Java Keywords

In this tutorial, you’ll learn about Java Keywords which reserved and cannot be modified Java Programming.

The Java programming language has the total of 50 reserved keywords which have special meaning for the compiler and cannot be used as variable names.

The Following is a list of all Java keywords in alphabetical order, click on an individual keyword to see its description and usage example.

abstract	assert	boolean	break	byte
case	catch	char	class	const
continue	default	do	double	else
enum	extends	final	finally	float
for	goto	if	implements	import
instanceof	int	interface	long	native
new	package	private	protected	public
return	short	static	strictfp	super
switch	synchronized	this	throw	throws
transient	try	void	volatile	while

Some noteworthy points regarding Java keywords:

• const and goto are reserved words but not used.
• true, false and null are literals, not keywords.
• all keywords are in lower-case.

The following table shows the keywords grouped by category used in Java:

Category	Keywords
Access modifiers	private, protected, public
Class, method, variable modifiers	abstract, class, extends, final, implements, interface, native, new, static, strictfp, synchronized, transient, volatile
Flow control	break, case, continue, default, do, else, for, if, instanceof, return,switch, while
Package control	import, package
Primitive types	boolean, byte, char, double, float, int, long, short
Error handling	assert, catch, finally, throw, throws, try
Enumeration	enum
Others	super, this, void
Unused	const, goto

• goto and const – are not used
• enum – is present since Java 5.0
• strictfp – is present since Java 1.2
• assert – is present since Java 1.4
• In addition, the identifiers null, true and false denote literal values and may not be used to create identifiers.

Recommended Book: Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies (Cover Java 7)

Ask your questions and clarify your/others doubts on Java Keywords by commenting. Java Documentation.

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