What is method in Java?

In Java, a method is a block of code within a class that performs a specific task or set of tasks. Methods are the building blocks of Java programs and are used to encapsulate functionality and promote code reusability. 

 

 

 

Here's a basic overview of how methods work in Java:

1. Method Declaration:
   To create a method, you need to declare it within a class. The syntax for declaring a method is as follows:

   returnType methodName(parameter1Type parameter1Name, parameter2Type parameter2Name, ...) {
       // Method body
   }

   - `returnType`: It specifies the type of data the method will return. If a method doesn't return any value, you can use `void`.
   - `methodName`: The name of the method, which is used to call it.
   - `parameter1Type`, `parameter2Type`, etc.: The types of parameters that the method accepts. If the method doesn't take any parameters, you can leave the parentheses empty.

2. Method Body:
   Inside the method body, you write the code that performs the desired tasks. This is where you define the logic of the method.

3. Method Invocation:
   To use a method, you need to invoke or call it. You do this by using the method name followed by parentheses and providing any required arguments inside the parentheses.

   returnType result = methodName(argument1, argument2, ...);

• `returnType`: If the method has a return type other than `void`, you can capture the returned value in a variable.

•  `argument1`, `argument2`, etc.: The actual values or variables you pass as arguments to the method.

4. Return Statement (if applicable):
   If the method has a return type other than `void`, it must include a `return` statement to return a value of the specified type. The `return` statement is used to exit the method and return the value to the caller.

   return returnValue;

Here's an example of a simple Java method that adds two numbers:


public class Calculator {
    public int add(int num1, int num2) {
        int sum = num1 + num2;
        return sum;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Calculator calculator = new Calculator();
        int result = calculator.add(5, 3);
        System.out.println("Sum: " + result);
    }
}

In this example, the `add` method takes two integer parameters, `num1` and `num2`, performs addition, and returns the result. The `main` method demonstrates how to create an instance of the `Calculator` class and use the `add` method to perform addition.