Java: When is a static initialization block useful?

Question

What\'s the difference between initialization within a static block:

public class staticTest {

    sta         


        

Answer 1

Exception handling during initialization is another reason. For example:

static URL url;
static {
    try {
        url = new URL("https://blahblah.com");
    }
    catch (MalformedURLException mue) {
        //log exception or handle otherwise
    }
}

This is useful for constructors that annoyingly throw checked exceptions, like above, or else more complex initialization logic that might be exception-prone.