How to declare a parameter name with a reserved keyword in Java

Question

I need to declare a method like so :

public void doSomething(Class class) {
...
}

and, of course, the class parameter name is not valid as it is a reserved keyword. However, in C# I can dodge that using the @ character as a prefix. Using the @ not only that I can 'solve' it but upon compilation, at the 'bytecode' (IL) level the name will be stripped of the @ character.

Anything similar in Java? All I found was _ and $. The dollar sign is the ugliest of them all, IMHO.

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Later edit : I knew about the clazz thingie but I didn't mention it, hoping for something nicer. If that's the best, so be it. Is however some table of correspondence for all the reserved keywords? Something along the lines of :

class -> klass, clazz

switch -> swytch, svvitch ...

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Later edit 2 : It's amazing how many snarky comments and useless input can a legitimate, IMHO, question can generate. I almost regret asking it.

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Later edit 3 : It seems that in the Java world the best thing to do is to shut up and don't ask anything. Don't bother anyone and, even when noone asked/answered a certain question, keep quiet and don't talk.

Answer 1

No. There is no way. Keywords are reserved and cannot be used. Escaping with some strange prefix (like in C#) is in my opinion no proper solution as this makes the code just uglier and less readable.

You can use type or clazz in your special case.

Answer 2

The de facto standard is Class clazz. You'll see it in many APIs.

Answer 3

A common convention is to misspell the parameter name. In your case you would call the parameter clazz:

public void doSomething(Class clazz) {
...
}

I know it's ugly but it is the solution adopted by the Java community.

Answer 4

You cannot use the keywords as parameter name or variable name in java (same sensitive).

There are couple of alternatives:

• Change the case of the parameter. Java is case sensitive, so it will not treat the parameter as a reserved word.
• Use different name which sounds same as reserved word.

Answer 5

Your solution is clazz. It is more readable.

public void doSomething(Class clazz) {
 ...
}