Java. Method Inner Object as return type

Question

Can I return method local inner object from method?

public class myClass {
    public MyMethodInnerClass getMethodInnerClassObject() {
        class MyMethodInnerClass {
        }
        
        MyMethodInnerClass myMethodClass = new MyMethodInnerClass();
        
        return myMethodClass;
    }
}

throws compilation error. If I can't return my method-local inner class object, then how can I save it after the method returns? How can I reference this object for future usage?

---

Exception thrown:

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.Error: Unresolved compilation problem: MethodInnerClass cannot be resolved to a type

And also, I'm aware, that local variables in method are stored in stack and deleted just after the method exists.

Answer 1

The scope of your class is inside the method only. You can do this however

public Object getMethodInnerClassObject() {

or

static class MyMethodInnerClass { }

public MyMethodInnerClass getMethodInnerClassObject() {
    return new MyMethodInnerClass();
}