When should I use “this” in a class?

Question

I know that this refers to a current object. But I do not know when I really need to use it. For example, will be there any difference if I use x i

Answer 1

There are a lot of good answers, but there is another very minor reason to put this everywhere. If you have tried opening your source codes from a normal text editor (e.g. notepad etc), using this will make it a whole lot clearer to read.

Imagine this:

public class Hello {
    private String foo;

    // Some 10k lines of codes

    private String getStringFromSomewhere() {
        // ....
    }

    // More codes

    public class World {
        private String bar;

        // Another 10k lines of codes

        public void doSomething() {
            // More codes
            foo = "FOO";
            // More codes
            String s = getStringFromSomewhere();
            // More codes
            bar = s;
        }
    }
}

This is very clear to read with any modern IDE, but this will be a total nightmare to read with a regular text editor.

You will struggle to find out where foo resides, until you use the editor's "find" function. Then you will scream at getStringFromSomewhere() for the same reason. Lastly, after you have forgotten what s is, that bar = s is going to give you the final blow.

Compare it to this:

public void doSomething() {
    // More codes
    Hello.this.foo = "FOO";
    // More codes
    String s = Hello.this.getStringFromSomewhere();
    // More codes
    this.bar = s;
}

1. You know foo is a variable declared in outer class Hello.
2. You know getStringFromSomewhere() is a method declared in outer class as well.
3. You know that bar belongs to World class, and s is a local variable declared in that method.

Of course, whenever you design something, you create rules. So while designing your API or project, if your rules include "if someone opens all these source codes with a notepad, he or she should shoot him/herself in the head," then you are totally fine not to do this.