Why can't I lazy-initialize static long array like this in java?

Question

private static final long[] reservedFromIps;

static {
    reservedFromIps = {0l, 167772160l, 1681915904l, 
        2130706432l, 2851995648l, 2886729728l, 3221225984l, 3227017984l, 3232235520l, 
        3323068416l, 3325256704l, 3405803776l, 3758096384l, 4026531840l, 4294967295l}; 
}

The error is "illegal start of an expression, not a statement, ; expected"

whereas the following works fine :

private static final long[] reservedFromIps = {0l, 167772160l, 1681915904l, 
    2130706432l, 2851995648l, 2886729728l, 3221225984l, 3227017984l, 3232235520l, 
    3323068416l, 3325256704l, 3405803776l, 3758096384l, 4026531840l, 4294967295l}; 

Answer 1

This has nothing to do with static blocks, array constants can only be used in initializers. It's just how the language is specified.
This code wont compile either:

public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        long[] reservedFromIps;
        reservedFromIps = {0l, 167772160l, 1681915904l, 
                2130706432l, 2851995648l, 2886729728l, 3221225984l, 3227017984l, 3232235520l, 
                3323068416l, 3325256704l, 3405803776l, 3758096384l, 4026531840l, 4294967295l}; 
    }
}

Why this is the case is probably a question of added complexity for the compiler with little added gain, but to be entirely sure you would have to take it up with the Java design team.

Answer 2

Firstly there's a typo in your static initializer block (or in your field declaration). Secondly you'll have to do this:

static {
        reservedFromIps = new long[]{0l, 167772160l, 1681915904l, 
            2130706432l, 2851995648l, 2886729728l, 3221225984l, 3227017984l, 3232235520l, 
            3323068416l, 3325256704l, 3405803776l, 3758096384l, 4026531840l, 4294967295l}; 
}

Array constants can only be used in initializers, and not when reassigning an array.