Static method without a name

Question

In an Android example class theres this method:

static {        
    addItem(...);
}

When I reference the class, the items are indeed added. I never saw a method like this, a. how is this called and b. I suppose this method is called whenever the class is referenced (or the first time it is referenced)?

Answer 1

This is called static initializer and the code inside it is invoked only once at class loading.