Should a java class' final fields always be static?

Question

I could not find any references online about this. But just wanted to know if final fields in a class should always be static or is it just a convention. Based

Answer 1

No, absolutely not - and it's not a convention.

static and final are entirely different things. static means that the field relates to the type rather than any particular instance of the type. final means that the field can't change value after initial assignment (which must occur during type/instance initialization).

static final fields are usually for constants - whereas instance fields which are final are usually used when creating immutable types.