Static Members of a Java Class

In Java, static members are those which belongs to the class and you can access these members without instantiating the class.

The static keyword can be used with methods, fields, classes (inner/nested), blocks.

Static Methods − You can create a static method by using the keyword static. Static methods can access only static fields, methods. To access static methods there is no need to instantiate the class, you can do it just using the class name as −

Example

Live Demo

public class MyClass {
   public static void sample(){
      System.out.println("Hello");
   }
   public static void main(String args[]){
      MyClass.sample();
   }
}

Output

Hello

Static Fields − You can create a static field by using the keyword static. The static fields have the same value in all the instances of the class. These are created and initialized when the class is loaded for the first time. Just like static methods you can access static fields using the class name (without instantiation).

Example

Live Demo

public class MyClass {
   public static int data = 20;
   public static void main(String args[]){
      System.out.println(MyClass.data);
   }
   Java Arrays with Answers
   27
}

Output

20

Static Blocks − These are a block of codes with a static keyword. In general, these are used to initialize the static members. JVM executes static blocks before the main method at the time of class loading.

Example

Live Demo

public class MyClass {
   static{
      System.out.println("Hello this is a static block");
   }
   public static void main(String args[]){
      System.out.println("This is main method");
   }
}

Output

Hello this is a static block
This is main method