Argument passing in Java is simple but sometimes confusing. Let’s go over some concepts briefly before diving into it.
If you come from a C/C++ programming background, you’ve probably heard of the “Call By Value” and “Call By Reference” argument passing concepts.
Briefly,
- Call by Value : A copy of the object instance is passed to called method. Any modifications made on the object inside the method will not be reflected back to the original object.
- Call by Reference : A reference to the original object is passed to called function. This reference may be thought as an alias for the original object and any modification done on the alias object inside the method actually done on the original object.