Return Type

In computer programming, the return type (or result type) defines and constrains the data type of the value returned from a subroutine or method. In many programming languages (especially statically-typed programming languages such as C, C++, Java) the return type must be explicitly specified when declaring a function.

In the Java example:

public int someMethod

the return type is int. The program can therefore rely on the method returning a value of type int. Various mechanisms are used for the case where a subroutine does not return any value, e.g., a return type of void is used in some programming languages:

public void returnNothing

Famous quotes containing the words return and/or type:

    “It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but only retire from sight and afterwards return again.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “One type of rice nourishes one hundred types of people.”
    —Chinese proverb.