of the return value. Use void if no return value is present.
Method Name: The identifier for the method (e.g., nap), mandatory.
Parameter List: A comma-separated list of input parameters with data types, enclosed in parentheses. Can be empty if no parameters exist.
Optional Exception List: Indicates the exceptions that may be thrown by the method (e.g., throws Exception), optional.
Method Body: Enclosed in braces {}, contains the executable code and local variable declarations. Can be empty if no code is necessary.

Public: Accessible by any class.
Private: Accessible only within its own class.
Protected: Accessible within its own package and by subclasses in other packages.
Package-private: Accessible only within its own package (default when no modifier is specified).

Static: Defines a method that belongs to the class rather than any instance.
Abstract: Used when a method does not have an implementation (must be overridden in subclasses).
Final: Ensures a method cannot be overridden by subclasses.