Question: Coming from C++ to Java, the obvious unanswered question is why didn't Java include operator overloading?

Isn't `Complex a, b, c; a = b + c;` much simpler than `Complex a, b, c; a = b.add(c);`?

Is there a known reason for this, valid arguments for *not* allowing operator overloading? Is the reason arbitrary, or lost to time?

Answer: 
Check out Boost.Units: [link text](http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_36_0/doc/html/boost_units.html)

It provides zero-overhead Dimensional analysis through operator overloading. How much clearer can this get?

```
quantity<force>     F = 2.0*newton;
quantity<length>    dx = 2.0*meter;
quantity<energy>    E = F * dx;
std::cout << "Energy = " << E << endl;

```

would actually output "Energy = 4 J" which is correct.
Some people say that operator overloading in Java would lead to obsfuscation. Have those people ever stopped to look at some Java code doing some basic maths like increasing a financial value by a percentage using BigDecimal ? .... the verbosity of such an exercise becomes its own demonstration of obsfuscation. Ironically, adding operator overloading to Java would allow us to create our own Currency class which would make such mathematical code elegant and simple (less obsfuscated).