Separators in Java

Separators help define the structure of a program. The separators used in HelloWorld are parentheses, ( ), braces, { }, the period, ., and the semicolon, ;. The table lists the six Java separators (nine if you count opening and closing separators as two).

Separator Purpose
( ) Encloses arguments in method definitions and calling; adjusts precedence in arithmetic expressions; surrounds cast types and delimits test expressions in flow control statements
{ } defines blocks of code and automatically initializes arrays
[ ] declares array types and dereferences array values
; terminates statements
, separates successive identifiers in variable declarations; chains statements in the test, expression of a for loop
. Selects a field or method from an object; separates package names from sub-package and class names
: Used after loop labels

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Copyright 1997 Elliotte Rusty Harold
elharo@metalab.unc.edu
Last Modified September 24, 1999