Should I use "this" keyword when I want to refer to instance variables within a method?

java scope this instance local
Juan Herrera picture Juan Herrera · Apr 5, 2013 · Viewed 12.8k times · Source

My teacher says that when I try to access an instance variable within a method I should always use the this keyword, otherwise I would perform a double search. A local scope search and then an instance scope search.

Example:

public class Test(){
    int cont=0;
    public void Method(){
        System.out.println(cont);//Should I use This.cont instead?
    }
}

I hope he is wrong, but I can't find any argument.

Answer

Hovercraft Full Of Eels picture Hovercraft Full Of Eels · Apr 5, 2013

No, only use this when you have a name conflict such as when a method parameter has the same name as an instance field that it is setting.

It can be used at other times, but many of us feel that it simply adds unnecessary verbiage to the code.

Related questions

What is the default scope of a method in Java?

If I type: void doThis(){ System.out.println("Hello Stackoverflow."); } what is the default scope of doThis()? Public? Protected? Private?

Read More
I can pass a variable from a JSP scriptlet to JSTL but not from JSTL to a JSP scriptlet without an error

The following code causes an error: <c:set var="test" value="test1"/> <% String resp = "abc"; resp = resp + test; pageContext.setAttribute("resp", resp); %> <c:out value="${resp}"/> The error says "error a line 4: unknown symbol …

Read More
Spring Java Config: how do you create a prototype-scoped @Bean with runtime arguments?

Using Spring's Java Config, I need to acquire/instantiate a prototype-scoped bean with constructor arguments that are only obtainable at runtime. Consider the following code example (simplified for brevity): @Autowired private ApplicationContext appCtx; public void onRequest(Request request) { //request is …

Read More