Doubt in final variable

[meera kanekal]

This is from K&B's SCJP 5 Chapter 3 Assignments selftest question
public class Knowing {
static final long tooth = 343L;
static long doIt(long tooth) {
System.out.println(++tooth +"");
return ++tooth;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(tooth + " ");
final long tooth = 340L;
new Knowing().doIt(tooth);
System.out.println(tooth);
}

}
I would have expected a compiler error because there is a variable
static final long tooth in the class
and final long tooth in the main method. Since this is not shadowing and the class variable is static why isn't there a compiler error?
Thanks in advance,
Meera

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

You can always have a local variable (i.e., a variable defined inside a method) with the same name as a variable of any type in the enclosing class.

[Rajshekhar Paul]

meera kanekal wrote:Since this is not shadowing and the class variable is static why isn't there a compiler error?

I would like to know why this is not shadowing.

public class Knowing {
	static final long tooth = 343L; // line 1

	static long doIt(long tooth) {
		System.out.println(++tooth + ""); // line 2
		return ++tooth;
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		System.out.println(tooth + " ");
		final long tooth = 340L; // line 3 
		new Knowing().doIt(tooth); // line 4
		System.out.println(tooth); // line 5
	}

}

tooth at line 2 shadows tooth at line 1, method local variables can always shadow instance or static variables with the same name.
Same thing applies for tooth at line 3 which shadows tooth at line 1 and hence local variable of line 3 is used in line 4 and line 5.
So, no compile time error.

And please post your code examples inside CODE tags for better readability.

[meera kanekal]

I thought shadowing applied only to variables with the same access modifier. For example one is a static variable and the other isn't. Therefore I thought this was not shadowing. However thanks for clearing this up. BTW how do I post the code using tags?
Thanks,
Meera

[Rajshekhar Paul]

I thought shadowing applied only to variables with the same access modifier. For example one is a static variable and the other isn't.

I think that you are trying to mix-up static modifier and access modifiers. Just to remind you that, 'static' is not at all an access modifier.

Anyway, while you create a post/reply, in that page, you will find a lot of buttons above the textarea where you write your message. One of those buttons is named
as 'Code'. Click that button and you will be able to see CODE tags in your message. Put all the code related example inside those CODE tags.
Hope that helps.