# Java: Methods - Vocabulary

access modifier
  There may be an access modifier at the front of a method header. The access modifier tells which other methods can call this method.

  keyword | access
  `none` | If you don't give an access modifier, every other method in this package can call it. This is usually called package access and is probably the most common type of access. This is like giving your friends your telephone number.
  `public` | Everyone can call it. You should use `public` if you want someone outside your package to call the method. Some common methods that are declared `public` are `paint()`, `init()`, `actionPerformed()`, `adjustmentValueChanged()`, and `main()`. This is like making your phone number public -- anyone can call you.
  `private` | No one outside this class can call it. This is like only letting your family call you.
  `protected` | Everyone in this package and any child classes can use it. You won't want to use this unless you are devoloping classes that you expect others to use for inheritance.

actual parameter
  The values in the method call are the actual parameters. When a call is made, the values of the actual parameters are copied into the formal parameters.
formal parameter
  The parameters in the header of a method definition are the formal parameters. Formal parameters are like local variables that get their values from the actual parameters.
local variable
  Local variables are variables that are declared in a method. Local variables can only be used in that method (no other methods can access them). They are created when a method is called, and destroyed when the method returns.
method
  A method is a way to put a group of statements together to do something.
method body
  Amethod body is the part of the method that contains the declarations of local variables and the statements. For a non-void function, it must contain at least one `return` statement.
method definition
  A method definition has two parts: a method header, and a method body.
method header
  A method header comes at the beginning and gives the following information:
  - access modifier
  - return type
  - method name
  - formal parameters

Need to add: return type, return statement, signature, static/class methods, instance methods, overriding, overloading, ... However, each entry should really be marked both by area (methods, awt, ...), and by level (beginning, intermediate, or advanced). Hmmm, that will have to come later.