===== 6.9 Method Component =====

The Method Component describes each of the methods declared in this package, excluding **** methods and interface method declarations. Abstract methods defined by classes (not interfaces) are included. The exception handlers associated with each method are also described. 

The Method Component does not contain complete access information and descriptive details for each method. Instead, the information is optimized for size and therefore limited to that required to execute each method without performing verification. Complete details regarding the methods defined in this package are included in the Descriptor Component ([[6.13_Descriptor Component| Section 6.13, Descriptor Component]]). Among other information, the Descriptor Component contains the location and number of bytecodes for each method in the Method Component. This information can be used to parse the methods in the Method Component. 

Instructions and exception handler catch types in the Method Component reference entries in the Constant Pool Component ([[6.7_Constant Pool Component| Section 6.7, Constant Pool Component]]). No other CAP file components, including the Method Component, are referenced by the elements in the Method Component. 

The Applet Component ([[6.5_Applet Component| Section 6.5, Applet Component]]), Constant Pool Component ([[6.7_Constant Pool Component| Section 6.7, Constant Pool Component]]), Class Component ([[6.8_Class Component| Section 6.8, Class Component]]), Export Component ([[6.12_Export Component| Section 6.12, Export Component]]), Descriptor Component ([[6.13_Descriptor Component| Section 6.13, Descriptor Component]]), and Debug Component ([[6.14_Debug Component| Section 6.14, Debug Component]]) reference methods defined in the Method Component. The Reference Location Component ([[6.11_Reference Location Component| Section 6.11, Reference Location Component]]) references all constant pool indices contained in the Method Component. No other CAP file components reference the Method Component. 

The Method Component is represented by the following structure: 

The items in the **method_component** structure are as follows: 

**tag** 

The **tag** item has the value **COMPONENT_Method** (7). 

**size** 

The ******size****** item indicates the number of bytes in the **method_component** structure, excluding the **tag** and ******size****** items. The value of the ******size****** item must be greater than zero. 

**handler_count** 

The **handler_count** item represents the number of entries in the **exception_handlers** array. Valid values are between 0 and 255, inclusive. 

**exception_handlers[]** 

The **exception_handlers** item represents an array of 8-byte ****exception_handler_info**** structures. Each ****exception_handler_info**** structure represents a catch or finally block defined in a method of this package. 

Entries in the **exception_handlers** array are sorted in ascending order by the the offset to the handler of the exception handler. Smaller offset values occur first in the array. This ordering constraint ensures that the first match found when searching for an exception handler is the correct match. 

There are two consequences of this ordering constraint. First, a handler that is nested with the active range (try block) of another handler occurs first in the array. Second, when multiple handlers are associated with the same active range, they are ordered as they occur in a method. This is consistent with the ordering constraints defined for Java class files. An example is shown below. 

The **methods** item represents a table of variable-length **method_info** structures. Each entry represents a method declared in a class of this package. **** **methods** and interface method declaration are not included; all other **methods**, including non-interface abstract **methods**, are.