Chapter 3

Question 1

What is a method header?

Answer 1

• Contains information about how other methods can interact with it
• also called method decloration

Question 2

What is a method?

Answer 2

• Program module that contains a series of statements that carry out a task
• To execute a method, you call/invoke it from another method
• Calling method invokes a called message

Question 3

What does a method header contain?

Answer 3

• Optional access specifiers
• Optional static modifier
• A return type
• An identifier
• Parentheses (may or may not be empty)

Question 4

What is a method body?

Answer 4

• Contains the statements that carry out the work of a method
• called its implementation
• between a pair of curly braces

Question 5

What is a static modifier?

Answer 5

• Allows a method to be used without instantiating an object

Question 6

What is a return type?

Answer 6

• describes the type of data the method sends back to its calling method
• Void: no data is returned to the method
• Return type is also known as method type

Question 7

What is a fully qualified identifier?

Answer 7

Complete name includes the class
E.g. Companyinfo.DisplayHours()

Question 8

What is the method signature?

Answer 8

• Combination of the method name and the number, types, and order of arguments
• Method call must match method signature

Question 9

What are arguments?

Answer 9

Data items you use in a call to method

Question 10

What are parameters?

Answer 10

• Data items recieved by the method
• any argument will be promoted to the data type

Question 11

What is implementation hiding?

Answer 11

• Encapsulation of method details within a class
• Calling method needs to understand only the interface to the called method

Question 12

What is the interface of a method?

Answer 12

The only part of the method that the client sees or with which it interacts

Question 13

What is a local variable?

Answer 13

Variable known only within the boundries of a method

Question 14

When does a method end?

Answer 14

• When a method completes all of its statements
• When a method throws an exception
• When a method reaches a return statement

Question 15

What are unreachable statements?

Answer 15

• Statements placed after a methods reutnr statement
• Can’t execute
• Dead code

Question 16

What does it mean to overload a method?

Answer 16

Writing multiple methods in the same scope that have the same name but with different parameter lists

Question 17

What is an ambiguous statement?

Answer 17

• One where the compiler cannot determine which method to use
• Caused by overloading