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I am currently teaching students as a tutor programming conventions. I've told them that they can find most conventions in the Oracle Code Conventions.

In my last tutorial a student asked if:

public static void main(String args[])

or

public static void main(String[] args)

is written by convention or if there is a difference. I have never seen the first version before, so I'm very sure that the second one is a convention. But I don't have a source for that.

Can you give me a source (preferably from oracle, like the page I've linked above) that makes clear which of both is convention?

Equivalence of both expressions

I know that both expressions are equivalent:

The JLS 7, p. 292 states:

An array type is written as the name of an element type followed 
by some number of empty pairs of square brackets [].

but also on p. 293:

The [] may appear as part of the type at the beginning of the declaration, 
or as part of the declarator for a particular variable, or both.

For example:
    byte[] rowvector, colvector, matrix[];
This declaration is equivalent to:
    byte rowvector[], colvector[], matrix[][];

But this doesn't help for the convention-quesiton.

So they are identical (not specs, but here is a source). They produce the same bytecode in a small example, so I'm very sure that they are also identical in praxis.

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  • 2
    BTW I usually use public static void main(String... args) ;) Commented Nov 1, 2012 at 10:38
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    @JBNizet The OP asks about the conventions not what is the correct syntax. Commented Nov 1, 2012 at 10:41
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    @assylias No, I don't think it's a duplicate of the linked question. Commented Nov 1, 2012 at 10:44
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    @Puce: if both are correct, but everyone uses only one kind of the accepted syntax, it's a de facto convention, isn't it? That's the definition of a convention. Commented Nov 1, 2012 at 11:01
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    @brimborium: from dictionary.reference.com/browse/convention: 5. a rule, method, or practice established by usage. Everybody uses this notation, so it's a convention. Commented Nov 1, 2012 at 13:02

5 Answers 5

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This is not from Oracle but I think it will help.

It is from Kathy Sierra's book SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6

int[] key;
int key [];

When declaring an array reference, you should always put the array brackets immediately after the declared type, rather than after the identifier (variable name). That way, anyone reading the code can easily tell that, for example, key is a reference to an int array object, and not an int primitive.

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1 Comment

+1, I also think the array brackets belong to the type not the variable name.
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Oracle's Code Conventions do not explicitly state it, but in all examples they use the brackets immediately after the declared type.

In their example code (which should be considered authoritative in this context) they use:

private Object[] instanceVar3;

Also on the page detailing the initialization of variables they have this example that demonstrates the possible problems of putting the brackets behind the variable name:

int foo, fooarray[]; //WRONG!

One could be tempted to do this and think one were declaring several arrays. Althoug this syntactically correct (as brimborium pointed out in the comments), Oracle didn't put the capital letters there for nothing. Better to be safe, clear and also type less by putting the brackets behind the type to show clearly what you want to declare.

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3 Comments

What do you mean by "wrong syntax"? The compiler has no problems with it... otherwise good answer.
@brimborium: Thanks for pointing that out, I corrected the answer. I did assume it was incorrect, because of the comment added by Oracle.
You are right, that //WRONG! is missleading. It should be //AVOID! or something like that.
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There is one obscure use case for the late brackets:

int x, xs[], xxs[][];

How much this is useful, I let the reader be the judge.

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One advantage of using [] immediately after array type is: If you want to declare multiple arrays then you to write like: int[] a,b,c; But if you use [] after the array name, then we have to use[] after every array variable like: int a[],b[],c[];

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2 Comments

OTOH - the Sun style guide recommends against multiple declarations.
@StephenC Can you give a link to that style guide? That would be helpful.
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In Google Java Style Guide, section 4.8.3.2 explicitly states

The square brackets form a part of the type, not the variable: String[] args, not String args[].

I suppose if you follow Google's convention, then it is clearly String[] args.

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