What is the difference between a static and a non-static initialization code block

Question

My question is about one particular usage of static keyword. It is possible to use static keyword to cover a code block within a class which does not belong to any function. For example following code compiles:

public class Test {
    private static final int a;    
    static {
        a = 5;
        doSomething(a);
    }
    private static int doSomething(int x) {
        return (x+5);
    }
}

If you remove the static keyword it complains because the variable a is final. However it is possible to remove both final and static keywords and make it compile.

It is confusing for me in both ways. How am I supposed to have a code section that does not belong to any method? How is it possible to invoke it? In general, what is the purpose of this usage? Or better, where can I find documentation about this?

Moccasin

Answer 1

The code block with the static modifier signifies a class initializer; without the static modifier the code block is an instance initializer.

Class initializers are executed in the order they are defined (top down, just like simple variable initializers) when the class is loaded (actually, when it's resolved, but that's a technicality).

Instance initializers are executed in the order defined when the class is instantiated, immediately before the constructor code is executed, immediately after the invocation of the super constructor.

If you remove static from int a, it becomes an instance variable, which you are not able to access from the static initializer block. This will fail to compile with the error "non-static variable a cannot be referenced from a static context".

If you also remove static from the initializer block, it then becomes an instance initializer and so int a is initialized at construction.

Wehrle

The static initializer is actually invoked later, when the class is initialized, after it has been loaded and linked. That happens when you instantiate an object of a class or access a static variable or method on the class. In fact if you have a class with a static initializer and a method public static void staticMethod(){}, if you execute TestStatic.class.getMethod("staticMethod");. The static initializer won't be invoked. More info here docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se10/html/… – Metempirics

@Totò: Yes, that's what the resolution of the class entails (at least they used to refer to it as link+init as "resolution" way back when). I am not surprised you can use reflection to discover things about a class without it resolving. – Wehrle

Answer 2

Uff! what is static initializer?

The static initializer is a static {} block of code inside java class, and run only one time before the constructor or main method is called.

OK! Tell me more...

• is a block of code static { ... } inside any java class. and executed by virtual machine when class is called.
• No return statements are supported.
• No arguments are supported.
• No this or super are supported.

Hmm where can I use it?

Can be used anywhere you feel ok :) that simple. But I see most of the time it is used when doing database connection, API init, Logging and etc.

Don't just bark! where is example?

package com.example.learnjava;

import java.util.ArrayList;

public class Fruit {

    static {
        System.out.println("Inside Static Initializer.");

        // fruits array
        ArrayList<String> fruits = new ArrayList<>();
        fruits.add("Apple");
        fruits.add("Orange");
        fruits.add("Pear");

        // print fruits
        for (String fruit : fruits) {
            System.out.println(fruit);
        }
        System.out.println("End Static Initializer.\n");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Inside Main Method.");
    }
}

Output???

Inside Static Initializer.

Apple

Orange

Pear

End Static Initializer.

Inside Main Method.

Jodhpur

Thanks Madan! Can static block be used instead of afterPropertiesSet() of InitializingBean? – Disrespect

Yes, you can! Static initializer become called when the class gets loaded by the jvm. So its the really first phase where code gets executed. If you have a constructor too, the order would be: static initializer, constructor, afterPropertiesSet – Counterclaim

Answer 3

The static block is a "static initializer".

It's automatically invoked when the class is loaded, and there's no other way to invoke it (not even via Reflection).

I've personally only ever used it when writing JNI code:

class JNIGlue {
    static {
        System.loadLibrary("foo");
    }
}

Superfetation

Nope, no explicit way to invoke it, the class initializer is never represented by a Method instance but only invoked by the Java virtual machine. – Audieaudience

Answer 4

This is directly from http://www.programcreek.com/2011/10/java-class-instance-initializers/

1. Execution Order

Look at the following class, do you know which one gets executed first?

public class Foo {
 
    //instance variable initializer
    String s = "abc";
 
    //constructor
    public Foo() {
        System.out.println("constructor called");
    }
 
    //static initializer
    static {
        System.out.println("static initializer called");
    }
 
    //instance initializer
    {
        System.out.println("instance initializer called");
    }
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new Foo();
        new Foo();
    }
}

Output:

static initializer called

instance initializer called

constructor called

instance initializer called

constructor called

2. How do Java instance initializer work?

The instance initializer above contains a println statement. To understand how it works, we can treat it as a variable assignment statement, e.g., b = 0. This can make it more obvious to understand.

Instead of

int b = 0, you could write

int b;
b = 0;

Therefore, instance initializers and instance variable initializers are pretty much the same.

3. When are instance initializers useful?

The use of instance initializers are rare, but still it can be a useful alternative to instance variable initializers if:

1. Initializer code must handle exceptions
2. Perform calculations that can’t be expressed with an instance variable initializer.

Of course, such code could be written in constructors. But if a class had multiple constructors, you would have to repeat the code in each constructor.

With an instance initializer, you can just write the code once, and it will be executed no matter what constructor is used to create the object. (I guess this is just a concept, and it is not used often.)

Another case in which instance initializers are useful is anonymous inner classes, which can’t declare any constructors at all. (Will this be a good place to place a logging function?)

Thanks to Derhein.

Also note that Anonymous classes that implement interfaces [1] have no constructors. Therefore instance initializers are needed to execute any kinds of expressions at construction time.

Corrales

Answer 5

"final" guarantees that a variable must be initialized before end of object initializer code. Likewise "static final" guarantees that a variable will be initialized by the end of class initialization code. Omitting the "static" from your initialization code turns it into object initialization code; thus your variable no longer satisfies its guarantees.

Flori

Answer 6

You will not write code into a static block that needs to be invoked anywhere in your program. If the purpose of the code is to be invoked then you must place it in a method.

You can write static initializer blocks to initialize static variables when the class is loaded but this code can be more complex..

A static initializer block looks like a method with no name, no arguments, and no return type. Since you never call it it doesn't need a name. The only time its called is when the virtual machine loads the class.

Affiliate

Answer 7

when a developer use an initializer block, the Java Compiler copies the initializer into each constructor of the current class.

Example:

the following code:

class MyClass {

    private int myField = 3;
    {
        myField = myField + 2;
        //myField is worth 5 for all instance
    }

    public MyClass() {
        myField = myField * 4;
        //myField is worth 20 for all instance initialized with this construtor
    }

    public MyClass(int _myParam) {
        if (_myParam > 0) {
            myField = myField * 4;
            //myField is worth 20 for all instance initialized with this construtor
            //if _myParam is greater than 0
        } else {
            myField = myField + 5;
            //myField is worth 10 for all instance initialized with this construtor
            //if _myParam is lower than 0 or if _myParam is worth 0
        }
    }

    public void setMyField(int _myField) {
        myField = _myField;
    }


    public int getMyField() {
        return myField;
    }
}

public class MainClass{

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        MyClass myFirstInstance_ = new MyClass();
        System.out.println(myFirstInstance_.getMyField());//20
        MyClass mySecondInstance_ = new MyClass(1);
        System.out.println(mySecondInstance_.getMyField());//20
        MyClass myThirdInstance_ = new MyClass(-1);
        System.out.println(myThirdInstance_.getMyField());//10
    }
}

is equivalent to:

class MyClass {

    private int myField = 3;

    public MyClass() {
        myField = myField + 2;
        myField = myField * 4;
        //myField is worth 20 for all instance initialized with this construtor
    }

    public MyClass(int _myParam) {
        myField = myField + 2;
        if (_myParam > 0) {
            myField = myField * 4;
            //myField is worth 20 for all instance initialized with this construtor
            //if _myParam is greater than 0
        } else {
            myField = myField + 5;
            //myField is worth 10 for all instance initialized with this construtor
            //if _myParam is lower than 0 or if _myParam is worth 0
        }
    }

    public void setMyField(int _myField) {
        myField = _myField;
    }


    public int getMyField() {
        return myField;
    }
}

public class MainClass{

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        MyClass myFirstInstance_ = new MyClass();
        System.out.println(myFirstInstance_.getMyField());//20
        MyClass mySecondInstance_ = new MyClass(1);
        System.out.println(mySecondInstance_.getMyField());//20
        MyClass myThirdInstance_ = new MyClass(-1);
        System.out.println(myThirdInstance_.getMyField());//10
    }
}

I hope my example is understood by developers.

Mozambique

Answer 8

The static code block can be used to instantiate or initialize class variables (as opposed to object variables). So declaring "a" static means that is only one shared by all Test objects, and the static code block initializes "a" only once, when the Test class is first loaded, no matter how many Test objects are created.

Ornithorhynchus

As a follow up, if I do not create an instance of the object but instead I call a public static function. Does it imply that this block is guaranteed to execute before this public function call? Thanks. – Moccasin

If you call a public static function of the class, then the class needs to be loaded first, so yes, the static initializer will execute first. – Ornithorhynchus

Unless it was class initialisation which (indirectly) called the code which is trying to use it. IFYSWIM. Circular dependencies and all that. – Amazed

@Tom is right - it's possible to write something where one static initializer calls a static method before another static initializer is called, but my mind recoils at the thought so I never considered it. – Ornithorhynchus

Answer 9

The static initializer blocks are invoked (in the order they were defined in) when the JVM loads the class into memory, and before the main method. It's used to conditionally initialize static variables.

Similarly we have the instance initializer blocks (aka IIBs) which are invoked upon object instantiation, and they're generally used to de-duplicate constructor logic.

The order in which initializers and constructors are executed is:

1. Static initializer blocks;
2. Object initializer blocks;
3. Constructors;

Jarrettjarrid