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:

    “We wished our two souls
    might return like gulls
    to the rock. In the end,
    the water was too cold for us.”
    —Robert Lowell (1917–1977)

    “I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.”
    —Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)