Static Classes In Java

Yes there is a static nested class in java. When you declare a nested class static, it automatically becomes a stand alone class which can be instantiated without having to instantiate the outer class it belongs to.

Example:

public class A
{

 public static class B
 {
 }
}

Because class B is declared static you can explicitly instantiate as:

B b = new B();

Note if class B wasn't declared static to make it stand alone, an instance object call would've looked like this:

A a= new A();
B b = a.new B();

There is a static nested class, this [static nested] class does not need an instance of the enclosing class in order to be instantiated itself.

These classes [static nested ones] can access only the static members of the enclosing class [since it does not have any reference to instances of the enclosing class...]

code sample:

public class Test { 
  class A { } 
  static class B { }
  public static void main(String[] args) { 
    /*will fail - compilation error, you need an instance of Test to instantiate A*/
    A a = new A(); 
    /*will compile successfully, not instance of Test is needed to instantiate B */
    B b = new B(); 
  }
}

Well, Java has "static nested classes", but they're not at all the same as C#'s static classes, if that's where you were coming from. A static nested class is just one which doesn't implicitly have a reference to an instance of the outer class.

Static nested classes can have instance methods and static methods.

There's no such thing as a top-level static class in Java.

Java has static nested classes but it sounds like you're looking for a top-level static class. Java has no way of making a top-level class static but you can simulate a static class like this:

• Declare your class final - Prevents extension of the class since extending a static class makes no sense
• Make the constructor private - Prevents instantiation by client code as it makes no sense to instantiate a static class
• Make all the members and functions of the class static - Since the class cannot be instantiated no instance methods can be called or instance fields accessed
• Note that the compiler will not prevent you from declaring an instance (non-static) member. The issue will only show up if you attempt to call the instance member

Simple example per suggestions from above:

public class TestMyStaticClass {
     public static void main(String []args){
        MyStaticClass.setMyStaticMember(5);
        System.out.println("Static value: " + MyStaticClass.getMyStaticMember());
        System.out.println("Value squared: " + MyStaticClass.squareMyStaticMember());
        // MyStaticClass x = new MyStaticClass(); // results in compile time error
     }
}

// A top-level Java class mimicking static class behavior
public final class MyStaticClass {
    private MyStaticClass () { // private constructor
        myStaticMember = 1;
    }
    private static int myStaticMember;
    public static void setMyStaticMember(int val) {
        myStaticMember = val;
    }
    public static int getMyStaticMember() {
        return myStaticMember;
    }
    public static int squareMyStaticMember() {
        return myStaticMember * myStaticMember;
    }
}

What good are static classes? A good use of a static class is in defining one-off, utility and/or library classes where instantiation would not make sense. A great example is the Math class that contains some mathematical constants such as PI and E and simply provides mathematical calculations. Requiring instantiation in such a case would be unnecessary and confusing. See the Math class and source code. Notice that it is final and all of its members are static. If Java allowed top-level classes to be declared static then the Math class would indeed be static.