Re: static methods in interfaces

From:
Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.programmer
Date:
Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:41:34 GMT
Message-ID:
<OJQbi.3825$tb6.30@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>
ballpointpenthief wrote:

Patricia Shanahan wrote:

ballpointpenthief wrote:

Only something that compiles can be an SSCCE, but it is an SSCE (static
self-contained example).


sorry, I meant SSCunCE.
It should now be clear why this can't be an instance method (there
might not event *be* any instances)

(I have reason not to use an abstract class.)


public interface TheInterface {
    public static String getSomethingReleventToClass();

}

public Class AClass implements TheInterface {
    private static String somethingReleventToClass = "This will be
different
in each class"; // *** I've changed this to static here ***
    public static String getSomethingReleventToClass() {
        return somethingReleventToClass;
    }

}

public Class Application {
    private TheInterface someClass;
    public Application() {
        someClass.getSomethingReleventToClass();
    }
}


How is the compiler supposed to know which class to use to do the call?

If someClass is null at the time of the call, then the only type or
class information is the compile-time type TheInterface, and it does not
have an implementation of getSomethingReleventToClass. If someClass is
required to be non-null at time of the call, then the instance method
approach works.

Patricia

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