Final Methods
A final method can't be overridden by subclasses. This is used to prevent unexpected behavior from a subclass altering a method that may be crucial to the function or consistency of the class.
Example:
public class MyClass { public void myMethod {...} public final void myFinalMethod {...} } public class AnotherClass extends MyClass { public void myMethod {...} // Ok public final void myFinalMethod {...} // forbidden }A common misconception is that declaring a class or method final improves efficiency by allowing the compiler to directly insert the method inline wherever it is called. In fact the compiler is unable to do this because the method is loaded at runtime and might not be the same version as the one that was just compiled. Only the runtime environment and JIT compiler have the information about exactly which classes have been loaded, and are able to make better decisions about when to inline, whether or not the method is final.
Read more about this topic: Final (Java)
Famous quotes containing the words final and/or methods:
“Waiting for the race to become official, he began to feel as if he had as much effect on the final outcome of the operation as a single piece of a jumbo jigsaw puzzle has to its predetermined final design. Only the addition of the missing fragments of the puzzle would reveal if the picture was as he guessed it would be.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)
“A writer who writes, “I am alone” ... can be considered rather comical. It is comical for a man to recognize his solitude by addressing a reader and by using methods that prevent the individual from being alone. The word alone is just as general as the word bread. To pronounce it is to summon to oneself the presence of everything the word excludes.”
—Maurice Blanchot (b. 1907)