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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-18T19:57:48+00:00

I didn’t know methods could have floating blocks like this: class X { public

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I didn’t know methods could have floating blocks like this:

class X { 
    public static void main( String [] args ) {
        { //<--- start
            int i;
        } //<-- ends
    }
}

I was aware of floating blocks outside methods, but never tried them inside.

This could probably be used to define local scope or something.

Is there a use for floating blocks inside methods in Java?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Is there a use?

    Yes – to limit the scope of local variables.

    Is it a good idea?

    Probably debatable (and likely will be).

    The “pro” camp will say it never hurts to narrow the scope of variable. The “con” camp will say that, if you use it in a method and your method is long enough to warrant narrowing the scope of variables to specific sections, then it is probably an indication that you should make separate methods out of the different sections.

    Personally, I use them, e.g.:

    public void doGet(
        final HttpServletRequest request,
        final HttpServletResponse response)
  throws IOException {
    final PersistenceManager pm = PMF.get().getPersistenceManager();

    final List<ToDoListGaejdo> toDoLists;
    {
        final Query query = pm.newQuery(ToDoListGaejdo.class);
        query.setOrdering("listName asc");
        toDoLists = (List<ToDoListGaejdo>) query.execute();
    }

    final List<ToDoItemGaejdo> entries;
    {
        final Query query = pm.newQuery(ToDoItemGaejdo.class);
        query.setOrdering("listName asc, priority asc");
        entries = (List<ToDoItemGaejdo>) query.execute();
    }

    final ServletOutputStream out = response.getOutputStream();

    out.println("<head>");
    out.println("  <title>Debug View</title>");
    ....
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