8.4.1

Formal Parameters

CLASSES

MethodDeclarator:

MethodDeclarator

 [ ]

but should not be used in new Java code.

It is a compile time error for the body of a class to have as members two

methods with the same signature ( 8.4.2) (name, number of parameters, and types

of any parameters). Methods and fields may have the same name, since they are

used in different contexts and are disambiguated by the different lookup proce 

dures ( 6.5).

8.4.1   Formal Parameters

The

formal parameters

 of a method, if any, are specified by a list of comma sepa 

rated parameter specifiers. Each parameter specifier consists of a type and an iden 

tifier (optionally followed by brackets) that specifies the name of the parameter:

FormalParameterList:

FormalParameter

FormalParameterList

 ,

FormalParameter

FormalParameter:

Type VariableDeclaratorId

The following is repeated from  8.3 to make the presentation here clearer:

VariableDeclaratorId:

Identifier

VariableDeclaratorId

 [ ]

If a method has no parameters, only an empty pair of parentheses appears in

the method's declaration.

If two formal parameters are declared to have the same name (that is, their

declarations mention the same

Identifier

), then a compile time error occurs.

When the method is invoked ( 15.11), the values of the actual argument

expressions initialize newly created parameter variables, each of the declared

Type,

 before execution of the body of the method. The

Identifier

 that appears in

the

DeclaratorId

 may be used as a simple name in the body of the method to refer

to the formal parameter.

The scope of formal parameter names is the entire body of the method. These

parameter names may not be redeclared as local variables or exception parameters

within the method; that is, hiding the name of a parameter is not permitted.

Formal parameters are referred to only using simple names, never by using

qualified names ( 6.6).

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