[twic]

Kind of. When i see a method reference like this:

  someExpression()::methodName

I mentally rewrite it into:

  getMethodReference(someExpression(), "methodName")

Where there is some fictional getMethodReference function that takes an object and a method name, and creates a reference. It works like this even when someExpression() is just a reference to a variable.

In the rewritten form, someExpression() gets fully evaluated before getMethodReference is called, producing a value, and it's that value which is used to create the reference. As you suggested, it works like that because Java is pass-by-value.

If Java was pass-by-reference, then someExpression() would produce a reference to a variable instead of a value, and the reference could somehow be based on that variable. But it doesn't, so it's not.

[Clee681]

Awesome, thanks for the clarification!