Object[] variableName; vs Object variableName[];

Question

Working in Java, what is the difference between using

Object[] variableName;

and using:

Object variableName[];

Does it have the exact same effect on compilation and run? Or is there a difference?

See: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/129178/difference-between-int-array-and-int-array (They're the same) — quazzieclodo, Nov 13 '13 at 21:25

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 13 '13 at 21:25

4

Both statements are entirely equivalent.

answered Nov 13 '13 at 21:25

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 13 '13 at 21:28

The statements will compile to the same code, BUT if you write

Type[] name instead of Type name[] the code becomes more readable, because you always can see the type (Array or Not-Array) in front of the variable name. (In fact this is some kind of my ppersonal meaning)

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 13 '13 at 21:32

From Java language specification (for Java 7) :

The [] may appear as part of the type at the beginning of the declaration, or as part of the declarator for a particular variable, or both.

So yes, they are both equivalent and you can even mix the two styles in the same declaration (although the specification gives a healthy reminder to us that that tends to get ugly and confusing).

Object[] variableName; vs Object variableName[];

3 Answers3