What is the difference between final, finally, and finalize?

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Accepted Answer

Three keywords that look alike but do completely different things. final — a modifier. final variables can't be reassigned, final methods can't be overridden, final classes can't be extended. finally — a block in try/catch that always runs (except on JVM exit), used for cleanup like closing streams. finalize() — a deprecated Object method called by the GC before reclaiming an object. Unreliable; use try-with-resources or Cleaner instead. Know all three uses of final (variable, method, class). Mention that finalize() is deprecated — use try-with-resources or Cleaner. try-with-resources replacing finally for cleanup is the modern best practice.