6.4 Expression Statements

Expression statements are the most common statements in Java. An expression statement consists of an expression that is executed for its side effects. Only certain kinds of expressions can be used in an expression statement:

Here are some examples of expression statements:

x = 3*y;
foo(x);
x++;
--y;
new zombie();

Notice that a top-level expression is an expression that has a side effect or calls a method. An assignment expression has the side effect of altering the value of a variable or array element. A statement expression that consists of an increment or decrement operator has the side effect of incrementing or decrementing the contents of a variable or an array element. A method call expression has the side effect of calling a method. If the method returns a result, the result is discarded. A special variant of MethodCallExpression, called ExplicitConstructorCallStatement, allows a constructor to be called explicitly as the first statement of another constructor. An allocation expression creates an object and has the side effect of calling its constructor.

An expression statement is evaluated fully, including its side effects, before the next statement is executed.[2]

[2] A Java compiler can produce code that follows a different order of evaluation, provided that the code produces the same result as code that does follow the specified order of evaluation.

References Allocation Expressions; Assignment Operators; Constructor implementation; Method Call Expression; Primary Expressions