Static Classes In Java

Question

Is there anything like static class in java?

What is the meaning of such a class. Do all the methods of the static class need to be static

Answer 1

In simple terms, Java supports the declaration of a class to be static only for the inner classes but not for the top level classes.

top level classes: A java project can contain more than one top level classes in each java source file, one of the classes being named after the file name. There are only three options or keywords allowed in front of the top level classes, public, abstract and final.

Inner classes: classes that are inside of a top level class are called inner classes, which is basically the concept of nested classes. Inner classes can be static. The idea making the inner classes static, is to take the advantage of instantiating the objects of inner classes without instantiating the object of the top level class. This is exactly the same way as the static methods and variables work inside of a top level class.

Hence Java Supports Static Classes at Inner Class Level (in nested classes)

And Java Does Not Support Static Classes at Top Level Classes.

I hope this gives a simpler solution to the question for basic understanding of the static classes in Java.