Valid variants of main() in Java

Difficulty Level : Easy
Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2020

We know that a Java code begins to execute from the main method. During runtime, if JVM can’t find any main method then we will get a runtime exception:
No such Method Error:

Main method not found in class, please define the main method as:
public static void main(String[] args)

to avoid this problem there should be the main method. We also know that the java main method has a particular prototype, which looks like:

public static void main(String[] args)

Even though the above syntax(prototype) is very strict but some little changes are acceptable. This makes it not so strict that if we perform any change then we will get a runtime exception. We can do several allowed modification to our main method.
The following Changes are acceptable.
Let’s understand the different variants of main() that are valid.

Default prototype: Below is the most common way to write main() in Java.

class Test  
{ 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Main Method

Meaning of the main Syntax:

public:  JVM can execute the method from anywhere.
static:  Main method can be called without object.
void:    The main method doesn't return anything.
main():  Name configured in the JVM.
String[]: Accepts the command line arguments.
args:- the name of the String array is args.

Order of Modifiers: We can swap positions of static and public in main().

//Java code to understand that The Order of Modifiers don't matters 
class Test 
{ 
    static public void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Main Method

Variants of String array arguments: We can place square brackets at different positions for string parameter.

class Test

{

    public static void main(String[] args)

    {

        System.out.println("Main Method");

    }

}
Output:
```
Main Method
```
class Test

{

    public static void main(String []args)

    {

        System.out.println("Main Method");

    }

}
Output:
```
Main Method
```
class Test

{

    public static void main(String args[])

    {

        System.out.println("Main Method");

    }

}
Output:
```
Main Method
```

Args or anything: Instead of args we can write anything which is a valid java identifier. You can write anything here, you can write your name or company’s name or anything you want to write but it must follow the rule of being a java identifier.
Example:

class Gfg{ 
  
       public static void main(String[] geeksforgeeks){  
               System.out.println("Instead of args we have written geeksforgeeks"); 
       } 
} 

Output:

Instead of args we have written geeksforgeeks

Var-args instead of String array: According to the rule whenever there is one dimenssional array we can replace the array with var-arg parameter.So here we can change our string array using var-args. (the tripple dots instead of [])
Example:

//Java code-> using Var-Args instead of the array 
//please note these code may not run in gfg IDE, better run it on other IDEs e.g, eclipse 
class Gfg{ 
      
        final public static void main(String... args){ 
        System.out.println("Var-args main method"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Var-args main method

Final Modifier String argument: We can make String args[] as final.

class Test

{

    public static void main(final String[] args)

    {

        System.out.println("Main Method");

    }

}
Output:
```
Main Method
```

Final main method: We can declare the main method with the final keyword.This cannot change the execution or give any error.
Example:

//Java code having the final main method 
////please note these code may not run in gfg IDE, better run it on other IDEs e.g, eclipse 
class Gfg{ 
   
    final public static void main(String[] args){ 
            
        System.out.println("final main method"); 
  
        } 
} 

Output:

final main method

synchronized keyword to static main method: We can make main() synchronized.

//Java code having Synchronized main method 
//please note these code may not run in gfg IDE, better run it on other IDEs e.g, eclipse 
class Test 
{ 
    public synchronized static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Main Method

strictfp keyword to static main method: strictfp can be used to restrict floating point calculations.

//Java code-> using strictfp modifier in main method 
//please note these code may not run in gfg IDE, better run it on other IDEs e.g, eclipse 
class Test 
{ 
    public strictfp static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Main Method

Combinations of all above keyword to static main method:
So we can declare the java main method with the following modifiers:

1.final,
2.synchronized
3.strictfp

but wait, can we use these three modifiers altogether?
-Yes, we can. we can use these three modifiers all together in our main method. Please go through the following example where we use all these modifiers and the code compiles and run perfectly fine without giving any error.
Example:

//Java code-> main method using final synchronized strictfp 
//please note these code may not run in gfg IDE, better run it on other IDEs e.g, eclipse 
class Gfg{ 
  
    final synchronized strictfp public static void main(String[] args){ 
  
        System.out.println("final synchronized strictfp main method"); 
  
        } 
} 

Output:

final synchronized strictfp main method

Overloading Main method: We can overload main() with different types of parameters.

class Test 
{ 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method String Array"); 
    } 
    public static void main(int[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method int Array"); 
    } 
}

Output:

Main Method String Array

Inheritance of Main method: JVM Executes the main() without any errors.

class A

{

    public static void main(String[] args)

    {

        System.out.println("Main Method Parent");

    }

}



class B extends A

{



}
Two class files, A.class and B.class are generated by a compiler. When we execute any of the two .class, JVM executes with no error.
```
O/P: Java A
Main Method Parent
O/P: Java B
Main Method Parent
```

Method Hiding of main(), but not Overriding: Since main() is static, derived class main() hides the base class main. (See Shadowing of static functions for details.)

class A 
{ 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method Parent"); 
    } 
} 
class B extends A 
{ 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        System.out.println("Main Method Child"); 
    } 
} 

Two classes, A.class and B.class are generated by Java Compiler javac. When we execute both the .class, JVM executes with no error.

O/P: Java A
Main Method Parent
O/P: Java B
Main Method Child

This article is contributed by Mahesh. Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or you want to share more information about the topic discussed above

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