dan's single topic exams-anonymous arrays

[Jui Mahajan]

In his single topic exams, Dan says that anonymous classes cannot be static. But in the following example (which is also from the same exam), the anonymous class is static and the example compiles. How ?

abstract class A {
  private int x = 4;
  private int y = 2;
  public A(int i1) {x=i1;}
  public int x() {return x;}
  public void x(int x) {this.x = x;}
  public int y() {return y;}
  public void y(int y) {this.y = y;}
  public void incY() {y++;}
  public abstract int math();
}
class B {
  static A a1 = new A(2) {
    {incY();}
    public int math() {return x()+y();}
  };
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.print(a1.math());
  }
}

[ Jess added UBB [code] tags to make code easier to read, check 'em out! ]
[ August 24, 2003: Message edited by: Jessica Sant ]

[Jose Botella]

from JLS 8.1.2

An inner class is a nested class that is not explicitly or implicitly declared static.
.
.
.
Inner classes include local, anonymous and member non-static classes

Hope it helps

[Shabbir Rahman]

Actually

 
A(2) {
    {incY();}   
    public int math() {
         return x()+y();
    }  
}    

means

 
class [anonymous ] extents A {
    {incY();}   
    public int math() {
         return x()+y();
    }  
}    

and by using 'new A(2)', you are creating object of anonymous class by calling the constructor which takes integer as parameter. Then you are keeping that object reference in a static reference.
[ August 24, 2003: Message edited by: Shabbir Asiqur ]