A question from - danchisholm.net

[deepu Bhalotia]

class MWC212 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] a1[],a2[]; // 1
int []a3,[]a4; // 2
int []a5,a6[]; // 3
int[] a7,a8[]; // 4
}}

This question is given in http://www.danchisholm.net/july21/mybook/chapter4/exam1.html. They tell that the line number-2 will generate a compile time error.

Can anybody explain why line-2 will generate a compile time error. If line-2 makes a compile time error why not line-3..

[Kedar Dravid]

The [] bracket is not allowed after the comma.

[Joe Sondow]

The [] brackets must come directly AFTER a type or variable name. Either they come directly the after the type, as in
int[] a1;
or they come directly after the variable name, as in
int a1[];
So when you start declaring multiple variables in one statement, the legal places to put the [] include these:
int[] a1[], a2, a3[], a4[][];
The spacing is flexible, so these are fine:
int [] a1 [], a2,a3[],a4[] [];
int []a1, a2,a3 [],a4 [][];

What you CAN'T do is put the brackets directly after a comma:
int[] a1, []a2; // Compiler error: <identifier> expected

[Parameswaran Thangavel]

hi joe

in this case int [] a1 [], a2,a3[],a4[] [];
the actual representation is

a1[][]
a2[]
a3[][]
a4[][]][]

am i correct.... since all the variables are of type int array.

[Joe Sondow]

Paramesanwaran, apart from the extra ] you have in the a4 line, yes, I believe that's correct.

[yoga eesh]

Joe,
Apart from the 'an' in paramesanwaran, everythings ok.