Value changed in finally ignored in try block

Question

In the following code snippet, the value of j changed to 20 in the finally block is ignored and the original value of 10 is returned.

public class Test{

    public static void main(String args[]){
        int i=testMethod(10);
        System.out.println(i);
    }

    public static int testMethod(int j){
        try{
            return j;
        }finally{
            j=20;
        }
    }
}

If you want to return j as 20 then put the return statement after the finally block instead of in try block. — Top.Deck, Jul 14 '17 at 18:11

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 14 '17 at 18:11

1

The finally is executed after the entire try block completes. That means, in this case, j has already been read and is about to be returned. j will not be re-read after it is assigned in the finally block, so the assignment has no apparent effect.

answered Jul 14 '17 at 18:11

arshajii

127,459
24
238
287

So what would happen if the `j=20` was replaced with a `return 20`? – cadolphs Jul 14 '17 at 18:12
1

@Lagerbaer 20 would be returned in that case. – arshajii Jul 14 '17 at 18:13
So basically any kind of assignment operation is redundant inside the finally block is it? – Fullstack Guy Jul 14 '17 at 18:27
@AmardeepBhowmick Unless it's a global variable or you're re-reading the variable later in the `finally` block. – arshajii Jul 14 '17 at 18:30

Value changed in finally ignored in try block

1 Answers1