What is static keyword in java?

static variable

    It is a variable which belongs to the class. 

    Static variables are initialized only once , at the start of the execution .

   These variables will be initialized first, before the initialization of any instance variables

    A single copy of static variable is shared  by all instances of the class

    A static variable can be accessed directly by the class name and does not  need any object

    Syntax : ClassName.StaticVariableName

  

   static method

    It is a method which belongs to the class and not to the object(instance)

    A static method can access only static data. It can not access non-static data (instance variables)

    A static method can call only other static methods and can not call a non-static method from it.

    A static method can be accessed directly by the class name and doesn’t need any object

    Syntax : ClassName.StaticMethodName

    A static method cannot refer to “this” or “super” keywords in anyway

    Side Note:

    main method is static , since it must be be accessible for an application to run , before any instantiation takes place.

static block

The static block, is a block of statement inside a Java class that will be executed when a class is first loaded in to the JVM

   

class Test{

 static {

 //Code goes here

 }

}

A static block helps to initialize the static data members, just like constructors help to initialize instance members