Miscellaneous facts about Java

• PLEASE SEND US YOUR FAVORITE EXAMPLES FOR INCLUSION HERE (you will be acknowledged)!
• I understand static variables. But why do you declare a method to be static?:
  -- this allows you to access the method without creating an instance of the class.
  -- Here is a working example

  Uninitialized variables: If a variable is initialized ONLY within a try block, the compiler will complain!

  -- To fix this, you can initialize the variable either in the catch block as well, or do this else where.

  -- See Factorail1.java for an illustration.

  Method Overloading: We know that the types of the parameters for a method is part of the "signature" of the method. What about the return type? With some thought, you will see the reason why the return type should not part of the signature. [ambiguity arise because of casting]

  "this" member:

  -- "this" is a special reference. You are not allowed to assign to "this".

  -- Why do we ever need to use "this"? Usually, we do not need to use "this". For instance "this.next" is usually the same as "next" (assuming that "next" is a field in the current class). However, sometimes the "next" field may be hidden and you need to use "this" to get it: consider the constructor Node(Node next) in the following class.

  	class Node {
  	   Object item;
  	   Node next;
  	   ...
  	   Node(Node next) {
  		this.next = next;
  	   }
  	}