What does the return keyword do in a void method in Java?

Solution 1:

It just exits the method at that point. Once return is executed, the rest of the code won't be executed.

eg.

public void test(int n) {
    if (n == 1) {
        return; 
    }
    else if (n == 2) {
        doStuff();
        return;
    }
    doOtherStuff();
}

Note that the compiler is smart enough to tell you some code cannot be reached:

if (n == 3) {
    return;
    youWillGetAnError(); //compiler error here
}

Solution 2:

You can have return in a void method, you just can't return any value (as in return 5;), that's why they call it a void method. Some people always explicitly end void methods with a return statement, but it's not mandatory. It can be used to leave a function early, though:

void someFunct(int arg)
{
    if (arg == 0)
    {
        //Leave because this is a bad value
        return;
    }
    //Otherwise, do something
}

Solution 3:

The keyword simply pops a frame from the call stack returning the control to the line following the function call.

Solution 4:

The Java language specification says you can have return with no expression if your method returns void.

Solution 5:

It exits the function and returns nothing.

Something like return 1; would be incorrect since it returns integer 1.