class C { void foo(String x, int a, int b) { String s1 = sum(a, b).substring(2, Math.max(a, b)); String s2 = sum(a, 0).substring(2, Math.min(a, b) + 1); String s3 = x.substring(2, a - b); } String sum(int a, int b) { return a + " " + b; } }