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I am wondering when static variables are initialized to their default values. Is it correct that when a class is loaded, static vars are created (allocated), then static initializers and initializations in declarations are executed? At what point are the default values are given? This leads to the problem of forward reference.
Also please if you can explain this in reference to the question asked on Why static fields are not initialized in time? and especially the answer given by Kevin Brock on the same site. I can't understand the 3rd point.
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A static variable in a block is initialized only one time, prior to program execution, whereas an auto variable that has an initializer is initialized every time it comes into existence. A static object of class type will use the default constructor if you do not initialize it.
As static variables are initialized only once and are shared by all objects of a class, the static variables are never initialized by a constructor. Instead, the static variable should be explicitly initialized outside the class only once using the scope resolution operator (::).
If you declare a static variable in a class, if you haven't initialized them, just like with instance variables compiler initializes these with default values in the default constructor.
In Java, static variables are also called class variables. That is, they belong to a class and not a particular instance. As a result, class initialization will initialize static variables. In contrast, a class's instance will initialize the instance variables (non-static variables).
From See Java Static Variable Methods:
- It is a variable which belongs to the class and not to object(instance)
- Static variables are initialized only once , at the start of the execution. These variables will be initialized first, before the initialization of any instance variables
- A single copy to be shared by all instances of the class
- A static variable can be accessed directly by the class name and doesn’t need any object.
Instance and class (static) variables are automatically initialized to standard default values if you fail to purposely initialize them. Although local variables are not automatically initialized, you cannot compile a program that fails to either initialize a local variable or assign a value to that local variable before it is used.
What the compiler actually does is to internally produce a single class initialization routine that combines all the static variable initializers and all of the static initializer blocks of code, in the order that they appear in the class declaration. This single initialization procedure is run automatically, one time only, when the class is first loaded.
In case of inner classes, they can not have static fields
An inner class is a nested class that is not explicitly or implicitly declared
static....
Inner classes may not declare static initializers (§8.7) or member interfaces...
Inner classes may not declare static members, unless they are constant variables...
See JLS 8.1.3 Inner Classes and Enclosing Instances
final fields in Java can be initialized separately from their declaration place this is however can not be applicable to static final fields. See the example below.
final class Demo { private final int x; private static final int z; //must be initialized here. static { z = 10; //It can be initialized here. } public Demo(int x) { this.x=x; //This is possible. //z=15; compiler-error - can not assign a value to a final variable z } } This is because there is just one copy of the static variables associated with the type, rather than one associated with each instance of the type as with instance variables and if we try to initialize z of type static final within the constructor, it will attempt to reinitialize the static final type field z because the constructor is run on each instantiation of the class that must not occur to static final fields.
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