Java Language Inheritance Static Inheritance
Example
Static method can be inherited similar to normal methods, however unlike normal methods it is impossible to create "abstract" methods in order to force static method overriding. Writing a method with the same signature as a static method in a super class appears to be a form of overriding, but really this simply creates a new function hides the other.
public class BaseClass {
public static int num = 5;
public static void sayHello() {
System.out.println("Hello");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
BaseClass.sayHello();
System.out.println("BaseClass's num: " + BaseClass.num);
SubClass.sayHello();
//This will be different than the above statement's output, since it runs
//A different method
SubClass.sayHello(true);
StaticOverride.sayHello();
System.out.println("StaticOverride's num: " + StaticOverride.num);
}
}
public class SubClass extends BaseClass {
//Inherits the sayHello function, but does not override it
public static void sayHello(boolean test) {
System.out.println("Hey");
}
}
public static class StaticOverride extends BaseClass {
//Hides the num field from BaseClass
//You can even change the type, since this doesn't affect the signature
public static String num = "test";
//Cannot use @Override annotation, since this is static
//This overrides the sayHello method from BaseClass
public static void sayHello() {
System.out.println("Static says Hi");
}
}
Running any of these classes produces the output:
Hello
BaseClass's num: 5
Hello
Hey
Static says Hi
StaticOverride's num: test
Note that unlike normal inheritance, in static inheritance methods are not hidden. You can always call the base sayHello method by using BaseClass.sayHello(). But classes do inherit static methods if no methods with the same signature are found in the subclass. If two method's signatures vary, both methods can be run from the subclass, even if the name is the same.
Static fields hide each other in a similar way.
