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I've been programming in Java for a while, and I've just come across this syntax for the first time:
public Object getSomething(){return something;};
What's interesting me is the final semicolon. It doesn't seem to be causing a compiler error, and as far as I know isn't generating runtime errors, so it seems to be valid syntax. When would I use this syntax? Or is it just something that is allowed but generally not used?
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Sometimes the parenthetical material is part of a longer sentence part that will be set off by a comma, colon, or semicolon. These pieces of punctuation always come after the parenthetical material, never before it or inside the parentheses.
Semicolons go at the end of lines that do not end in a curly brace or to separate statements on the same line. It does no harm to use them after a closing brace, or to wear suspenders and a belt, but it does look a little nerdy.
Avoid! You shouldn't put a semicolon after a closing curly bracket } . The only exceptions are assignment statements, such as var obj = {}; , see above. It won't harm to put a semicolon after the { } of an if statement (it will be ignored, and you might see a warning that it's unnecessary).
while' loop syntax needs a semicolon at the end. Whereas for and while loop do not need a semi-colon terminator at end.
It's allowed by the grammar as a concession to harmless syntax errors, but it's not generally used and doesn't mean anything different (than leaving the semicolon out).
Just as a }; inside a method (such as after an if block) is a null statement and is allowed, an errant semicolon outside a method is considered a null declaration and is allowed.
Specifically, the following production from the Java Language Specification allows this:
ClassBodyDeclaration: ; [static] Block ModifiersOpt MemberDecl
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It's simply an empty statement - it is most likely a typo.
Consider the fact that in all C-based languages, a statement is terminated with a semicolon. A hanging semicolon like this simply terminates the current statement which in this case is nothing.
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