Method definition skeleton

A method definition tells Java the name of a new method and how it works. The skeleton of a method definition is a first draft, essentially translating the contract into Java syntax but not specifying how the method does its job. It has the following form (for now; we'll see more details later):

public static return-type method-name
             (parameter-type parameter-name)
   {

   }

public static return-type method-name
             (parameter-type parameter-name,
	      parameter-type parameter-name,
              ...)
   {

   }

In either case, the definition consists of several parts, each separated by a space (and anywhere you can put a space, you can also put a new line):

• The keywords public static (we'll see what these mean, and when you need them and when you don't, in a week or two)
• The data type that the method returns (e.g. int or String)
• The name of the method
• A left parenthesis (
• The data type and name of a parameter, separated by a space (if there are more than one, they must be separated by commas)
• A right parenthesis ), matching the one after the method name
• A left curly-brace {
• The inventory and the body will go here when you fill them in
• A right curly-brace }, matching the left curly-brace

The first six of these are collectively called the header, and traditionally go on one line (unless there are too many parameters to fit on one line, in which case they may be one on each line), with the body (enclosed in curly-braces) starting on the next line.

Here's an example.

public static int cube (int num)
   {
   }

Another example:

public static String howOld (String name, int age)
   {
   }