What are those different color symbols when we mouseover on methods in eclipse?
eclipse, java
Solution
The symbols next to the methods refer to the access modifiers
What is the significance of that little symbol? Green circle is public Red square means private Yellow diamond is protected Blue triangle means default(package) access
Does that symbol give us any idea about the method? Yes, it tells us where it can be accessed from. For more on access modifiers: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/accesscontrol.html
Problem
Suppose you have a method which returning some object. So, when you hover over that method used in some other class, eclipse show you a popup with the description about that method signature and what that method would return. But, my question is there is a little symbol ahead of what is being return. On different occasion you got different shape and color symbol. I have a screen shots of that: 1) Green circle shape symbol 2) Red square shape symbol 3) Yellow diamond shape symbol So, - What is the significance of that little symbol? - Why there is different color and shape for different different methods? - Does that symbol give any idea about the method?