Method

A method is a named block of code inside a class that performs a task. It optionally takes parameters and returns a value (or void). Methods are how objects and classes expose their behaviour.

Anatomy

public int add(int a, int b) {  // public = modifier, int = return type, add = name, (int a, int b) = params
    return a + b;
}

Instance vs static methods

public class Calc {
    public int value = 0;
    public void addTo(int n) { value += n; }          // instance method — uses 'this'
    public static int square(int n) { return n * n; } // static — belongs to the class
}

Calc c = new Calc();
c.addTo(5);             // call instance method on an object
int sq = Calc.square(9); // call static method on the class, no instance

Overloading

Multiple methods can share a name if their parameter lists differ:

int max(int a, int b)       { return a > b ? a : b; }
double max(double a, double b) { return a > b ? a : b; }

Varargs

public int sum(int... nums) {
    int total = 0;
    for (int n : nums) total += n;
    return total;
}
sum(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);  // 15

See the full method guide for overriding, visibility, and naming conventions.