The Java Language Specification, Third Edition

8.4.1 Formal Parameters CLASSES
210
MethodDeclaration:
MethodHeader MethodBody
MethodHeader:
MethodModifiersopt TypeParametersopt ResultType MethodDeclarator
Throws opt
ResultType:
Type
void
MethodDeclarator:
Identifier ( FormalParameterListopt )
The MethodModifiers are described in §8.4.3, the TypeParameters clause of a
method in §8.4.4, the Throws clause in §8.4.6, and the MethodBody in §8.4.7. A
method declaration either specifies the type of value that the method returns or
uses the keyword void to indicate that the method does not return a value.
The Identifier in a MethodDeclarator may be used in a name to refer to the
method. A class can declare a method with the same name as the class or a field,
member class or member interface of the class, but this is discouraged as a matter
of syle.
For compatibility with older versions of the Java platform, a declaration form
for a method that returns an array is allowed to place (some or all of) the empty
bracket pairs that form the declaration of the array type after the parameter list.
This is supported by the obsolescent production:
MethodDeclarator:
MethodDeclarator [ ]
but should not be used in new code.
It is a compile-time error for the body of a class to declare as members two
methods with override-equivalent signatures (§8.4.2) (name, number of parameters,
and types of any parameters). Methods and fields may have the same name,
since they are used in different contexts and are disambiguated by different lookup
procedures (§6.5).
8.4.1 Formal Parameters
DRAFT
The formal parameters of a method or constructor, if any, are specified by a list of
comma-separated parameter specifiers. Each parameter specifier consists of a type
(optionally preceded by the final modifier and/or one or more annotations
(§9.7)) and an identifier (optionally followed by brackets) that specifies the name