inner class

[madhur jain]

hi!
can a non-static inner class contain a final static variable which is a compile time constant
the Dan's mock says yes.
but then we should be able to access it like
new Outer().NonStaticInner.e);
but this gives error
instead this works.
new Outer().new NonStaticInner().e);
why!
also can a nested interface have accesibility modifiesrs.
madhur.

[Jessica Sant]

Originally posted by madhur jain:
can a non-static inner class contain a final static variable which is a compile time constant
the Dan's mock says yes.

The JLS says yes too: �8.1.2 Inner Classes and Enclosing Instances "Inner classes may not declare static members, unless they are compile-time constant fields"

Originally posted by madhur jain:
also can a nested interface have accesibility modifiesrs.

I think it can have any accessibility: �9.1.1 Interface Modifiers "The access modifier public is discussed... The access modifiers protected and private pertain only to member interfaces within a directly enclosing class declaration."
Please correct me if I mis-read the JLS for the 2nd question

[Dan Chisholm]

Originally posted by madhur jain:
hi!
but then we should be able to access it like
new Outer().NonStaticInner.e);
but this gives error
instead this works.
new Outer().new NonStaticInner().e);
why!
madhur.

Yes, the first syntax example does not work but the second one does. It is necessary to create an instance of the NonStaticInner class before attempting to access any member of the class.
Since the constant value that you are attempting to access does exist at compile time it would have been possible to design the language such that the compile time constant can be accessed without first creating an instance of the NonStaticInner class. It appears that James Gosling didn't feel that it was worth the trouble.

1.  class Outer {
2.    static class StaticNested {
3.      static final int a = 25;
4.      static final int b;
5.      static int c;
6.      int d;
7.      static {b = 42;}
8.    }
9.    class NonStaticInner {
10.     static final int e = 25;
11.     static final int f; // compiler error
12.     static int g; // compiler error
13.     int h;
14.     static {f = 42;} // compiler error
15.   }
16. }

[Vin Kris]

Madhur, Inner classes may have compile constants. That you already know. But the inner class is not static - 'NonStaticInner'. So you cannot access it directly since It is not in the scope of a static method of the enclosing class.
Another anology - class instance variables cannot be accessed directly from static methods.