Static Fields

• Three ways to initialize:
  1. Do nothing. Field is with 0 (for numbers), false (for boolean values), or null (for objects)
  2. Use an explicit initializer, such as

     public class BankAccount
     {
        . . .
        private static int lastAssignedNumber = 1000; // Executed once,
                                                      // when class is loaded
     }

  3. Use a static initialization block
• Static fields should always be declared as private
• Exception: Static constants, which may be either private or public
  

  public class BankAccount
  {
     . . .
     public static final double OVERDRAFT_FEE = 5; // Refer to it as
                                                   // BankAccount.OVERDRAFT_FEE
  }