I have a simple question that I just can't figure out a good answer for. Why does the following Java program display 20? I would prefer a detailed response if possible please.
class Something{
public int x;
public Something(){
x=aMethod();
}
public static int aMethod(){
return 20;
}
}
class SomethingElse extends Something{
public static int aMethod(){
return 40;
}
public static void main(String[] args){
SomethingElse m;
m=new SomethingElse();
System.out.println(m.x);
}
}
Because polymorphism only applies to instance methods.
The static method aMethod invoked here
public Something(){
x=aMethod();
}
refers to the aMethod declared in Something.
The inheritance for static methods works differently then non-static one. In particular the superclass static method are NOT overridden by the subclass. The result of the static method call depends on the object class it is invoke on. Variable x is created during the Something object creation, and therefore that class (Something) static method is called to determine its value.
Consider following code:
public static void main(String[] args){
SomethingElse se = new SomethingElse();
Something sg = se;
System.out.println(se.aMethod());
System.out.println(sg.aMethod());
}
It will correctly print the 40, 20 as each object class invokes its own static method. Java documentation describes this behavior in the hiding static methods part.
Because int x is declared in the class Something. When you make the SomethingElse object, you first make a Something object (which has to set x, and it uses the aMethod() from Something instead of SomethingElse (Because you are creating a Something)). This is because aMethod() is static, and polymorphism doesn't work for static methods. Then, when you print the x from m, you print 20 since you never changed the value of x.
Related
I have 2 classes A and B where B extends A. Both class are having a static variable x. There is one static method defined in class A which is accessing x. When I call the method with B from main, is there any way to know the caller of the function? With that caller class name I can use reflection in order to get value of x from class B.
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
A a = new A();
B b = new B();
b.amthu();
}
private static class A {
public static String x = "static string from A";
public static void amthu() throws NoSuchFieldException, IllegalAccessException {
System.out.println(/* what can be the line here?*/);
}
}
private static class B extends A {
public static String x = "static string from B";
}
}
I have similar code in python which works fine because of the class method having cls as arguments but static method doesn't have such thing and in Java I am only aware of static methods so can't access value of x from sub-class B.
class A:
x = "static value of A"
#classmethod
def amthu(cls):
print(getattr(cls, "x", None))
class B(A):
x = "static value of B"
a = A()
b = B()
b.amthu()
There is no way the A.amthu() method can detect it was called using a variable of the type B.
Static methods in Java have fundamental limitations such as this. These limitations are why you don't see static methods used very much in Java. In particular, calling static methods using object instances like b.amthu() is discouraged because it leads to confusion - see also Why isn't calling a static method by way of an instance an error for the Java compiler?
You can get around this by passing the class you expect as a variable to A.amthu:
// call method
A.amthu(B.class);
// method declaration in A
static void amthu(Class<? extends A> klass) { ... }
Or perhaps you can rework your code to avoid using static fields and methods altogether. It's impossible to tell you what that would look like without knowing what you're trying to do here though.
You can do instanceof check and then print B.x or A.x
If(this instanceof A)
System.out.println A.x
else
System.out.println B.x
See the code snippets below:
Code 1
public class A {
static int add(int i, int j) {
return(i + j);
}
}
public class B extends A {
public static void main(String args[]) {
short s = 9;
System.out.println(add(s, 6));
}
}
Code 2
public class A {
int add(int i, int j) {
return(i + j);
}
}
public class B extends A {
public static void main(String args[]) {
A a = new A();
short s = 9;
System.out.println(a.add(s, 6));
}
}
What is the difference between these code snippets? Both output 15 as an answer.
A static method belongs to the class itself and a non-static (aka instance) method belongs to each object that is generated from that class. If your method does something that doesn't depend on the individual characteristics of its class, make it static (it will make the program's footprint smaller). Otherwise, it should be non-static.
Example:
class Foo {
int i;
public Foo(int i) {
this.i = i;
}
public static String method1() {
return "An example string that doesn't depend on i (an instance variable)";
}
public int method2() {
return this.i + 1; // Depends on i
}
}
You can call static methods like this: Foo.method1(). If you try that with method2, it will fail. But this will work: Foo bar = new Foo(1); bar.method2();
Static methods are useful if you have only one instance (situation, circumstance) where you're going to use the method, and you don't need multiple copies (objects). For example, if you're writing a method that logs onto one and only one web site, downloads the weather data, and then returns the values, you could write it as static because you can hard code all the necessary data within the method and you're not going to have multiple instances or copies. You can then access the method statically using one of the following:
MyClass.myMethod();
this.myMethod();
myMethod();
Non-static methods are used if you're going to use your method to create multiple copies. For example, if you want to download the weather data from Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles, and if you can do so from within your method without having to individually customize the code for each separate location, you then access the method non-statically:
MyClass boston = new MyClassConstructor();
boston.myMethod("bostonURL");
MyClass miami = new MyClassConstructor();
miami.myMethod("miamiURL");
MyClass losAngeles = new MyClassConstructor();
losAngeles.myMethod("losAngelesURL");
In the above example, Java creates three separate objects and memory locations from the same method that you can individually access with the "boston", "miami", or "losAngeles" reference. You can't access any of the above statically, because MyClass.myMethod(); is a generic reference to the method, not to the individual objects that the non-static reference created.
If you run into a situation where the way you access each location, or the way the data is returned, is sufficiently different that you can't write a "one size fits all" method without jumping through a lot of hoops, you can better accomplish your goal by writing three separate static methods, one for each location.
Generally
static: no need to create object we can directly call using
ClassName.methodname()
Non Static: we need to create a object like
ClassName obj=new ClassName()
obj.methodname();
A static method belongs to the class
and a non-static method belongs to an
object of a class. That is, a
non-static method can only be called
on an object of a class that it
belongs to. A static method can
however be called both on the class as
well as an object of the class. A
static method can access only static
members. A non-static method can
access both static and non-static
members because at the time when the
static method is called, the class
might not be instantiated (if it is
called on the class itself). In the
other case, a non-static method can
only be called when the class has
already been instantiated. A static
method is shared by all instances of
the class. These are some of the basic
differences. I would also like to
point out an often ignored difference
in this context. Whenever a method is
called in C++/Java/C#, an implicit
argument (the 'this' reference) is
passed along with/without the other
parameters. In case of a static method
call, the 'this' reference is not
passed as static methods belong to a
class and hence do not have the 'this'
reference.
Reference:Static Vs Non-Static methods
Well, more technically speaking, the difference between a static method and a virtual method is the way the are linked.
A traditional "static" method like in most non OO languages gets linked/wired "statically" to its implementation at compile time. That is, if you call method Y() in program A, and link your program A with library X that implements Y(), the address of X.Y() is hardcoded to A, and you can not change that.
In OO languages like JAVA, "virtual" methods are resolved "late", at run-time, and you need to provide an instance of a class. So in, program A, to call virtual method Y(), you need to provide an instance, B.Y() for example. At runtime, every time A calls B.Y() the implementation called will depend on the instance used, so B.Y() , C.Y() etc... could all potential provide different implementations of Y() at runtime.
Why will you ever need that? Because that way you can decouple your code from the dependencies. For example, say program A is doing "draw()". With a static language, thats it, but with OO you will do B.draw() and the actual drawing will depend on the type of object B, which, at runtime, can change to square a circle etc. That way your code can draw multiple things with no need to change, even if new types of B are provided AFTER the code was written. Nifty -
A static method belongs to the class and a non-static method belongs to an object of a class.
I am giving one example how it creates difference between outputs.
public class DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic {
static int count = 0;
private int count1 = 0;
public DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic(){
count1 = count1+1;
}
public int getCount1() {
return count1;
}
public void setCount1(int count1) {
this.count1 = count1;
}
public static int countStaticPosition() {
count = count+1;
return count;
/*
* one can not use non static variables in static method.so if we will
* return count1 it will give compilation error. return count1;
*/
}
}
public class StaticNonStaticCheck {
public static void main(String[] args){
for(int i=0;i<4;i++) {
DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic p =new DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic();
System.out.println("static count position is " +DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic.count);
System.out.println("static count position is " +p.getCount1());
System.out.println("static count position is " +DifferenceBetweenStaticAndNonStatic.countStaticPosition());
System.out.println("next case: ");
System.out.println(" ");
}
}
}
Now output will be:::
static count position is 0
static count position is 1
static count position is 1
next case:
static count position is 1
static count position is 1
static count position is 2
next case:
static count position is 2
static count position is 1
static count position is 3
next case:
If your method is related to the object's characteristics, you should define it as non-static method. Otherwise, you can define your method as static, and you can use it independently from object.
Static method example
class StaticDemo
{
public static void copyArg(String str1, String str2)
{
str2 = str1;
System.out.println("First String arg is: "+str1);
System.out.println("Second String arg is: "+str2);
}
public static void main(String agrs[])
{
//StaticDemo.copyArg("XYZ", "ABC");
copyArg("XYZ", "ABC");
}
}
Output:
First String arg is: XYZ
Second String arg is: XYZ
As you can see in the above example that for calling static method, I didn’t even use an object. It can be directly called in a program or by using class name.
Non-static method example
class Test
{
public void display()
{
System.out.println("I'm non-static method");
}
public static void main(String agrs[])
{
Test obj=new Test();
obj.display();
}
}
Output:
I'm non-static method
A non-static method is always be called by using the object of class as shown in the above example.
Key Points:
How to call static methods: direct or using class name:
StaticDemo.copyArg(s1, s2);
or
copyArg(s1, s2);
How to call a non-static method: using object of the class:
Test obj = new Test();
Basic difference is non static members are declared with out using the keyword 'static'
All the static members (both variables and methods) are referred with the help of class name.
Hence the static members of class are also called as class reference members or class members..
In order to access the non static members of a class we should create reference variable .
reference variable store an object..
Simply put, from the point of view of the user, a static method either uses no variables at all or all of the variables it uses are local to the method or they are static fields. Defining a method as static gives a slight performance benefit.
Another scenario for Static method.
Yes, Static method is of the class not of the object. And when you don't want anyone to initialize the object of the class or you don't want more than one object, you need to use Private constructor and so the static method.
Here, we have private constructor and using static method we are creating a object.
Ex::
public class Demo {
private static Demo obj = null;
private Demo() {
}
public static Demo createObj() {
if(obj == null) {
obj = new Demo();
}
return obj;
}
}
Demo obj1 = Demo.createObj();
Here, Only 1 instance will be alive at a time.
- First we must know that the diff bet static and non static methods
is differ from static and non static variables :
- this code explain static method - non static method and what is the diff
public class MyClass {
static {
System.out.println("this is static routine ... ");
}
public static void foo(){
System.out.println("this is static method ");
}
public void blabla(){
System.out.println("this is non static method ");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
/* ***************************************************************************
* 1- in static method you can implement the method inside its class like : *
* you don't have to make an object of this class to implement this method *
* MyClass.foo(); // this is correct *
* MyClass.blabla(); // this is not correct because any non static *
* method you must make an object from the class to access it like this : *
* MyClass m = new MyClass(); *
* m.blabla(); *
* ***************************************************************************/
// access static method without make an object
MyClass.foo();
MyClass m = new MyClass();
// access non static method via make object
m.blabla();
/*
access static method make a warning but the code run ok
because you don't have to make an object from MyClass
you can easily call it MyClass.foo();
*/
m.foo();
}
}
/* output of the code */
/*
this is static routine ...
this is static method
this is non static method
this is static method
*/
- this code explain static method - non static Variables and what is the diff
public class Myclass2 {
// you can declare static variable here :
// or you can write int callCount = 0;
// make the same thing
//static int callCount = 0; = int callCount = 0;
static int callCount = 0;
public void method() {
/*********************************************************************
Can i declare a static variable inside static member function in Java?
- no you can't
static int callCount = 0; // error
***********************************************************************/
/* static variable */
callCount++;
System.out.println("Calls in method (1) : " + callCount);
}
public void method2() {
int callCount2 = 0 ;
/* non static variable */
callCount2++;
System.out.println("Calls in method (2) : " + callCount2);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Myclass2 m = new Myclass2();
/* method (1) calls */
m.method();
m.method();
m.method();
/* method (2) calls */
m.method2();
m.method2();
m.method2();
}
}
// output
// Calls in method (1) : 1
// Calls in method (1) : 2
// Calls in method (1) : 3
// Calls in method (2) : 1
// Calls in method (2) : 1
// Calls in method (2) : 1
Sometimes, you want to have variables that are common to all objects. This is accomplished with the static modifier.
i.e. class human - number of heads (1) is static, same for all humans, however human - haircolor is variable for each human.
Notice that static vars can also be used to share information across all instances
I wrote this simple class in java just for testing some of its features.
public class class1 {
public static Integer value=0;
public class1() {
da();
}
public int da() {
class1.value=class1.value+1;
return 5;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
class1 h = new class1();
class1 h2 = new class1();
System.out.println(class1.value);
}
}
The output is:
2
But in this code:
public class class1 {
public static Integer value=0;
public void class1() {
da();
}
public int da() {
class1.value=class1.value+1;
return 5;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
class1 h = new class1();
class1 h2 = new class1();
System.out.println(class1.value);
}
}
The output of this code is:
0
So why doesn't, when I use void in the constructor method declaration, the static field of the class doesn't change any more?
In Java, the constructor is not a method. It only has the name of the class and a specific visibility. If it declares that returns something, then it is not a constructor, not even if it declares that returns a void. Note the difference here:
public class SomeClass {
public SomeClass() {
//constructor
}
public void SomeClass() {
//a method, NOT a constructor
}
}
Also, if a class doesn't define a constructor, then the compiler will automatically add a default constructor for you.
public void class1() is not a constructor, it is a void method whose name happens to match the class name. It is never called. Instead java creates a default constructor (since you have not created one), which does nothing.
Using void in the constructor by definition leads it to not longer be the constructor.
The constructor specifically has no return type. While void doesn't return a value in the strictest sense of the word, it is still considered a return type.
In the second example (where you use the void), you would have to do h.class1() for the method to get called because it is no longer the constructor. Or you could just remove the void.
This is arguably a design flaw in Java.
class MyClass {
// this is a constructor
MyClass() {...}
// this is an instance method
void MyClass() {...}
}
Perfectly legal. Probably shouldn't be, but is.
In your example, class1() is never getting called, because it's not a constructor. Instead, the default constructor is getting called.
Suggestion: familiarize yourself with Java naming conventions. Class names should start with uppercase.
The reason the constructor doesn't return a value is because it's not called directly by your code, it's called by the memory allocation and object initialization code in the run time.
Here is an article explaining this in greater detail:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-return-type-of-constructor-not-void-while-the-return-type-of-a-function-can-be-void
public class CodingBat {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(sumDouble(5,5));
}
public int sumDouble(int a, int b) {
if( a ==b) {
return 2*a + 2* b;
} else{
return a + b;
}
}
}
So I made this code, and I'm really confused why it doesn't work unless I write static between the public int sumDouble, because I was practicing on codingBat, and to answer the question they did not involve static, but then how do they test code. Do they use the main? I mean you have to to get the code running right?
So to my knowledge, static means that every object of this class will all contain the same value.But I don't see the relevance of this error.
"Cannot make a static reference to the non-static method"
Thank you for your help :D
and I'm really confused why it doesn't work unless I write static
between the public int sumDouble,
Yes, static is required
Since the main method is static and the sumDouble() method is not, you can't call the method without creating object of class. You cannot refer non-static members from a static method.
Either make method static or create object as below and then access method.
CodingBat obj = new CodingBat();
System.out.println(obj.sumDouble(5,5));
Refer here for more
Either you call it through a static context, meaning like you do (or, from another class, by: ClassName.methodName(); )
Or, you have to call it as an instance method, which it is, if you don't declare it static.Then, however, you'll need an instance to call it through:
public static void main(String[] args){
CodingBat cB = new CodingBat();
System.out.println(cB.sumDouble(5,5));
}
You need to create an object in order to use this method
public class CodingBat {
public static void main(String[] args){
CodingBat obj = new CodingBat();
System.out.println(obj.sumDouble(5,5));
}
public int sumDouble(int a, int b) {
if( a ==b){
return 2*a + 2* b;}
else{
return a + b;}
}
}
I just read in a document that "A static method can call only other static methods and can not call a non-static method from it". But when I tried to test it I think saw something different.
I have a class C which is described below
import pckage1.*;
public class C
{
public static void main(String par[])
{
}
public static void cc()
{
A ob = new A();
ob.accessA(0);
}
}
where class A is
package pckage1;
public class A
{
public A()
{
}
public void accessA(int x)
{
}
}
Now here from cc STATIC method in class C, a NON STATIC method accessA() is called. How could that be possible if the statement about static method is true?
A static method can call only other static methods and can not call a non-static method from it
That's wrong.
Static methods can call non-static methods as long as they have objects to call the methods on (as you discovered in your code snippet). How else would a non-static method ever be called?
You can't do nonStaticFoo() from a static method, since it is interpreted as this.nonStaticFoo() and since there is no this available in a static method.
Very similar question from earlier today:
Static method access to non-static constructor?
You didn't call a non-static method of your Class.
Try with this :
import pckage1.*;
public class C
{
public static void main(String par[])
{
}
public static void cc()
{
A ob = new A();
ob.accessA(0);
print();
}
public void print()
{
}
}
It won't work, because you're callign a non-static method from a static method, and you don't have an instance of the C class to work with in your static method.
Since every Java program starts executing from a static method, if the statement you cite were true, there would have been no way for any Java program to ever execute an instance method!
A static method has no default context in C, and not this.
However any method can use an intsnace of a class to call a method.
You're calling an instance method, on an instance--you're not trying to call an instance method directly.
You're creating an instance of class A and call a method on it.
So the method you are calling is instance method (not static method).
But you cannot call a non static method of class C.