Method Statement

Syntax

A type reference has the following syntax:

Use

A method can only refer to packages, classes, and methods that were declared before, so they cannot be declared in whatever order.

This is also the case for a recursive method because the return type of a method is only known after it is declared and compiled.

Consequently, it is required to predeclare the methods to enable recursion.

Example1

METHOD MyClass.setQuantity(quantity : Integer) : { THIS.quantity := quantity };

Example2

// Pre-declaration with type of result
METHOD MyClass.fibonacci(n : Integer) : VOID(Integer);
// Sub-optimal implementation with 2 recursion branches created every time
METHOD MyClass.finonacci(n : Integer) : {
  n >= 2
    IF TRUE: (fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2))
    ELSE: 1
};