Precise code navigation for Java

[github-product-roadmap]

Summary

Precise code navigation – a convenience already available for Python – is coming for Java. When a developer views code on GitHub and clicks on a type name, method, function, or class instance, GitHub will allow navigation to the specific definition of that item. For example, if code calls a method named constant() and multiple classes have a method with that name, precise code navigation will automatically identify and navigate to the correct one that is referenced, as shown here:

This is different than today's search-based navigation, where for these languages a developer might need to choose from multiple definitions with the same name, as shown here:

Intended Outcome

Even when code contains multiple definitions with similar names, GitHub will support navigating to the specific definition that the code references. The code navigation engine knows the precise definition by indexing the code using stack graphs.

How will it work?

There will be no visual change to how code navigation works today except that for Java, developers will not be prompted to choose between multiple, similarly named definitions. Code navigation will know precisely which definition is referenced.

[ankneis]

This issue is being closed as outdated. For more information, please check out this Discussion post. Stay tuned for new additions to our refreshed public roadmap!