static keyword in Java

static keyword in Java

The static keyword

The "static" keyword in java can be used with

• a field/variable
• a method
• a block

The static variables

A static variable is also known as a class variable or class field. To use the static variable we do not need to create the objects or instances of the class. We can directly use them by the name of the class followed by the dot (.) operator with the name of that variable. There is a single copy of each static variable for all instances of the given class. This is the common copy of that variable, which is used by all of the instance variables of the given class.

We cannot refer static variables using "this" keyword implicit reference in a class object. If a static variable is declared as public and final then it will behave like a global constant. The "static" variables can be accessed directly within static methods.

The static methods

A method is part of a class and it is used to implement the logic or code. A static method can be invoked without creating the instance of that class.

• static methods can directly access static variables of the class and manipulate them.
• static methods can be directly accessed by ClassName.staticMethodName().
• Inside the same class, we can directly use static methods by their name.
• Inside static methods, we can’t access non-static members(instance variables or instance methods)
• static methods can’t use "this" or "super" references.

Example static methods and variable

package com.example.main;

class S
{
      static int static_var=12;  //static or class variable
      static int showStatic_Var() //static or class method
      {
            return static_var;  //static var can be accessed directly
                                //within static methods only

      }
}

public class StaticDemo {

      public static void main(String[] args) {//No need To create object
          //of class S to access the static method or variable
            System.out.println("static var is "+S.static_var);
            System.out.println("static var is "+S.showStatic_Var());   

      }

} 

Output:
static var is 12
static var is 12

The static block

A segment of code enclosed within {} brackets is known as a block. We can create static blocks using static keyword in a Java program.

• The code within the static block is executed automatically when the class is loaded by JVM Automatically.
• The order of execution of static blocks is the same as the order of the occurrence.
• A class can have any number of static blocks
• JVM combines them and executes it as a single block of code.
• Static methods can also be invoked within Static blocks.

"static" block example

class Test{

static {
 //static block 1
      System.out.println("Welcome block 1");
      System.out.println(add(5,17));
}

static int add(int a,int b) 
//static method
{
      return a+b;
}
}

public class StaticDemo {
      static {   
      //static block 2

            System.out.println("Welcome block 2");
      }

      public static void main(String[] args)
      {
      Test t=new Test();
      //Nothing to do
}

static { static block -3
      System.out.println("Welcome block 3");
}
}

Output:

Welcome block 2
Welcome block 3
Welcome block 1
22

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