What does # do in Java methods?

Question

I've seen some notation or style like Region#layoutInArea() for example. How does this act on a method? Is it related to the dot ( . ) accessor?

Answer 1

That notation Region#layoutInArea() is not code - it's the way you refer to a method in javadoc.

Using it will create a hyperlink in the rendered documentation that links to the specified method's javadoc.

An example of its use:

/**
  * Does something.
  * @see Region#layoutInArea()
  */
public void doSomething() {
    //
}

It could used in other tags too, like @link .