This question is really confusing
A ________ is a special method that has the same name as the class and is invoked automatically whenever an object of the class is instantiated.
Answers:
constructor
setter
getter
static method
I was thinking constructor is the only with the same name as the class, but wait! constructor is not really a method, it differs from method. So i read this article and came to a conclusion that this question is wrongly formatted, am I right?
Constructors are in fact a special method, that are used to initialize the state of the newly created instance. When you create an instance like:-
A obj= new A();
Then, the instance of class A is created using new keyword, and then the constructor A() is invoked on that newly created instance.
Further from that article that says: -
Constructors have one purpose in life: to create an instance of a class.
No this is wrong. Constructor don't create instance, its the new keyword that does it. And then constructor initializes the state of the instance created as I stated above.
From JLS - Section 8.8: -
Constructors are invoked by class instance creation expressions (§15.9), by the conversions and concatenations caused by the string concatenation operator + (§15.18.1), and by explicit constructor invocations from other constructors (§8.8.7).
Constructors are never invoked by method invocation expressions (§15.12).
Also from oracle tutorial
Point originOne = new Point(23, 94);
The above statement has three parts (discussed in detail below):
Declaration: The code set in bold are all variable declarations that associate a variable name with an object type.
Instantiation: The new keyword is a Java operator that creates the object.
Initialization: The new operator is followed by a call to a constructor, which initializes the new object.
Constructors are special methods. They are distinct from "normal" methods. But they are methods. Look at this:
public class A {
public A() {
this(5); // calls A(int)
}
public A(int arg) {
// ...
}
}