"Code too large" compilation error in Java

Is there any maximum size for code in Java? I wrote a function with more than 10,000 lines. Actually, each line assigns a value to an array variable.

arts_bag[10792]="newyorkartworld";
arts_bag[10793]="leningradschool";
arts_bag[10794]="mailart";
arts_bag[10795]="artspan";
arts_bag[10796]="watercolor";
arts_bag[10797]="sculptures";
arts_bag[10798]="stonesculpture"; 

And while compiling, I get this error: code too large

How do I overcome this?

A single method in a Java class may be at most 64KB of bytecode.

But you should clean this up!

Use .properties file to store this data, and load it via java.util.Properties

You can do this by placing the .properties file on your classpath, and use:

Properties properties = new Properties();
InputStream inputStream = getClass().getResourceAsStream("yourfile.properties");
properties.load(inputStream);

There is a 64K byte-code size limit on a method

Having said that, I have to agree w/Richard; why do you need a method that large? Given the example in the OP, a properties file should suffice ... or even a database if required.