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Java Java Data Structures - Retired Organizing Data Comparable

Posted by yovannyfeliz
yovannyfeliz
917 Points

@override?

Why do I have to use "@override"? I know it lets the compiler know I want to override a method? But, can someone give me a bit more detail please?

1 Answer

jcorum
jcorum
71,830 Points
jcorum
jcorum
71,830 Points

It's a safety feature. Without the directive you could end up overriding a method by mistake and not realize it. This way you tell the compiler that what follows is supposed to be an override.

Here's a quote from http://www.javapractices.com/topic/TopicAction.do?Id=223:

The main reason @Override was created was to deal with simple (but nasty) typographical errors. For example, a method mistakenly declared as
public int hashcode(){...}
is in fact not an override - the method name has all lower case letters, so it doesn't exactly match the name of the hashCode() method. It will however compile perfectly well. Such an error is easy to make, and difficult to catch, which is a dangerous combination. Using the @Override annotation prevents you from making such errors.