Reason for The local variable may not have been initialized?

Question

This is what my method looks like

public int abc()
{
  int x;
  if(x > 100)
  {
    //Say ok
    return x;//Causes compiler error
  }

  //if something more, x = some number 

  return x;//Causes compiler error


}

I saw an answer at SO - Java: "Local variable may not have been initialized" not intelligent enough?

But, I am still not sure why this error happens. Its a compiler error and not a warning. So, the problem must be something more serious than "taking a safe route".

Answer 1

Local variables must be initialized before they are accessed. This is why there is a compiler error.

You should must have an error at the if statement where it's first accessed.