Does the method signature in a Java class/interface include its return type?
Example:
Does Java know the difference between those two methods:
public class Foo {
public int myMethod(int param) {}
public char myMethod(int param) {}
}
Or is it maybe only the method name and parameters list that matter?
Quoting from Oracle Docs:
Definition: Two of the components of a method declaration comprise the method signature—the method's name and the parameter types.
Since the question was edited to include this example:
public class Foo {
public int myMethod(int param) {}
public char myMethod(int param) {}
}
No, the compiler won't know the difference, as their signature: myMethod(int param)
is the same. The second line:
public char myMethod(int param) {}
will give you can error: method is already defined in class, which further confirms the above statement.