Is there a way to override class variables in Java?

Question

class Dad
{
    protected static String me = \"dad\";

    public void printMe()
    {
        System.out.println(me);
    }
}

class Son extends Dad
{
    protected         


        

Answer 1

It indeed prints 'dad', since the field is not overridden but hidden. There are three approaches to make it print 'son':

Approach 1: override printMe

class Dad
{
    protected static String me = "dad";

    public void printMe()
    {
        System.out.println(me);
    }
}

class Son extends Dad
{
    protected static String me = "son";

    @override
    public void printMe()
    {
        System.out.println(me);
    }
}

public void doIt()
{
    new Son().printMe();
}

Approach 2: don't hide the field and initialize it in the constructor

class Dad
{
    protected static String me = "dad";

    public void printMe()
    {
        System.out.println(me);
    }
}

class Son extends Dad
{
    public Son()
    {
        me = "son";
    }
}

public void doIt()
{
    new Son().printMe();
}

Approach 3: use the static value to initialize a field in the constructor

class Dad
{
    private static String meInit = "Dad";

    protected String me;

    public Dad() 
    {
       me = meInit;
    }

    public void printMe()
    {
        System.out.println(me);
    }
}

class Son extends Dad
{
    private static String meInit = "son";

    public Son()
    {
        me = meInit;
    }

}

public void doIt()
{
    new Son().printMe();
}