Final (Java): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:06, 13 April 2018

Revision as of 08:16, 24 April 2018

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Further, because C and C++ expose pointers and references directly, there is a distinction between whether the pointer itself is constant, and whether the data pointed to by the pointer is constant. Applying <code>const</code> to a pointer itself, as in <code>SomeClass * const ptr</code>, means that the contents being referenced can be modified, but the reference itself cannot (without casting). This usage results in behaviour which mimics the behaviour of a <code>final</code> variable reference in Java. By contrast, when applying const to the referenced data only, as in <code>const SomeClass * ptr</code>, the contents cannot be modified (without casting), but the reference itself can. Both the reference and the contents being referenced can be declared as <code>const</code>.

Due to casting,In C++, <code>const</code> is a soft guideline andthat itprogrammers can easily be overriddenoverride by the[[Type programmer;casting the(computer programmerprogramming)|type can easily castcasting]] a const reference to a non-const reference. Java's <code>final</code> is a strict rule such that it is impossible to compile code that directly breaks or bypasses the final restrictions. Using [[Reflection (computer programming)#Java|reflection]], however, it is often possible to still modify final variables. This feature is mostly made use of when [[Serialization|deserializing]] objects with final members.

==References==