Uninitialized Variables and Members in Java

Consider the following snippet:

public class TestClass {

    private String a;
    private String b;

    public TestClass() {
        a = "initialized";
    }

    public void doSomething() {
        String c;

        a.notify(); // This is fine
        b.notify(); // This is fine - but will end in an exception
        c.notify(); // "Local variable c may not have been initialized"
    }
}

Although both "b" and "c" are uninitialized, the compiler raises a compile-time error for "c" but not for "b." This difference stems from the language's rules for initializing instance variables and local variables.

Instance variables of object type (like "a" and "b") default to being initialized to null when they're not explicitly initialized. This is why accessing "b.notify()" doesn't result in an immediate error, as it's effectively equivalent to "null.notify()." However, this access will ultimately trigger a NullPointerException when the code executes.

In contrast, local variables of object type are not initialized by default. Attempting to access an uninitialized local variable, like "c," directly results in a compile-time error. This strict requirement ensures that local variables are always properly initialized before being used.