1. The return statement

Think you've already learned all about Java methods? Whatever you think you know, you still don't know the half of it.

Let's start with something simple. For example, Java has a return statement that lets you instantly terminate the method that calls it. Here's the statement:

return;

It's simple: the solitary word return followed by a semicolon. As soon as the program executes this statement, the current method exits immediately, and the calling continues.

If return is called in the main method, then the main method will immediately end, and with it the entire program.

Example:

class Solution
{
   public static void fill(int[] data, int from, int to, int value)
   {


     if (from < 0 || to > data.length)
       return;

     for (int i = from; i < to; i++)
     {
       data[i] = value;
     }
   }

   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
     int[] months = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ,9, 10, 11, 12};
     fill(months, 2, 10, 8);
   }
}

The fill method fills part of the passed array with value.
The part of the array to be filled is defined by the indices from and to.
If from is less than 0 or if to is greater than the length of the array, then the method terminates immediately.

The above program has a fill method that fills the array passed to it with value. It does not fill the entire array, only the part specified by the indices from and to.

At the beginning of the fill method, the passed values are checked to ensure that they are valid. If from is less than 0, or if to is greater than the length of the array, then the fill method terminates immediately (executes a return statement).

This return statement is useful: practically every method in Java has one, and here's why.

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Task
New Java Syntax, level 7, lesson 3
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Welcome! But not everyone.
This is the signIn() method that greets website users. Currently, it greets all users, but it should only greet registered users. All unregistered users have the name "user". Add username validation at the beginning of the signIn() method. If the name is "user", use the return keyword to abort execu
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2. Methods with a result, void

Remember we once figured out that there are statements, and there are expressions. An expression, unlike a statement, has a value that can be used somewhere.

And, in Java, methods can have a value. And this is very good news: methods are not only able to do something based on the input parameters, but also, for example, to evaluate something and return the result of the calculation.

By the way, you have already encountered such methods:

double delta = Math.abs(d1 - d2);
 The abs() method returns a double 
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
int x = console.nextInt();
The nextInt() method returns an int		 
String str = "Hello";
String s2 = str.toUpperCase();
The toUpperCase() method returns a String		 
int[] data = {1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11};
int[] array = Arrays.copyOf(data, 4);
The copyOf() method returns an int[]

Each method can only return one value of one predetermined type. The return type is determined when the method is declared:

public static Type name(parameters)
{
  method body
}

Where name is the name of the method, parameters is the list of method parameters, and type is the type of the result that the method returns.

For methods that return nothing, there is a special placeholder type: void.

Are you writing your own method and don't want to return anything to the calling method? Just declare the method's type as void, and the problem is solved. There are also lots of methods like this in Java.

3. Returning a result

We just figured out how to declare a method that returns the result of a calculation, but how do we result this result in the method itself?

The return statement helps us out here once again. Passing a result from a method looks like this:

return value;

Where return is a statement that terminates the method immediately. And value is the value that the method returns to the calling method when it exits. The type of value must match the type specified in the method declaration.

Example 1. The method calculates the minimum of two numbers:

int min(int a, int b)
{
   if (a < b)
     return a;
   else
     return b;
}
 The method returns the minimum of two numbers.

If a < b
return a
Otherwise
return b

Example 2. The method duplicates the string passed to it n times:

String multiple(String str, int times)
{
   String result = "";
   for (int i = 0; i < times; i++)
     result = result + " "+ str;
   return result;
}
 The method takes two parameters — a string and the number of times that the string should be repeated.
An empty string is created for the future result.

In a loop with times iterations, a space and the str string is added to the result string.

The string result is returned as the result of the method.

Example 3: The method calculates the maximum of two numbers using the ternary operator:

int max(int a, int b)
{
   return (a > b ? a : b);
}
 The method returns the maximum of two numbers.

return (if a > b, then a, otherwise b)
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New Java Syntax, level 7, lesson 3
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A cube calculator
Let's implement a calculator that will compute the powers of numbers. To do this, create a cube() method. It must take a long integer value as an argument. The method should raise the passed value to the third power and return it as the method's result. The numbers you have to work with may be large
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New Java Syntax, level 7, lesson 3
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A cubed cube calculator
You won't blow any minds by unveiling a calculator that can raise a number to the power of three. But a calculator that can raise a number to the power of nine is another matter! So let's implement one! To do this, create a public static long ninthDegree(long) method. It must take a long integer val
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