signature : Java Glossary

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Java has a way of compactly encoding the types of each parameter and the return type on a given method. This string is called the method’s signature. The signature for a simple method that had one int parameter and a void result would be (I)V. A class might be encoded Ljava/io/PrintStream. A String would be Ljava/lang/String whereas a String[] would be [Ljava/lang/String

Another variant of the scheme is used in JNI to concoct names for C methods to match up with the corresponding Java method.

These encodings is used inside class files inside the byte code.

Learning More

JLS (Java Language Specification): Class File Descriptors

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