Java default constructor

Question

What exactly is a default constructor — can you tell me which one of the following is a default constructor and what differentiates it from any other constructor?

public Module() {
   this.name = "";
   this.credits = 0;
   this.hours = 0;
}

public Module(String name, int credits, int hours) {
   this.name = name;
   this.credits = credits;
   this.hours = hours;
}

Answer 1

Neither of them. If you define it, it's not the default.

The default constructor is the no-argument constructor automatically generated unless you define another constructor. Any uninitialised fields will be set to their default values. For your example, it would look like this assuming that the types are String, int and int, and that the class itself is public:

public Module()
{
  super();
  this.name = null;
  this.credits = 0;
  this.hours = 0;
}

This is exactly the same as

public Module()
{}

And exactly the same as having no constructors at all. However, if you define at least one constructor, the default constructor is not generated.

Reference: Java Language Specification

If a class contains no constructor declarations, then a default constructor with no formal parameters and no throws clause is implicitly declared.

Clarification

Technically it is not the constructor (default or otherwise) that default-initialises the fields. However, I am leaving it the answer because

• the question got the defaults wrong, and
• the constructor has exactly the same effect whether they are included or not.