15.11.3

Compile Time Step 3: Is the Chosen Method Appropriate?

EXPRESSIONS

15.11.3   Compile Time Step 3: Is the Chosen Method Appropriate?

If there is a most specific method declaration for a method invocation, it is called

the

compile time declaration

 for the method invocation. Two further checks must

be made on the compile time declaration:

If the method invocation has, before the left parenthesis, a

MethodName

 of

the form

Identifier

, and the method invocation appears within a

static

method, a static initializer, or the initializer for a

static

 variable, then the

compile time declaration must be

static

. If, instead, the compile time decla 

ration for the method invocation is for an instance method, then a compile 

time error occurs. (The reason is that a method invocation of this form cannot

be used to invoke an instance method in places where

this

 ( 15.7.2) is not

defined.)

If the method invocation has, before the left parenthesis, a

MethodName

 of

the form

TypeName

.

Identifier

, then the compile time declaration should be

static

. If the compile time declaration for the method invocation is for an

instance method, then a compile time error occurs. (The reason is that a

method invocation of this form does not specify a reference to an object that

can serve as

this

 within the instance method.)

If the compile time declaration for the method invocation is

void

, then the

method invocation must be a top level expression, that is, the

Expression

 in an

expression statement ( 14.7) or in the

ForInit

 or

ForUpdate

 part of a

for

statement ( 14.12), or a compile time error occurs. (The reason is that such a

method invocation produces no value and so must be used only in a situation

where a value is not needed.)

The following compile time information is then associated with the method

invocation for use at run time:

The name of the method.

The class or interface that contains the compile time declaration.

The number of parameters and the types of the parameters, in order.

The result type, or

void

, as declared in the compile time declaration.

The invocation mode, computed as follows:

N

If the compile time declaration has the

static

 modifier, then the invocation

mode is

static

.

N

Otherwise, if the compile time declaration has the

private

 modifier, then

the invocation mode is

nonvirtual

.

332