Java Glossary and the Core Concepts in the Java Language

Java Language and Terminology

In this article, we’ll explore the foundations and core concepts of the Java language and terminology.

The write-up is divided into sections, ordered alphabetically to enable fast and easy search for these definitions.

A

abstract – a keyword used in a class or method definition, which specifies that the method/class is not going to be instantiated, but should be inherited by other methods or classes:

public abstract class Foo {
    abstract void runFoo();
}

API (Application Programming Interface) – is the way to expose a set of pre-defined classes and interfaces to external clients to interact with them, without sharing the implementation details

argument – an input specified in a method call; it can be a literal value, a variable, or an expression:

void fooMethod(int argument1);

array – a fixed-size collection of data of the same type, which can hold zero or more items:

int[] array = new int[16];

autoboxing – automatic conversion between the primitive types and their corresponding object wrapper classes:

Character a = 'a';

B

block – code between two matching open and close braces, which is the single logical unit of work inside the application:

{ some code }

boolean – a primitive type, holding only two values – true or false:

boolean condition = false;

break – a statement used to exit a loop/switch statement/labeled block; the application continues execution with the statement immediately following the containing block:

int hour = 8;
switch (hour) {
    case 8:
        //some code
        break;
    default:
        //some code
        break;
}

byte – a primitive type of the size of eight bits:

byte b = 100;

bytecode – the instruction set for Java Virtual Machine, created from source files into bytecode by the compiler

C

case – a keyword that defines a particular group of statements executed in a switch statement:

int hour = 8;
switch (hour) {
    case 8:
        //some code
        break;
    default:
        //some code
        break;
}

casting – conversion from one data type to another:

Object o = "test";
String str = (String) o;

catch – the block of code inside try/catch statement, responsible for handling exceptions:

try {
    // code
} catch (Exception e) {
   // exception handling
}

char – a keyword used to declare a variable of single type character:

char a = 'a';

checked exception – an Exception that is caught at the compilation time, usually in the block or thrown in the method header

class – the core type in Java that defines the implementation of a particular kind of object; it defines instance and class variables and methods, as well as specifies the interfaces it implements and the immediate superclass of the class, by default Object:

public class Foo {}

class method – a synonym of static class

class variable – a synonym of a static field or a static variable

classpath – an environment variable or a command-line argument indicating the path searched by the Java compiler and the runtime for class definitions

comment – a piece of explanatory text ignored by the compiler:

// first comment
/* comment block */
/** documentation */

compiler – a program used to translate source code into the code executed by a computer

concurrency – it is the ability of a program to run several tasks in parallel, a primary feature of multithreading

condition – a boolean expression controlling a conditional statement or loop:

if (condition) {}

constant – a final variable in Java, which means that the reference of it cannot be changed once initialized:

final int number = 20;

constructor – a method inside the class, which creates and initializes objects in it – needs to be public and names the same as the class:

public class Foo {
    public Foo(){}; // constructor
}

continue – a keyword used to resume application execution at the end of the current loop:

for (int i=1; i<10; i++){
    for (int j=1; j<10; j++){
        if (condition) continue;
    }
}

curly brackets – please refer to block

D

declaration – officially, this is defined as a statement that establishes an identifier and associates attributes with it, without necessarily reserving its storage or providing the implementation

default – the optional destination used in a switch statement, when neither case statement matches the requested behavior:

int hour = 8;
switch (hour) {
    case 8:
        //some code
        break;
    default:
        //some code
        break;
}

definition – a declaration that reserves storage (for data) or provides an implementation (for methods)

deprecation – a class/method/interface that has been made obsolete by later versions of the library or of the language itself; it should not be used as there is no guarantee that it will exist in future versions

direct recursion – a recursion that starts in the stack of the calling method itself

do – a keyword used to declare a while loop ensuring execution of the first iteration of the loop before the check of the boolean condition:

do {
     // code
} while (expression);

DOM – Document Object Model, defined by the W3C, that allows applications to dynamically access and update the content, structure, and style of documents

downcast – a process of changing the data type from Object to the particular type, i.e., Integer:

Object o = 10;
Integer num = (Integer) o;

double – a Java primitive type of the type double:

double lat = 52.11

E

else – a keyword used in if/else condition statements, executed when the test condition is false:

if (condition) {
    // code
} else {
    // code
}

encapsulation – the process of protecting the state of objects by defining its attributes as private and channeling access to them through accessor and mutator methods

enum – a Java keyword used to declare the enumerated type (whose values are a fixed set of constants):

public enum Day {
    SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY,
    THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY 
}

exception – an exceptional circumstance preventing the program to continue working regularly (usually an error or bug); here are some best practices to deal with and further understand exceptions in Java

expression – a combination of operands and operators which causes particular behavior and produces results

extends – a keyword used to define the inheritance of classes or interfaces:

public class Foo extends FooMother {}

F

field – a variable defined outside of all defined methods, but inside of the class; in other words, a member of a class

final – a Java keyword indicating that an entity is immutable, thus, you can’t change its reference during the program execution:

final int number = 20;

finally – a block in a try/catch statement executed even Java exception or runtime error occurred:

try {
    // code
} catch (Exception e) {
    // exception handling
} finally {
    // code to be executed at the end

float – a Java keyword used to define a floating point number variable:

float cash = 24.5;

for – a Java control structure used for loop execution:

for (int i=0; i<10; i++){
    // code
}

G

garbage collection – the process by which the JVM automatically frees up unused memory; to go further into the GC process and potential problems in that process, you can read the deep-dive into memory leaks here

global variable – a variable that is visible to all methods in the class

GUI – graphical user interface

H

hash code – a value used to provide an efficient way to map object and its location, returned by a hash function

hash function – a method used to produce hash code from any data of arbitrary size to data of fixed size

hexadecimal – a number represented by the base of 16

HTML – HyperText Markup Language; a web content presentation language

HTTP(S) – HyperText Transfer Protocol (Secure); a protocol that defines all rules how the browser should communicate with a server

I

identifier – a name of a class, variable, method or interface defined in the code by the software developer:

String identifier = "Some string";

if – a Java control structure used to choose if execution of further actions should continue or not:

if (condition) {
    // code
} else {
    // code
}

immutable object – an object whose state or value is not changeable after creation

implements – a Java keyword used to indicate which interfaces are implemented by the current class:

public class Foo implements Foo {
    // implementation of all methods defined in the <em>Foo</em> interface
}

import – a statement used to enable the use of other classes or interfaces from different Java packages:

import java.util.*;

indirect recursion – a recursion that happens when method A calls method B while a call from the method B to the method A is still in progress

infinite recursion – a recursion that can technically continue indefinitely; it very often indicates a logic error and can lead to StackOverflow errors

inheritance – a feature of object-oriented programming, where classes contain all variables and methods defined in their supertypes

int – a Java primitive of the type integer:

int number = 10;

interface – a Java keyword used to define the collection of methods and constant values that can be furthermore implemented by other classes:

public interface IFoo {
    void start();
    void stop();
    int restart();
}

iteration – a single execution of a loop

J

JAR – Java Archive is the default Java packaging mechanism to aggregate multiple files into one (similar to .zip)

Java Core – provides the main features of Java, also named Java Standard Edition

Java EE – Java Enterprise Edition

JDK – Java Development Kit, the environment and core libraries used to write Java programs

JVM – Java Virtual Machine, the abstract machine where the compiled Java bytecode is executed

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L

livelock – a situation when two separate threads are waiting for each other to check the condition of particular part of the program

local variable – a variable defined in the method body, visible only inside it

long – a Java primitive of the type long:

long bigNumber = 100L;

M

main method – a starting point for Java applications:

public static void main(String[] args){}

memory leak – a situation during the program execution where memory that is no longer being used cannot be removed by the garbage collector as there is still a reference to it; it eventually leads to OutOfMemoryException

method – a particular function implemented in a Java class:

public int doSthAndReturnInt();

module – a group of program components; in Java, the term that’s used for it is package

multithreaded – a program capable of concurrent execution on multiple threads

mutual recursion – this happens when two methods are calling each other recursively at the same time

N

namespace – an area of the program defined by packages, with established certain visibility rules (e.g. private access, public access, etc.)

native – a keyword indicating that particular method is not implemented in Java language itself, but in another programming language

nested class – a class, which is implemented inside the body of the other class

new – the operator used to create an instance of a class

null – a type indicating that object reference variable has no reference to any object existing in memory

O

object – an instance of a particular class; also the core concept of the OOP

OOP – Object Oriented Programming – a primary paradigm in modern software development, focused on objects as primitives, not the specific actions; each object is created/instantiated from a class

operator – a symbol used for arithmetic or boolean expressions, e.g. +,-,/,*,=

operator precedence – the order of processing conditions or equations with the multiple operators, similar to the mathematical concept of order of operations

overloading – using the same method name for various implementation, differentiated by parameters:

private int sum(int x, int y) {
    return (x + y);
}
 
private int sum(int x, int y, int z) { 
    return (x + y + z);
}

overriding – providing a different implementation of the original method in its subclass:

public class Foo {
    public void test(){
        // original implementation
    }
}

public class BabyFoo extends Foo {
    @Override
    public void test(){
        // overriden implementation
    }
}

P

package – a name for a grouping of classes and interfaces in a namespace

primitive type – one of the following non-class variable type: boolean, byte, char, double, float, int, long or short

private – a Java modifier, used to specify the visibility of a method or a variable, so they can be accessed only within its class

protected – another modifier that makes variables or classes accessible to all other elements in the same package

public – a modifier allowing external access to a particular variable or method

R

recursion – a process where a method is invoked again from its existing call stack

reflection – the ability of the code to inspect and manipulate other code in the same runtime process

return – a Java keyword used to finish the execution of the method and return data back to the caller

S

scope – it determines the visibility of elements in the program, for example, local or global variables

serialization – the process of encoding and decoding the objects to the stream of bytes, and vice-versa

short – a keyword used to specify the variable of the type short:

short num = 2;

static – class member variable stored and accessed as a single instance for all objects of that class:

public static class Foo {
    public static int num = 10;
    public static void useMe(){
        // code
    }
}

stream – a byte-stream of data sent from sender to receiver

String – an instance of an immutable String class, containing zero or more Unicode characters:

String myText = "Hello... It's me.";

super – a keyword allowing the access to members of a class inherited by the class in which it appears

switch – a control structure with multiple cases:

int hour = 8;
switch (hour) {
    case 8:
        //some code
        break;
    default:
        //some code
        break;
}

synchronized – a control statement that guarantees single-access semantics in a multithreaded environment

T

this – a statement that references the instance of the class where it appears

thread – a basic, single lightweight execution process supported natively by the JVM as well as by the OS

throw – a statement used to throw an Exception:

void dontUseThisMethod(){
    throw Exception;
}

throws – a keyword in a method header indicating that one or more exceptions will be propagated from this method:

public void startEngine() throws IOException;

try – a block of code that allows exceptions to be caught using a catch block:

try {
    // code
} catch (Exception e) {
    // exception handling
} finally {
    // code to be executed at the end

U

unchecked exception – an error without handler defined in the program implementation, cannot be dealt with at compilation time

Unicode – a 16-bit character set defined by ISO 10646, designed to make exchange and display of information easier across various languages

URI, URL – Uniform Resource Identifier/Locator. You can read more about the difference between these two concepts here

upcast – a process of casting to super type – for example from String to Object:

String text = "Test";
Object o = (Object) o;

V

variable – an item of data associated with a specific type

variable declaration – the place in the application, where the specific variable is assigned to one of the existing Java types

virtual machine – see JVM

void – a keyword used to indicate that method does not return any value

volatile – a modifier specifying how the variable behaves in a multithreaded environment; the variable will never be cached in a thread-local – as it’s expected to be modified by different threads

W

while – a Java control structure used for looping:

while (condition) {
    // code
}

wrapper – an object that encapsulates primitive types into one of the classes from the java.lang package: Boolean, Byte, Character, Double, Float, Integer, Long or Short to provide additional methods

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Author

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