I have one class Student which is
package org.ahmed;
public class Student {
public Student() {
// TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
System.out.println("Generated constructor");
}
static { // static block
System.out.println("Hello world static");
}
{ // insance block
System.out.println("Hello world non static");
}
}
and then
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws ClassNotFoundException {
Class.forName("org.ahmed.Student"); // this line causing static block execution in Student class
// Student s; // this line doesn't execute the static block.
}
}
I understand by using Class.forClass() we can dynamically run any
class in runtime. But I have some question in other case regarding
static block.
If I use Class.forClass("org.ahmed.Student") in my main method, then it's
executing the static block of Student. But if I declare Student s in
main method its doesn't execute the static block. I thought
Class.forClass("ClassName") is same as declaring class with a variable
name.
There's a distinction between loading a class (JLS§5.3 and, I think, JLS§5.4) and initializing a class (JLS§5.5). By default, Class.forName does both, although there's an override you can use that lets you control whether to initialize the class.
Just declaring a Student variable doesn't initialize the class. In fact, even referring to Student.class doesn't initialize the class. You must do something to trigger initialization, such as something that uses the new, getstatic, putstatic, or invokestatic bytecode operations with the class (but see the link to §5.5 for details, there are other things that initialize the class).
So for instance, if you gave Student a public field:
public static String foo = "bar";
...and then in Main.main you did:
System.out.println(Student.foo);
...that would trigger initialization of the class.
When you use Class.forName("org.ahmed.Student") you actually force the JVM to load the class and invoke its static blocks. You can read more here.
From javadoc:
Invoking Class.forName(className) method is
equivalent to: Class.forName(className, true, currentLoader), where the second parameter specifies whether or not the class will be initialized.
So if you don't want to initialize the class, just call the method with initialize = false, e.g:
Class.forName("org.ahmed.Student", false, this.getClass().getClassLoader())}
Declaring the class references loads the class to JVM hence static block will be executed. i'm able to see static block execution on
Student s;
Example:
package com.snofty.test;
public class ClassLoading {
public ClassLoading(){
System.out.println("in constructor");
}
static {
System.out.println("in static block");
}
{
System.out.println("in instance block");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
ClassLoading classLoading;
}
}
Class.forName()
it is used to load the class dynamically by passing the class name
for example
public void loadClass(String className){
Class.forName(className);
}
Related
We can put code in a constructor or a method or an initialization block. What is the use of initialization block? Is it necessary that every java program must have it?
First of all, there are two types of initialization blocks:
instance initialization blocks, and
static initialization blocks.
This code should illustrate the use of them and in which order they are executed:
public class Test {
static int staticVariable;
int nonStaticVariable;
// Static initialization block:
// Runs once (when the class is initialized)
static {
System.out.println("Static initalization.");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance initialization block:
// Runs each time you instantiate an object
{
System.out.println("Instance initialization.");
nonStaticVariable = 7;
}
public Test() {
System.out.println("Constructor.");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
new Test();
}
}
Prints:
Static initalization.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization blocks are useful if you want to have some code run regardless of which constructor is used or if you want to do some instance initialization for anonymous classes.
would like to add to #aioobe's answer
Order of execution:
static initialization blocks of super classes
static initialization blocks of the class
instance initialization blocks of super classes
constructors of super classes
instance initialization blocks of the class
constructor of the class.
A couple of additional points to keep in mind (point 1 is reiteration of #aioobe's answer):
The code in static initialization block will be executed at class load time (and yes, that means only once per class load), before any instances of the class are constructed and before any static methods are called.
The instance initialization block is actually copied by the Java compiler into every constructor the class has. So every time the code in instance initialization block is executed exactly before the code in constructor.
nice answer by aioobe
adding few more points
public class StaticTest extends parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside satic block");
}
StaticTest() {
System.out.println("inside constructor of child");
}
{
System.out.println("inside initialization block");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticTest();
new StaticTest();
System.out.println("inside main");
}
}
class parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside parent Static block");
}
{
System.out.println("inside parent initialisation block");
}
parent() {
System.out.println("inside parent constructor");
}
}
this gives
inside parent Static block
inside satic block
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside main
its like stating the obvious but seems a little more clear.
The sample code, which is approved as an answer here is correct, but I disagree with it. It does not shows what is happening and I'm going to show you a good example to understand how actually the JVM works:
package test;
class A {
A() {
print();
}
void print() {
System.out.println("A");
}
}
class B extends A {
static int staticVariable2 = 123456;
static int staticVariable;
static
{
System.out.println(staticVariable2);
System.out.println("Static Initialization block");
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
int instanceVariable;
{
System.out.println("Initialization block");
instanceVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
B() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
A a = new B();
a.print();
System.out.println("main");
}
void print() {
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
}
static void somethingElse() {
System.out.println("Static method");
}
}
Before to start commenting on the source code, I'll give you a short explanation of static variables of a class:
First thing is that they are called class variables, they belong to the class not to particular instance of the class. All instances of the class share this static(class) variable. Each and every variable has a default value, depending on primitive or reference type. Another thing is when you reassign the static variable in some of the members of the class (initialization blocks, constructors, methods, properties) and doing so you are changing the value of the static variable not for particular instance, you are changing it for all instances. To conclude static part I will say that the static variables of a class are created not when you instantiate for first time the class, they are created when you define your class, they exist in JVM without the need of any instances. Therefor the correct access of static members from external class (class in which they are not defined) is by using the class name following by dot and then the static member, which you want to access (template: <CLASS_NAME>.<STATIC_VARIABLE_NAME>).
Now let's look at the code above:
The entry point is the main method - there are just three lines of code. I want to refer to the example which is currently approved. According to it the first thing which must be printed after printing "Static Initialization block" is "Initialization block" and here is my disagreement, the non-static initialization block is not called before the constructor, it is called before any initializations of the constructors of the class in which the initialization block is defined. The constructor of the class is the first thing involved when you create an object (instance of the class) and then when you enter the constructor the first part called is either implicit (default) super constructor or explicit super constructor or explicit call to another overloaded constructor (but at some point if there is a chain of overloaded constructors, the last one calls a super constructor, implicitly or explicitly).
There is polymorphic creation of an object, but before to enter the class B and its main method, the JVM initializes all class(static) variables, then goes through the static initialization blocks if any exist and then enters the class B and starts with the execution of the main method. It goes to the constructor of class B then immediately (implicitly) calls constructor of class A, using polymorphism the method(overridden method) called in the body of the constructor of class A is the one which is defined in class B and in this case the variable named instanceVariable is used before reinitialization. After closing the constructor of class B the thread is returned to constructor of class B but it goes first to the non-static initialization block before printing "Constructor". For better understanding debug it with some IDE, I prefer Eclipse.
Initializer block contains the code that is always executed whenever
an instance is created. It is used to declare/initialise the common
part of various constructors of a class.
The order of initialization constructors and initializer block doesn’t matter, initializer block is always executed before constructor.
What if we want to execute some code once for all objects of a class?
We use Static Block in Java.
In addition to what was said in previous answers, blocks can be synchronized .. never felt I need to use it, however,it's there
Initialization blocks are executed whenever the class is initialized and before constructors are invoked. They are typically placed above the constructors within braces. It is not at all necessary to include them in your classes.
They are typically used to initialize reference variables. This page gives a good explanation
The question is not entirely clear, but here's a brief description of ways you can initialise data in an object. Let's suppose you have a class A that holds a list of objects.
1) Put initial values in the field declaration:
class A {
private List<Object> data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
2) Assign initial values in the constructor:
class A {
private List<Object> data;
public A() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
}
These both assume that you do not want to pass "data" as a constructor argument.
Things get a little tricky if you mix overloaded constructors with internal data like above. Consider:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
name = "Default name";
userFriendlyName = "Default user friendly name";
}
public B(String name) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
userFriendlyName = name;
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
Notice that there is a lot of repeated code. You can fix this by making constructors call each other, or you can have a private initialisation method that each constructor calls:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
this("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
this(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
or
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
init("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
init(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
init(name, userFriendlyName);
}
private void init(String _name, String _userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
The two are (more or less) equivalent.
I hope that gives you some hints on how to initialise data in your objects. I won't talk about static initialisation blocks as that's probably a bit advanced at the moment.
EDIT: I've interpreted your question as "how do I initialise my instance variables", not "how do initialiser blocks work" as initialiser blocks are a relatively advanced concept, and from the tone of the question it seems you're asking about the simpler concept. I could be wrong.
public class StaticInitializationBlock {
static int staticVariable;
int instanceVariable;
// Static Initialization Block
static {
System.out.println("Static block");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance Initialization Block
{
instanceVariable = 7;
System.out.println("Instance Block");
System.out.println(staticVariable);
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
staticVariable = 10;
}
public StaticInitializationBlock() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticInitializationBlock();
new StaticInitializationBlock();
}
}
Output:
Static block
Instance Block
5
7
Constructor
Instance Block
10
7
Constructor
Just to add to the excellent answers from #aioobe and #Biman Tripathy.
A static initializer is the equivalent of a constructor in the static context. which is needed to setup the static environment.
A instance initializer is best for anonymous inner classes.
It is also possible to have multiple initializer blocks in class
When we have multiple initializer blocks they are executed (actually copied to constructors by JVM) in the order they appear
Order of initializer blocks matters, but order of initializer blocks mixed with Constructors doesn't
Abstract classes can also have both static and instance initializer blocks.
Code Demo -
abstract class Aircraft {
protected Integer seatCapacity;
{ // Initial block 1, Before Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 1");
}
Aircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: Aircraft constructor");
}
{ // Initial block 2, After Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 2");
}
}
class SupersonicAircraft extends Aircraft {
{ // Initial block 3, Internalizing a instance variable
seatCapacity = 300;
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 3");
}
{ // Initial block 4
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 4");
}
SupersonicAircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor");
}
}
An instance creation of SupersonicAircraft will produce logs in below order
Executing: Initial Block 1
Executing: Initial Block 2
Executing: Aircraft constructor
Executing: Initial Block 3
Executing: Initial Block 4
Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor
Seat Capacity - 300
We can put code in a constructor or a method or an initialization block. What is the use of initialization block? Is it necessary that every java program must have it?
First of all, there are two types of initialization blocks:
instance initialization blocks, and
static initialization blocks.
This code should illustrate the use of them and in which order they are executed:
public class Test {
static int staticVariable;
int nonStaticVariable;
// Static initialization block:
// Runs once (when the class is initialized)
static {
System.out.println("Static initalization.");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance initialization block:
// Runs each time you instantiate an object
{
System.out.println("Instance initialization.");
nonStaticVariable = 7;
}
public Test() {
System.out.println("Constructor.");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
new Test();
}
}
Prints:
Static initalization.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization blocks are useful if you want to have some code run regardless of which constructor is used or if you want to do some instance initialization for anonymous classes.
would like to add to #aioobe's answer
Order of execution:
static initialization blocks of super classes
static initialization blocks of the class
instance initialization blocks of super classes
constructors of super classes
instance initialization blocks of the class
constructor of the class.
A couple of additional points to keep in mind (point 1 is reiteration of #aioobe's answer):
The code in static initialization block will be executed at class load time (and yes, that means only once per class load), before any instances of the class are constructed and before any static methods are called.
The instance initialization block is actually copied by the Java compiler into every constructor the class has. So every time the code in instance initialization block is executed exactly before the code in constructor.
nice answer by aioobe
adding few more points
public class StaticTest extends parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside satic block");
}
StaticTest() {
System.out.println("inside constructor of child");
}
{
System.out.println("inside initialization block");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticTest();
new StaticTest();
System.out.println("inside main");
}
}
class parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside parent Static block");
}
{
System.out.println("inside parent initialisation block");
}
parent() {
System.out.println("inside parent constructor");
}
}
this gives
inside parent Static block
inside satic block
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside main
its like stating the obvious but seems a little more clear.
The sample code, which is approved as an answer here is correct, but I disagree with it. It does not shows what is happening and I'm going to show you a good example to understand how actually the JVM works:
package test;
class A {
A() {
print();
}
void print() {
System.out.println("A");
}
}
class B extends A {
static int staticVariable2 = 123456;
static int staticVariable;
static
{
System.out.println(staticVariable2);
System.out.println("Static Initialization block");
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
int instanceVariable;
{
System.out.println("Initialization block");
instanceVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
B() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
A a = new B();
a.print();
System.out.println("main");
}
void print() {
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
}
static void somethingElse() {
System.out.println("Static method");
}
}
Before to start commenting on the source code, I'll give you a short explanation of static variables of a class:
First thing is that they are called class variables, they belong to the class not to particular instance of the class. All instances of the class share this static(class) variable. Each and every variable has a default value, depending on primitive or reference type. Another thing is when you reassign the static variable in some of the members of the class (initialization blocks, constructors, methods, properties) and doing so you are changing the value of the static variable not for particular instance, you are changing it for all instances. To conclude static part I will say that the static variables of a class are created not when you instantiate for first time the class, they are created when you define your class, they exist in JVM without the need of any instances. Therefor the correct access of static members from external class (class in which they are not defined) is by using the class name following by dot and then the static member, which you want to access (template: <CLASS_NAME>.<STATIC_VARIABLE_NAME>).
Now let's look at the code above:
The entry point is the main method - there are just three lines of code. I want to refer to the example which is currently approved. According to it the first thing which must be printed after printing "Static Initialization block" is "Initialization block" and here is my disagreement, the non-static initialization block is not called before the constructor, it is called before any initializations of the constructors of the class in which the initialization block is defined. The constructor of the class is the first thing involved when you create an object (instance of the class) and then when you enter the constructor the first part called is either implicit (default) super constructor or explicit super constructor or explicit call to another overloaded constructor (but at some point if there is a chain of overloaded constructors, the last one calls a super constructor, implicitly or explicitly).
There is polymorphic creation of an object, but before to enter the class B and its main method, the JVM initializes all class(static) variables, then goes through the static initialization blocks if any exist and then enters the class B and starts with the execution of the main method. It goes to the constructor of class B then immediately (implicitly) calls constructor of class A, using polymorphism the method(overridden method) called in the body of the constructor of class A is the one which is defined in class B and in this case the variable named instanceVariable is used before reinitialization. After closing the constructor of class B the thread is returned to constructor of class B but it goes first to the non-static initialization block before printing "Constructor". For better understanding debug it with some IDE, I prefer Eclipse.
Initializer block contains the code that is always executed whenever
an instance is created. It is used to declare/initialise the common
part of various constructors of a class.
The order of initialization constructors and initializer block doesn’t matter, initializer block is always executed before constructor.
What if we want to execute some code once for all objects of a class?
We use Static Block in Java.
In addition to what was said in previous answers, blocks can be synchronized .. never felt I need to use it, however,it's there
Initialization blocks are executed whenever the class is initialized and before constructors are invoked. They are typically placed above the constructors within braces. It is not at all necessary to include them in your classes.
They are typically used to initialize reference variables. This page gives a good explanation
The question is not entirely clear, but here's a brief description of ways you can initialise data in an object. Let's suppose you have a class A that holds a list of objects.
1) Put initial values in the field declaration:
class A {
private List<Object> data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
2) Assign initial values in the constructor:
class A {
private List<Object> data;
public A() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
}
These both assume that you do not want to pass "data" as a constructor argument.
Things get a little tricky if you mix overloaded constructors with internal data like above. Consider:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
name = "Default name";
userFriendlyName = "Default user friendly name";
}
public B(String name) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
userFriendlyName = name;
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
Notice that there is a lot of repeated code. You can fix this by making constructors call each other, or you can have a private initialisation method that each constructor calls:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
this("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
this(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
or
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
init("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
init(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
init(name, userFriendlyName);
}
private void init(String _name, String _userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
The two are (more or less) equivalent.
I hope that gives you some hints on how to initialise data in your objects. I won't talk about static initialisation blocks as that's probably a bit advanced at the moment.
EDIT: I've interpreted your question as "how do I initialise my instance variables", not "how do initialiser blocks work" as initialiser blocks are a relatively advanced concept, and from the tone of the question it seems you're asking about the simpler concept. I could be wrong.
public class StaticInitializationBlock {
static int staticVariable;
int instanceVariable;
// Static Initialization Block
static {
System.out.println("Static block");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance Initialization Block
{
instanceVariable = 7;
System.out.println("Instance Block");
System.out.println(staticVariable);
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
staticVariable = 10;
}
public StaticInitializationBlock() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticInitializationBlock();
new StaticInitializationBlock();
}
}
Output:
Static block
Instance Block
5
7
Constructor
Instance Block
10
7
Constructor
Just to add to the excellent answers from #aioobe and #Biman Tripathy.
A static initializer is the equivalent of a constructor in the static context. which is needed to setup the static environment.
A instance initializer is best for anonymous inner classes.
It is also possible to have multiple initializer blocks in class
When we have multiple initializer blocks they are executed (actually copied to constructors by JVM) in the order they appear
Order of initializer blocks matters, but order of initializer blocks mixed with Constructors doesn't
Abstract classes can also have both static and instance initializer blocks.
Code Demo -
abstract class Aircraft {
protected Integer seatCapacity;
{ // Initial block 1, Before Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 1");
}
Aircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: Aircraft constructor");
}
{ // Initial block 2, After Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 2");
}
}
class SupersonicAircraft extends Aircraft {
{ // Initial block 3, Internalizing a instance variable
seatCapacity = 300;
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 3");
}
{ // Initial block 4
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 4");
}
SupersonicAircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor");
}
}
An instance creation of SupersonicAircraft will produce logs in below order
Executing: Initial Block 1
Executing: Initial Block 2
Executing: Aircraft constructor
Executing: Initial Block 3
Executing: Initial Block 4
Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor
Seat Capacity - 300
We can put code in a constructor or a method or an initialization block. What is the use of initialization block? Is it necessary that every java program must have it?
First of all, there are two types of initialization blocks:
instance initialization blocks, and
static initialization blocks.
This code should illustrate the use of them and in which order they are executed:
public class Test {
static int staticVariable;
int nonStaticVariable;
// Static initialization block:
// Runs once (when the class is initialized)
static {
System.out.println("Static initalization.");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance initialization block:
// Runs each time you instantiate an object
{
System.out.println("Instance initialization.");
nonStaticVariable = 7;
}
public Test() {
System.out.println("Constructor.");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
new Test();
}
}
Prints:
Static initalization.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization blocks are useful if you want to have some code run regardless of which constructor is used or if you want to do some instance initialization for anonymous classes.
would like to add to #aioobe's answer
Order of execution:
static initialization blocks of super classes
static initialization blocks of the class
instance initialization blocks of super classes
constructors of super classes
instance initialization blocks of the class
constructor of the class.
A couple of additional points to keep in mind (point 1 is reiteration of #aioobe's answer):
The code in static initialization block will be executed at class load time (and yes, that means only once per class load), before any instances of the class are constructed and before any static methods are called.
The instance initialization block is actually copied by the Java compiler into every constructor the class has. So every time the code in instance initialization block is executed exactly before the code in constructor.
nice answer by aioobe
adding few more points
public class StaticTest extends parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside satic block");
}
StaticTest() {
System.out.println("inside constructor of child");
}
{
System.out.println("inside initialization block");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticTest();
new StaticTest();
System.out.println("inside main");
}
}
class parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside parent Static block");
}
{
System.out.println("inside parent initialisation block");
}
parent() {
System.out.println("inside parent constructor");
}
}
this gives
inside parent Static block
inside satic block
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside main
its like stating the obvious but seems a little more clear.
The sample code, which is approved as an answer here is correct, but I disagree with it. It does not shows what is happening and I'm going to show you a good example to understand how actually the JVM works:
package test;
class A {
A() {
print();
}
void print() {
System.out.println("A");
}
}
class B extends A {
static int staticVariable2 = 123456;
static int staticVariable;
static
{
System.out.println(staticVariable2);
System.out.println("Static Initialization block");
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
int instanceVariable;
{
System.out.println("Initialization block");
instanceVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
B() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
A a = new B();
a.print();
System.out.println("main");
}
void print() {
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
}
static void somethingElse() {
System.out.println("Static method");
}
}
Before to start commenting on the source code, I'll give you a short explanation of static variables of a class:
First thing is that they are called class variables, they belong to the class not to particular instance of the class. All instances of the class share this static(class) variable. Each and every variable has a default value, depending on primitive or reference type. Another thing is when you reassign the static variable in some of the members of the class (initialization blocks, constructors, methods, properties) and doing so you are changing the value of the static variable not for particular instance, you are changing it for all instances. To conclude static part I will say that the static variables of a class are created not when you instantiate for first time the class, they are created when you define your class, they exist in JVM without the need of any instances. Therefor the correct access of static members from external class (class in which they are not defined) is by using the class name following by dot and then the static member, which you want to access (template: <CLASS_NAME>.<STATIC_VARIABLE_NAME>).
Now let's look at the code above:
The entry point is the main method - there are just three lines of code. I want to refer to the example which is currently approved. According to it the first thing which must be printed after printing "Static Initialization block" is "Initialization block" and here is my disagreement, the non-static initialization block is not called before the constructor, it is called before any initializations of the constructors of the class in which the initialization block is defined. The constructor of the class is the first thing involved when you create an object (instance of the class) and then when you enter the constructor the first part called is either implicit (default) super constructor or explicit super constructor or explicit call to another overloaded constructor (but at some point if there is a chain of overloaded constructors, the last one calls a super constructor, implicitly or explicitly).
There is polymorphic creation of an object, but before to enter the class B and its main method, the JVM initializes all class(static) variables, then goes through the static initialization blocks if any exist and then enters the class B and starts with the execution of the main method. It goes to the constructor of class B then immediately (implicitly) calls constructor of class A, using polymorphism the method(overridden method) called in the body of the constructor of class A is the one which is defined in class B and in this case the variable named instanceVariable is used before reinitialization. After closing the constructor of class B the thread is returned to constructor of class B but it goes first to the non-static initialization block before printing "Constructor". For better understanding debug it with some IDE, I prefer Eclipse.
Initializer block contains the code that is always executed whenever
an instance is created. It is used to declare/initialise the common
part of various constructors of a class.
The order of initialization constructors and initializer block doesn’t matter, initializer block is always executed before constructor.
What if we want to execute some code once for all objects of a class?
We use Static Block in Java.
In addition to what was said in previous answers, blocks can be synchronized .. never felt I need to use it, however,it's there
Initialization blocks are executed whenever the class is initialized and before constructors are invoked. They are typically placed above the constructors within braces. It is not at all necessary to include them in your classes.
They are typically used to initialize reference variables. This page gives a good explanation
The question is not entirely clear, but here's a brief description of ways you can initialise data in an object. Let's suppose you have a class A that holds a list of objects.
1) Put initial values in the field declaration:
class A {
private List<Object> data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
2) Assign initial values in the constructor:
class A {
private List<Object> data;
public A() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
}
These both assume that you do not want to pass "data" as a constructor argument.
Things get a little tricky if you mix overloaded constructors with internal data like above. Consider:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
name = "Default name";
userFriendlyName = "Default user friendly name";
}
public B(String name) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
userFriendlyName = name;
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
Notice that there is a lot of repeated code. You can fix this by making constructors call each other, or you can have a private initialisation method that each constructor calls:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
this("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
this(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
or
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
init("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
init(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
init(name, userFriendlyName);
}
private void init(String _name, String _userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
The two are (more or less) equivalent.
I hope that gives you some hints on how to initialise data in your objects. I won't talk about static initialisation blocks as that's probably a bit advanced at the moment.
EDIT: I've interpreted your question as "how do I initialise my instance variables", not "how do initialiser blocks work" as initialiser blocks are a relatively advanced concept, and from the tone of the question it seems you're asking about the simpler concept. I could be wrong.
public class StaticInitializationBlock {
static int staticVariable;
int instanceVariable;
// Static Initialization Block
static {
System.out.println("Static block");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance Initialization Block
{
instanceVariable = 7;
System.out.println("Instance Block");
System.out.println(staticVariable);
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
staticVariable = 10;
}
public StaticInitializationBlock() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticInitializationBlock();
new StaticInitializationBlock();
}
}
Output:
Static block
Instance Block
5
7
Constructor
Instance Block
10
7
Constructor
Just to add to the excellent answers from #aioobe and #Biman Tripathy.
A static initializer is the equivalent of a constructor in the static context. which is needed to setup the static environment.
A instance initializer is best for anonymous inner classes.
It is also possible to have multiple initializer blocks in class
When we have multiple initializer blocks they are executed (actually copied to constructors by JVM) in the order they appear
Order of initializer blocks matters, but order of initializer blocks mixed with Constructors doesn't
Abstract classes can also have both static and instance initializer blocks.
Code Demo -
abstract class Aircraft {
protected Integer seatCapacity;
{ // Initial block 1, Before Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 1");
}
Aircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: Aircraft constructor");
}
{ // Initial block 2, After Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 2");
}
}
class SupersonicAircraft extends Aircraft {
{ // Initial block 3, Internalizing a instance variable
seatCapacity = 300;
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 3");
}
{ // Initial block 4
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 4");
}
SupersonicAircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor");
}
}
An instance creation of SupersonicAircraft will produce logs in below order
Executing: Initial Block 1
Executing: Initial Block 2
Executing: Aircraft constructor
Executing: Initial Block 3
Executing: Initial Block 4
Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor
Seat Capacity - 300
public class DataFactory {
private static DataFactory ourInstance = new DataFactory();
static {
System.out.println("static initialize");
}
private DataFactory() {
System.out.println("constructor");
}
public static void doNothing() {
System.out.println("inside doNothing");
}
}
public class App {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("main start");
DataFactory.doNothing();
}
And After I run it, here is the printed sequence:
main start
constructor
static initialize
inside doNothing
Why calling DataFactory.doNothing() will trigger Constructor?
and why constructor is running before the static initializer?
When the class is initialized, it'll execute all of the static {...} and static field initializers, in the order they appear in the code (see JLS 12.4.2, and in particular step 9 in the list of steps there). In your example, there are two such initializers:
private static DataFactory ourInstance = new DataFactory();
The static {...} block
So, the first one happens first. It instantiate an object and assigns its reference to ourInstance. To instantiate the object, it needs to call the constructor, which it does (as you saw).
When that's done, the static block is executed, which prints "static initialize."
At this point, the class is initialized, and the method doNothing can finally be invoked.
It's invoking the constructor because you are creating an instance of DataFactory inside the same DataFactory; so it needs to call the constructor once in order to be able to instantiate it. Comment or delete the private static DataFactory ourInstance = new DataFactory(); line and the constructor call is not going to happens.
A static initializer is executed right after the class is initialized.
Sorry to tell that Rod_Algonquin is incomplete and Machina too. The right answer is that:
"Static Initialization Blocks run when the class is first loaded"
So, you are correct to ask "why the constructor is run before static?!".
How can? And there is a rule for initialization blocks (statics and instance).
The order in which initialization blocks appear in a class matters.
Just swap the order of your static initialization block to the static instantiation to see what happen:
public class DataFactory {
static { //// SWAPPED HERE
System.out.println("static initialize");
}
///// SWAPPED HERE
private static DataFactory ourInstance = new DataFactory();
private DataFactory() {
System.out.println("constructor");
}
public static void doNothing() {
System.out.println("inside doNothing");
}
}
OUTPUT:
main start
static initialize
constructor
inside doNothing
Your static field initialization calls the constructor.
In the end, the code that initializes the field "ourInstance" is also part of the static initializer.
So what is actually happening is:
public class DataFactory {
private static DataFactory ourInstance;
static {
outInstance = new DataFactory(); // 2
System.out.println("static initialize"); // 4
}
private DataFactory() {
System.out.println("constructor"); // 3
}
public static void doNothing() {
System.out.println("inside doNothing"); // 6
}
}
public class App {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("main start"); // 0
DataFactory.doNothing(); // 1 (static init) and 5 (method call)
}
}
Here is the JLS documentation for the constructor:
Constructors are invoked by class instance creation expressions (§15.9)
And the JLS documentation for the static block:
A static initializer declared in a class is executed when the class is initialized (§12.4.2).
As you can see the constructor is first called when the class is initialized and then right after the constructor call then the static block is then called.
We can put code in a constructor or a method or an initialization block. What is the use of initialization block? Is it necessary that every java program must have it?
First of all, there are two types of initialization blocks:
instance initialization blocks, and
static initialization blocks.
This code should illustrate the use of them and in which order they are executed:
public class Test {
static int staticVariable;
int nonStaticVariable;
// Static initialization block:
// Runs once (when the class is initialized)
static {
System.out.println("Static initalization.");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance initialization block:
// Runs each time you instantiate an object
{
System.out.println("Instance initialization.");
nonStaticVariable = 7;
}
public Test() {
System.out.println("Constructor.");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
new Test();
}
}
Prints:
Static initalization.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization.
Constructor.
Instance initialization blocks are useful if you want to have some code run regardless of which constructor is used or if you want to do some instance initialization for anonymous classes.
would like to add to #aioobe's answer
Order of execution:
static initialization blocks of super classes
static initialization blocks of the class
instance initialization blocks of super classes
constructors of super classes
instance initialization blocks of the class
constructor of the class.
A couple of additional points to keep in mind (point 1 is reiteration of #aioobe's answer):
The code in static initialization block will be executed at class load time (and yes, that means only once per class load), before any instances of the class are constructed and before any static methods are called.
The instance initialization block is actually copied by the Java compiler into every constructor the class has. So every time the code in instance initialization block is executed exactly before the code in constructor.
nice answer by aioobe
adding few more points
public class StaticTest extends parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside satic block");
}
StaticTest() {
System.out.println("inside constructor of child");
}
{
System.out.println("inside initialization block");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticTest();
new StaticTest();
System.out.println("inside main");
}
}
class parent {
static {
System.out.println("inside parent Static block");
}
{
System.out.println("inside parent initialisation block");
}
parent() {
System.out.println("inside parent constructor");
}
}
this gives
inside parent Static block
inside satic block
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside parent initialisation block
inside parent constructor
inside initialization block
inside constructor of child
inside main
its like stating the obvious but seems a little more clear.
The sample code, which is approved as an answer here is correct, but I disagree with it. It does not shows what is happening and I'm going to show you a good example to understand how actually the JVM works:
package test;
class A {
A() {
print();
}
void print() {
System.out.println("A");
}
}
class B extends A {
static int staticVariable2 = 123456;
static int staticVariable;
static
{
System.out.println(staticVariable2);
System.out.println("Static Initialization block");
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
int instanceVariable;
{
System.out.println("Initialization block");
instanceVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
staticVariable = Math.round(3.5f);
}
B() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
A a = new B();
a.print();
System.out.println("main");
}
void print() {
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
}
static void somethingElse() {
System.out.println("Static method");
}
}
Before to start commenting on the source code, I'll give you a short explanation of static variables of a class:
First thing is that they are called class variables, they belong to the class not to particular instance of the class. All instances of the class share this static(class) variable. Each and every variable has a default value, depending on primitive or reference type. Another thing is when you reassign the static variable in some of the members of the class (initialization blocks, constructors, methods, properties) and doing so you are changing the value of the static variable not for particular instance, you are changing it for all instances. To conclude static part I will say that the static variables of a class are created not when you instantiate for first time the class, they are created when you define your class, they exist in JVM without the need of any instances. Therefor the correct access of static members from external class (class in which they are not defined) is by using the class name following by dot and then the static member, which you want to access (template: <CLASS_NAME>.<STATIC_VARIABLE_NAME>).
Now let's look at the code above:
The entry point is the main method - there are just three lines of code. I want to refer to the example which is currently approved. According to it the first thing which must be printed after printing "Static Initialization block" is "Initialization block" and here is my disagreement, the non-static initialization block is not called before the constructor, it is called before any initializations of the constructors of the class in which the initialization block is defined. The constructor of the class is the first thing involved when you create an object (instance of the class) and then when you enter the constructor the first part called is either implicit (default) super constructor or explicit super constructor or explicit call to another overloaded constructor (but at some point if there is a chain of overloaded constructors, the last one calls a super constructor, implicitly or explicitly).
There is polymorphic creation of an object, but before to enter the class B and its main method, the JVM initializes all class(static) variables, then goes through the static initialization blocks if any exist and then enters the class B and starts with the execution of the main method. It goes to the constructor of class B then immediately (implicitly) calls constructor of class A, using polymorphism the method(overridden method) called in the body of the constructor of class A is the one which is defined in class B and in this case the variable named instanceVariable is used before reinitialization. After closing the constructor of class B the thread is returned to constructor of class B but it goes first to the non-static initialization block before printing "Constructor". For better understanding debug it with some IDE, I prefer Eclipse.
Initializer block contains the code that is always executed whenever
an instance is created. It is used to declare/initialise the common
part of various constructors of a class.
The order of initialization constructors and initializer block doesn’t matter, initializer block is always executed before constructor.
What if we want to execute some code once for all objects of a class?
We use Static Block in Java.
In addition to what was said in previous answers, blocks can be synchronized .. never felt I need to use it, however,it's there
Initialization blocks are executed whenever the class is initialized and before constructors are invoked. They are typically placed above the constructors within braces. It is not at all necessary to include them in your classes.
They are typically used to initialize reference variables. This page gives a good explanation
The question is not entirely clear, but here's a brief description of ways you can initialise data in an object. Let's suppose you have a class A that holds a list of objects.
1) Put initial values in the field declaration:
class A {
private List<Object> data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
2) Assign initial values in the constructor:
class A {
private List<Object> data;
public A() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
}
}
These both assume that you do not want to pass "data" as a constructor argument.
Things get a little tricky if you mix overloaded constructors with internal data like above. Consider:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
name = "Default name";
userFriendlyName = "Default user friendly name";
}
public B(String name) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
userFriendlyName = name;
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
Notice that there is a lot of repeated code. You can fix this by making constructors call each other, or you can have a private initialisation method that each constructor calls:
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
this("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
this(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
or
class B {
private List<Object> data;
private String name;
private String userFriendlyName;
public B() {
init("Default name", "Default user friendly name");
}
public B(String name) {
init(name, name);
}
public B(String name, String userFriendlyName) {
init(name, userFriendlyName);
}
private void init(String _name, String _userFriendlyName) {
data = new ArrayList<Object>();
this.name = name;
this.userFriendlyName = userFriendlyName;
}
}
The two are (more or less) equivalent.
I hope that gives you some hints on how to initialise data in your objects. I won't talk about static initialisation blocks as that's probably a bit advanced at the moment.
EDIT: I've interpreted your question as "how do I initialise my instance variables", not "how do initialiser blocks work" as initialiser blocks are a relatively advanced concept, and from the tone of the question it seems you're asking about the simpler concept. I could be wrong.
public class StaticInitializationBlock {
static int staticVariable;
int instanceVariable;
// Static Initialization Block
static {
System.out.println("Static block");
staticVariable = 5;
}
// Instance Initialization Block
{
instanceVariable = 7;
System.out.println("Instance Block");
System.out.println(staticVariable);
System.out.println(instanceVariable);
staticVariable = 10;
}
public StaticInitializationBlock() {
System.out.println("Constructor");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new StaticInitializationBlock();
new StaticInitializationBlock();
}
}
Output:
Static block
Instance Block
5
7
Constructor
Instance Block
10
7
Constructor
Just to add to the excellent answers from #aioobe and #Biman Tripathy.
A static initializer is the equivalent of a constructor in the static context. which is needed to setup the static environment.
A instance initializer is best for anonymous inner classes.
It is also possible to have multiple initializer blocks in class
When we have multiple initializer blocks they are executed (actually copied to constructors by JVM) in the order they appear
Order of initializer blocks matters, but order of initializer blocks mixed with Constructors doesn't
Abstract classes can also have both static and instance initializer blocks.
Code Demo -
abstract class Aircraft {
protected Integer seatCapacity;
{ // Initial block 1, Before Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 1");
}
Aircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: Aircraft constructor");
}
{ // Initial block 2, After Constructor
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 2");
}
}
class SupersonicAircraft extends Aircraft {
{ // Initial block 3, Internalizing a instance variable
seatCapacity = 300;
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 3");
}
{ // Initial block 4
System.out.println("Executing: Initial Block 4");
}
SupersonicAircraft() {
System.out.println("Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor");
}
}
An instance creation of SupersonicAircraft will produce logs in below order
Executing: Initial Block 1
Executing: Initial Block 2
Executing: Aircraft constructor
Executing: Initial Block 3
Executing: Initial Block 4
Executing: SupersonicAircraft constructor
Seat Capacity - 300