13.3 Final, etc.: What is the difference between final, finally, and finalize? The final keyword is used to control whether a variable, method, or class is "change­able" The finally keyword is used in a try/ catch block to ensure that a segment of code is always executed. The finalize() method is called by the garbage collector once it determines that no more references exist.

final

The final statement has a different meaning depending on its context.

• When applied to a variable (primitive):The value of the variable cannot change.
• When applied to a variable (reference): The reference variable cannot point to any other object on the heap.
• When applied to a method: The method cannot be overridden. • When applied to a class:The class cannot be subclassed.

finally

There is an optional finally block after the try block or after the catch block. Statements in the finally block will always be executed, even if an exception is thrown (except if Java Virtual Machine exits from the try block). The finally block is o en used to write the clean-up code. It will be executed after the try and catch blocks, but before control transfers back to its origin.

finalize()

The automatic garbage collector calls the finalize () method just before actually destroying the object. A class can therefore override the finalize () method from the Object class in order to define custom behavior during garbage collection.