java instance variable and method having same name

Question

In java can an instance variable and a method have the same name without any instability or conflict?

I want to make sure if I can get away with compiling it, that it wont cause any error down the road.

Answer 1

Yes it's fine, mainly because, syntactically , they're used differently.

Answer 2

It's completely fine because methods and variables are called differently.

Code:

String name = "myVariable";

public String name() {
    return "myMethod";
}

System.out.println(name()); // Brackets for method call
System.out.println(name); // No brackets for variable call

Output:

myMethod

myVariable