Java Academy · Lesson

Return Values & Overloading

Return statements, early returns, and method overloading by parameter count and type. Includes varargs and overload selection demos.

Overview

Goal: Master return statements and method overloading. You will see early returns (guard clauses), overloads by count and by type, and a short varargs demo.

Return & guard

Return sends a value back to the caller and ends the method. Guard clauses (early return) keep code simple by handling special cases first.

public class Main {
  // Double an integer and return the result
  static int doubleIt(int x) {
    return x * 2;
  }

  // Return a label using a simple early-return pattern (guard clause)
  static String parity(int n) {
    if (n % 2 == 0) {
      return "even";   // early return ends the method here
    }
    return "odd";       // otherwise this path executes
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.println("doubleIt(7) = " + doubleIt(7));
    System.out.println("parity(10) = " + parity(10));
    System.out.println("parity(11) = " + parity(11));
  }
}

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