Editing Java syntax (section)

====<code>return</code> statement====
The <code>return</code> statement is used to end method execution and to return a value. A value returned by the method is written after the <code>return</code> keyword. If the method returns anything but <code>void</code>, it must use the <code>return</code> statement to return some value.

<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
void doSomething(boolean streamClosed) {
    // If streamClosed is true, execution is stopped
    if (streamClosed) {
        return;
    }
    readFromStream();
}

int calculateSum(int a, int b) {
    int result = a + b;
    return result;
}
</syntaxhighlight>

<code>return</code> statement ends execution immediately, except for one case: if the statement is encountered within a <code>try</code> block and it is complemented by a <code>finally</code>, control is passed to the <code>finally</code> block.

<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
void doSomething(boolean streamClosed) {
    try {
        if (streamClosed) {
            return;
        }
        readFromStream();
    } finally {
        /* Will be called last even if 
        readFromStream() was not called */
        freeResources();
    }
}
</syntaxhighlight>