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Java

Posted by Youssouf Conde
Youssouf Conde
525 Points

if getCharacterName is a method, why can't I just put the value I want to return in the parentheses?

I don't really understand why I have to state return characterName. Can the value you want to return be directly incorporated into the method? Like this: public String getCharacterName("Yoda");

if that's impossible, why is it impossible?

Thanks.

1 Answer

Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points
Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points

Hi Youssef!

I'm not much of a Java programmer, but I have to assume that you'd want to do something like this:

public String getCharacterName(String name) {
    return name;
}

And then pass "Yoda" to the function when it's called.

And even then you won't see the return value anywhere unless you do something like assign the return value to a variable and print that value to the screen/console or put the called function in a print statement directly.

In most, if not all, languages, you need to explicitly return the value that the function should return, otherwise the return value is void, null, false, or undefined, etc.

I hope that helps.

Stay safe and happy coding!