Think of a cookie (the kind you bake) as an object. Now think of a cookie cutter as a class. Just as the cookie cutter is used to makes cookies, classes are used to make objects (via instantiation, typically by an operator named new). An object is an "instance of a class." Objects are NOT classes. Don't confuse the two. Objects are instances of classes. Buildings are instances of blue prints, cookies are instances of cookie cutters. A class is a set of "instructions" for making objects. You can add your own information to a class by using statics. Just like the instructions for making objects, there is only one of every static in a class. If you only need one instance of a class, you can make all the variables static (this works, but it's not advised -- there are better ways). If you need multiple instances of a class, like a collection of identical objects (a basket of kittens) or related objects (a basket of mammals, which includes kittens and puppies), then, in general, you don't want to define variables as static (for example, each animal has its own birth date, name, description, weight, etc.). Anything you define as static exists only once and is common to all of the instantiated classes. If any one instance of the class changes the static value, all instances of the class see that change.
I suggest you read a good book about object oriented programming. Here's a good one:
Object Oriented Modeling and Design by James Rumbaugh, Michael Blaha, William Premerlani, Frecerick Eddy and William Lorensen).
