The Java Language Specification, Third Edition

6.5 Determining the Meaning of a Name NAMES
126
The example:
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] ia = new int[3];
int[] ib = new int[6];
System.out.println(ia.getClass() == ib.getClass());
System.out.println("ia has length=" + ia.length);
}
}
produces the output:
true
ia has length=3
This example uses the method getClass inherited from class Object and the
field length. The result of the comparison of the Class objects in the first
println demonstrates that all arrays whose components are of type int are
instances of the same array type, which is int[].
6.5 Determining the Meaning of a Name
The meaning of a name depends on the context in which it is used. The determination
of the meaning of a name requires three steps. First, context causes a name
syntactically to fall into one of six categories: PackageName, TypeName, ExpressionName,
MethodName, PackageOrTypeName, or AmbiguousName. Second, a
name that is initially classified by its context as an AmbiguousName or as a PackageOrTypeName
is then reclassified to be a PackageName, TypeName, orExpressionName.
Third, the resulting category then dictates the final determination of
the meaning of the name (or a compilation error if the name has no meaning).
PackageName:
Identifier
PackageName . Identifier
TypeName:
Identifier
PackageOrTypeName . Identifier
ExpressionName:
Identifier
AmbiguousName . Identifier
DRAFT