Why do this() and super() have to be the first statement in a constructor?

Question

Java requires that if you call this() or super() in a constructor, it must be the first statement. Why?

For example:

public class MyClass {
    publi         


        

Answer 1

The question of why Java does this has already been answered, but since I stumbled upon this question hoping to find a better alternative to the one-liner, I'll hereby share my work-around:

public class SomethingComplicated extends SomethingComplicatedParent {

    private interface Lambda {
        public T run();
    }

    public SomethingComplicated(Settings settings) {
        super(((Lambda) () -> {

            // My modification code,
            settings.setting1 = settings.setting2;
            return settings;
        }).run());
    }
}

Calling a static function should perform better, but I would use this if I insist on having the code "inside" the constructor, or if I have to alter multiple parameters and find defining many static methods bad for readability.