Reference Static Methods/Variables in Java from an Instance

Question

Can anyone explain to me why java allows you to access static methods and members from an instance? A bad example, if I have a class called RedShape and it has a static meth

Answer 1

There's really no reason why you can actually do this.

My only guess was that it would allow you to override static methods, but you can't.

If you try the following scenario:

Banana has a static method called 'test' (this prints 'banana') Apple extends Banana and "overrides" the static method called 'test' (this prints 'apple')

and you do something like this:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    Apple apple = new Apple();
    Banana banana = new Banana();
    Banana base = new Apple();

    apple.test();
    banana.test();
    base.test();
}

The resulting output is:

apple
banana
banana

So effectively, it's pretty useless.