Method

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Methods are a means of providing classes with behaviour. They consist of four parts:

  • A textual name
  • A visibility modifier - This defines the encapsulation of the method: either public or within some boundary (be it class, object or some other construct)
  • Zero or more parameters - The inputs to the method, either primitives or objects (this can be language specific).
  • A returned type - Either no return type (void) or returning some primitive (e.g. float, int) or object.

A method may also have other modifiers that change the actions of the method. In Java, an example of this is synchronized.

A method is usually considered synonymous with a function or procedure. However, these terms are usually associated with the functional and procedural programming paradigms.

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