What does the method signature consist of?

The method signature is defined as a combination of the method's name and its parameter list. This includes the method’s name, which identifies the method, and the parameter list, which specifies the inputs that the method can take. Importantly, the parameter list includes not just the type and number of parameters but also their order, which is essential for differentiating between overloaded methods that may have the same name but different parameter configurations.

For example, a method signature for a method named calculateArea that takes two integers as parameters would look like this: calculateArea(int width, int height). The method’s return type is not part of the method signature, nor is just the name or only the parameter list. Thus, understanding that both the method name and parameter list together uniquely identify a method is key to grasping how methods are defined and invoked in Java.