What do Java annotation ElementType constants mean?

Question

Let’s say the annotation to which you specify the ElementType is called YourAnnotation:

ANNOTATION_TYPE – Annotation type declaration. Note: This goes on other annotations
```
@YourAnnotation
public @interface AnotherAnnotation {..}
```

CONSTRUCTOR – Constructor declaration

public class SomeClass {
    @YourAnnotation
    public SomeClass() {..}
}

FIELD – Field declaration (includes enum constants)
```
@YourAnnotation
private String someField;
```
LOCAL_VARIABLE – Local variable declaration. Note: This can’t be read at runtime, so it is used only for compile-time things, like the @SuppressWarnings annotation.
```
public void someMethod() {
    @YourAnnotation int a = 0;
}
```

METHOD – Method declaration

@YourAnnotation
public void someMethod() {..}

PACKAGE – Package declaration. Note: This can be used only in package-info.java.
```
@YourAnnotation
package org.yourcompany.somepackage;
```

PARAMETER – Parameter declaration

public void someMethod(@YourAnnotation param) {..}

TYPE – Class, interface (including annotation type), or enum declaration
```
@YourAnnotation
public class SomeClass {..}
```

You can specify multiple ElementTypes for a given annotation. E.g.:

@Target({ElementType.CONSTRUCTOR, ElementType.METHOD})