What is the main difference between an inner class and a static nested class in Java? Does design / implementation play a role in choosing one of these?
28 Answers
From the Java Tutorial:
Nested classes are divided into two categories: static and non-static. Nested classes that are declared static are simply called static nested classes. Non-static nested classes are called inner classes.
Static nested classes are accessed using the enclosing class name:
OuterClass.StaticNestedClass
For example, to create an object for the static nested class, use this syntax:
OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject = new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();
Objects that are instances of an inner class exist within an instance of the outer class. Consider the following classes:
class OuterClass {
...
class InnerClass {
...
}
}
An instance of InnerClass can exist only within an instance of OuterClass and has direct access to the methods and fields of its enclosing instance.
To instantiate an inner class, you must first instantiate the outer class. Then, create the inner object within the outer object with this syntax:
OuterClass outerObject = new OuterClass()
OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = outerObject.new InnerClass();
see: Java Tutorial - Nested Classes
For completeness note that there is also such a thing as an inner class without an enclosing instance:
class A {
int t() { return 1; }
static A a = new A() { int t() { return 2; } };
}
Here, new A() { ... } is an inner class defined in a static context and does not have an enclosing instance.
The Java tutorial says:
Terminology: Nested classes are divided into two categories: static and non-static. Nested classes that are declared static are simply called static nested classes. Non-static nested classes are called inner classes.
In common parlance, the terms "nested" and "inner" are used interchangeably by most programmers, but I'll use the correct term "nested class" which covers both inner and static.
Classes can be nested ad infinitum, e.g. class A can contain class B which contains class C which contains class D, etc. However, more than one level of class nesting is rare, as it is generally bad design.
There are three reasons you might create a nested class:
- organization: sometimes it seems most sensible to sort a class into the namespace of another class, especially when it won't be used in any other context
- access: nested classes have special access to the variables/fields of their containing classes (precisely which variables/fields depends on the kind of nested class, whether inner or static).
- convenience: having to create a new file for every new type is bothersome, again, especially when the type will only be used in one context
There are four kinds of nested class in Java. In brief, they are:
- static class: declared as a static member of another class
- inner class: declared as an instance member of another class
- local inner class: declared inside an instance method of another class
- anonymous inner class: like a local inner class, but written as an expression which returns a one-off object
Let me elaborate in more details.
Static Classes
Static classes are the easiest kind to understand because they have nothing to do with instances of the containing class.
A static class is a class declared as a static member of another class. Just like other static members, such a class is really just a hanger on that uses the containing class as its namespace, e.g. the class Goat declared as a static member of class Rhino in the package pizza is known by the name pizza.Rhino.Goat.
package pizza;
public class Rhino {
...
public static class Goat {
...
}
}
Frankly, static classes are a pretty worthless feature because classes are already divided into namespaces by packages. The only real conceivable reason to create a static class is that such a class has access to its containing class's private static members, but I find this to be a pretty lame justification for the static class feature to exist.
Inner Classes
An inner class is a class declared as a non-static member of another class:
package pizza;
public class Rhino {
public class Goat {
...
}
private void jerry() {
Goat g = new Goat();
}
}
Like with a static class, the inner class is known as qualified by its containing class name, pizza.Rhino.Goat, but inside the containing class, it can be known by its simple name. However, every instance of an inner class is tied to a particular instance of its containing class: above, the Goat created in jerry, is implicitly tied to the Rhino instance this in jerry. Otherwise, we make the associated Rhino instance explicit when we instantiate Goat:
Rhino rhino = new Rhino();
Rhino.Goat goat = rhino.new Goat();
(Notice you refer to the inner type as just Goat in the weird new syntax: Java infers the containing type from the rhino part. And, yes new rhino.Goat() would have made more sense to me too.)
So what does this gain us? Well, the inner class instance has access to the instance members of the containing class instance. These enclosing instance members are referred to inside the inner class via just their simple names, not via this (this in the inner class refers to the inner class instance, not the associated containing class instance):
public class Rhino {
private String barry;
public class Goat {
public void colin() {
System.out.println(barry);
}
}
}
In the inner class, you can refer to this of the containing class as Rhino.this, and you can use this to refer to its members, e.g. Rhino.this.barry.
Local Inner Classes
A local inner class is a class declared in the body of a method. Such a class is only known within its containing method, so it can only be instantiated and have its members accessed within its containing method. The gain is that a local inner class instance is tied to and can access the final local variables of its containing method. When the instance uses a final local of its containing method, the variable retains the value it held at the time of the instance's creation, even if the variable has gone out of scope (this is effectively Java's crude, limited version of closures).
Because a local inner class is neither the member of a class or package, it is not declared with an access level. (Be clear, however, that its own members have access levels like in a normal class.)
If a local inner class is declared in an instance method, an instantiation of the inner class is tied to the instance held by the containing method's this at the time of the instance's creation, and so the containing class's instance members are accessible like in an instance inner class. A local inner class is instantiated simply via its name, e.g. local inner class Cat is instantiated as new Cat(), not new this.Cat() as you might expect.
Anonymous Inner Classes
An anonymous inner class is a syntactically convenient way of writing a local inner class. Most commonly, a local inner class is instantiated at most just once each time its containing method is run. It would be nice, then, if we could combine the local inner class definition and its single instantiation into one convenient syntax form, and it would also be nice if we didn't have to think up a name for the class (the fewer unhelpful names your code contains, the better). An anonymous inner class allows both these things:
new *ParentClassName*(*constructorArgs*) {*members*}
This is an expression returning a new instance of an unnamed class which extends ParentClassName. You cannot supply your own constructor; rather, one is implicitly supplied which simply calls the super constructor, so the arguments supplied must fit the super constructor. (If the parent contains multiple constructors, the “simplest” one is called, “simplest” as determined by a rather complex set of rules not worth bothering to learn in detail--just pay attention to what NetBeans or Eclipse tell you.)
Alternatively, you can specify an interface to implement:
new *InterfaceName*() {*members*}
Such a declaration creates a new instance of an unnamed class which extends Object and implements InterfaceName. Again, you cannot supply your own constructor; in this case, Java implicitly supplies a no-arg, do-nothing constructor (so there will never be constructor arguments in this case).
Even though you can't give an anonymous inner class a constructor, you can still do any setup you want using an initializer block (a {} block placed outside any method).
Be clear that an anonymous inner class is simply a less flexible way of creating a local inner class with one instance. If you want a local inner class which implements multiple interfaces or which implements interfaces while extending some class other than Object or which specifies its own constructor, you're stuck creating a regular named local inner class.
I don't think the real difference became clear in the above answers.
First to get the terms right:
- A nested class is a class which is contained in another class at the source code level.
- It is static if you declare it with the static modifier.
- A non-static nested class is called inner class. (I stay with non-static nested class.)
Martin's answer is right so far. However, the actual question is: What is the purpose of declaring a nested class static or not?
You use static nested classes if you just want to keep your classes together if they belong topically together or if the nested class is exclusively used in the enclosing class. There is no semantic difference between a static nested class and every other class.
Non-static nested classes are a different beast. Similar to anonymous inner classes, such nested classes are actually closures. That means they capture their surrounding scope and their enclosing instance and make that accessible. Perhaps an example will clarify that. See this stub of a Container:
public class Container {
public class Item{
Object data;
public Container getContainer(){
return Container.this;
}
public Item(Object data) {
super();
this.data = data;
}
}
public static Item create(Object data){
// does not compile since no instance of Container is available
return new Item(data);
}
public Item createSubItem(Object data){
// compiles, since 'this' Container is available
return new Item(data);
}
}
In this case you want to have a reference from a child item to the parent container. Using a non-static nested class, this works without some work. You can access the enclosing instance of Container with the syntax Container.this.
More hardcore explanations following:
If you look at the Java bytecodes the compiler generates for an (non-static) nested class it might become even clearer:
// class version 49.0 (49)
// access flags 33
public class Container$Item {
// compiled from: Container.java
// access flags 1
public INNERCLASS Container$Item Container Item
// access flags 0
Object data
// access flags 4112
final Container this$0
// access flags 1
public getContainer() : Container
L0
LINENUMBER 7 L0
ALOAD 0: this
GETFIELD Container$Item.this$0 : Container
ARETURN
L1
LOCALVARIABLE this Container$Item L0 L1 0
MAXSTACK = 1
MAXLOCALS = 1
// access flags 1
public <init>(Container,Object) : void
L0
LINENUMBER 12 L0
ALOAD 0: this
ALOAD 1
PUTFIELD Container$Item.this$0 : Container
L1
LINENUMBER 10 L1
ALOAD 0: this
INVOKESPECIAL Object.<init>() : void
L2
LINENUMBER 11 L2
ALOAD 0: this
ALOAD 2: data
PUTFIELD Container$Item.data : Object
RETURN
L3
LOCALVARIABLE this Container$Item L0 L3 0
LOCALVARIABLE data Object L0 L3 2
MAXSTACK = 2
MAXLOCALS = 3
}
As you can see the compiler creates a hidden field Container this$0. This is set in the constructor which has an additional parameter of type Container to specify the enclosing instance. You can't see this parameter in the source but the compiler implicitly generates it for a nested class.
Martin's example
OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = outerObject.new InnerClass();
would so be compiled to a call of something like (in bytecodes)
new InnerClass(outerObject)
For the sake of completeness:
An anonymous class is a perfect example of a non-static nested class which just has no name associated with it and can't be referenced later.
I think, the convention that is generally followed is this:
- static class within a top level class is a nested class
- non static class within a top level class is a inner class, which further
has two more form:
- local class - named classes declared inside of a block like a method or constructor body
- anonymous class - unnamed classes whose instances are created in expressions and statements
However, few other points to remembers are:
Top level classes and static nested class are semantically same except that in case of static nested class it can make static reference to private static fields/methods of its Outer [parent] class and vice versa.
Inner classes have access to instance variables of the enclosing instance of the Outer [parent] class. However, not all inner classes have enclosing instances, for example inner classes in static contexts, like an anonymous class used in a static initializer block, do not.
Anonymous class by default extends the parent class or implements the parent interface and there is no further clause to extend any other class or implement any more interfaces. So,
new YourClass(){};meansclass [Anonymous] extends YourClass {}new YourInterface(){};meansclass [Anonymous] implements YourInterface {}
I feel that the bigger question that remains open which one to use and when? Well that mostly depends on what scenario you are dealing with but reading the reply given by @jrudolph may help you making some decision.
The instance of the inner class is created when instance of the outer class is created. Therefore the members and methods of the inner class have access to the members and methods of the instance (object) of the outer class. When the instance of the outer class goes out of scope, also the inner class instances cease to exist.
The static nested class doesn't have a concrete instance. It's just loaded when it's used for the first time (just like the static methods). It's a completely independent entity, whose methods and variables doesn't have any access to the instances of the outer class.
The static nested classes are not coupled with the outer object, they are faster, and they don't take heap/stack memory, because its not necessary to create instance of such class. Therefore the rule of thumb is to try to define static nested class, with as limited scope as possible (private >= class >= protected >= public), and then convert it to inner class (by removing "static" identifier) and loosen the scope, if it's really necessary.
The terms are used interchangeably. If you want to be really pedantic about it, then you could define "nested class" to refer to a static inner class, one which has no enclosing instance. In code, you might have something like this:
public class Outer {
public class Inner {}
public static class Nested {}
}
That's not really a widely accepted definition though.
In the case of creating instance, the instance of non static inner class is created with the reference of object of outer class in which it is defined. This means it have inclosing instance. But the instance of static inner class is created with the reference of Outer class, not with the reference of object of outer class. This means it have not inclosing instance.
For example:
class A
{
class B
{
// static int x; not allowed here…..
}
static class C
{
static int x; // allowed here
}
}
class Test
{
public static void main(String… str)
{
A o=new A();
A.B obj1 =o.new B();//need of inclosing instance
A.C obj2 =new A.C();
// not need of reference of object of outer class….
}
}
Ummm… An inner class is a nested class… Do you mean anonymous class and inner class?
Edit: If you actually meant inner v.s. anonymous: an inner class is just a class defined within a class, such as:
public class A {
public class B {
}
}
…whereas an anonymous class is an extension of a class defined anonymously, so no actual "class" is defined, as in:
public class A {
}
A anon = new A() { /* You could change behavior of A here */ };
Further edit:
Wikipedia claims there is a difference in Java, but I've been working with Java for eight years, and it's the first time I heard such a distinction – not to mention there are no references there to back up the claim… Bottom line, an inner class is a class defined within a class (static or not), and nested is just another term to mean the same thing.
There is a subtle difference between static and non-static nested classes… Basically, non-static inner classes have implicit access to instance fields and methods of the enclosing class (thus they cannot be constructed in a static context, it will be a compiler error). On the other hand, static nested classes don't have implicit access to instance fields and methods and can be constructed in a static context.
Nested class is a very general term: every class which is not top level is a nested class. An inner class is a non-static nested class. Joseph Darcy wrote a very nice explanation about Nested, Inner, Member, and Top-Level Classes.
I think that none of the above answers give the real example to you the difference between a nested class and a static nested class in term of application design. And the main difference between static nested class and inner class is the ability to access the outer class instance field.
Let us take a look at the two following examples.
Static nest class: An good example of using static nested classes is builder pattern (https://dzone.com/articles/design-patterns-the-builder-pattern).
For BankAccount we use a static nested class, mainly because
Static nest class instance could be created before the outer class.
In the builder pattern, the builder is a helper class which is used to create the BankAccount.
- BankAccount.Builder is only associated with BankAccount. No other classes are related to BankAccount.Builder. so it is better to organize them together without using name convention.
public class BankAccount {
private long accountNumber;
private String owner;
...
public static class Builder {
private long accountNumber;
private String owner;
...
static public Builder(long accountNumber) {
this.accountNumber = accountNumber;
}
public Builder withOwner(String owner){
this.owner = owner;
return this;
}
...
public BankAccount build(){
BankAccount account = new BankAccount();
account.accountNumber = this.accountNumber;
account.owner = this.owner;
...
return account;
}
}
}
Inner class: A common use of inner classes is to define an event handler. https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/events/generalrules.html
For MyClass, we use the inner class, mainly because:
Inner class MyAdapter need to access the outer class member.
In the example, MyAdapter is only associated with MyClass. No other classes are related to MyAdapter. so it is better to organize them together without using a name convention
public class MyClass extends Applet {
...
someObject.addMouseListener(new MyAdapter());
...
class MyAdapter extends MouseAdapter {
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
...// Event listener implementation goes here...
...// change some outer class instance property depend on the event
}
}
}
A diagram
The main difference between static nested and non-static nested classes is that static nested does not have an access to non-static outer class members
I think people here should notice to Poster that : Static Nest Class just only the first inner class. For example:
public static class A {} //ERROR
public class A {
public class B {
public static class C {} //ERROR
}
}
public class A {
public static class B {} //COMPILE !!!
}
So, summarize, static class doesn't depend which class its contains. So, they cannot in normal class. (because normal class need an instance).
The Java programming language allows you to define a class within another class. Such a class is called a nested class and is illustrated here:
class OuterClass {
...
class NestedClass {
...
}
}
Nested classes are divided into two categories: static and non-static. Nested classes that are declared static are called static nested classes. Non-static nested classes are called inner classes. One thing that we should keep in mind is Non-static nested classes (inner classes) have access to other members of the enclosing class, even if they are declared private. Static nested classes only have access to other members of the enclosing class if those are static. It can not access non static members of the outer class. As with class methods and variables, a static nested class is associated with its outer class. For example, to create an object for the static nested class, use this syntax:
OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject =
new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();
To instantiate an inner class, you must first instantiate the outer class. Then, create the inner object within the outer object with this syntax:
OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = new OuterClass().new InnerClass();
Why we use nested classes
- It is a way of logically grouping classes that are only used in one place.
- It increases encapsulation.
- It can lead to more readable and maintainable code.
Another use case for nested classes, in addition to those that already have been mentioned, is when the nested class has methods that should only be accessible from the outer class. This is possible because the outer class has access to the private constructors, fields and methods of the nested class.
In the example below, the Bank can issue a Bank.CreditCard, which has a private constructor, and can change a credit card's limit according to the current bank policy using the private setLimit(...) instance method of Bank.CreditCard. (A direct field access to the instance variable limit would also work in this case). From any other class only the public methods of Bank.CreditCard are accessible.
public class Bank {
// maximum limit as per current bank policy
// is subject to change
private int maxLimit = 7000;
// ------- PUBLIC METHODS ---------
public CreditCard issueCard(
final String firstName,
final String lastName
) {
final String number = this.generateNumber();
final int expiryDate = this.generateExpiryDate();
final int CVV = this.generateCVV();
return new CreditCard(firstName, lastName, number, expiryDate, CVV);
}
public boolean setLimit(
final CreditCard creditCard,
final int limit
) {
if (limit <= this.maxLimit) { // check against current bank policy limit
creditCard.setLimit(limit); // access private method Bank.CreditCard.setLimit(int)
return true;
}
return false;
}
// ------- PRIVATE METHODS ---------
private String generateNumber() {
return "1234-5678-9101-1123"; // the numbers should be unique for each card
}
private int generateExpiryDate() {
return 202405; // date is YYYY=2024, MM=05
}
private int generateCVV() {
return 123; // is in real-life less predictable
}
// ------- PUBLIC STATIC NESTED CLASS ---------
public static final class CreditCard {
private final String firstName;
private final String lastName;
private final String number;
private final int expiryDate;
private final int CVV;
private int balance;
private int limit = 100; // default limit
// the constructor is final but is accessible from outer class
private CreditCard(
final String firstName,
final String lastName,
final String number,
final int expiryDate,
final int CVV
) {
this.firstName = firstName;
this.lastName = lastName;
this.number = number;
this.expiryDate = expiryDate;
this.CVV = CVV;
}
// ------- PUBLIC METHODS ---------
public String getFirstName() {
return this.firstName;
}
public String getLastName() {
return this.lastName;
}
public String getNumber() {
return this.number;
}
public int getExpiryDate() {
return this.expiryDate;
}
// returns true if financial transaction is successful
// otherwise false
public boolean charge(final int amount) {
final int newBalance = this.balance - amount;
if (newBalance < -this.limit) {
return false;
}
this.balance = newBalance;
return true;
}
// ------- PRIVATE METHODS ---------
private int getCVV() {
return this.CVV;
}
private int getBalance() {
return this.balance;
}
private void setBalance(final int balance) {
this.balance = balance;
}
private int getLimit() {
return limit;
}
private void setLimit(final int limit) {
this.limit = limit;
}
}
}
Static nested classes access PRIVATE class-level static variables of the class they are defined in. That can be huge from an architectural standpoint (i.e. Service Locator pattern employing nested static helper classes in Services), and may help OP see why they exist along with inner classes.
I have illustrated various possible correct and error scenario which can occur in java code.
class Outter1 {
String OutStr;
Outter1(String str) {
OutStr = str;
}
public void NonStaticMethod(String st) {
String temp1 = "ashish";
final String tempFinal1 = "ashish";
// below static attribute not permitted
// static String tempStatic1 = "static";
// below static with final attribute not permitted
// static final String tempStatic1 = "ashish";
// synchronized keyword is not permitted below
class localInnerNonStatic1 {
synchronized public void innerMethod(String str11) {
str11 = temp1 +" sharma";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}
/*
// static method with final not permitted
public static void innerStaticMethod(String str11) {
str11 = temp1 +" india";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}*/
}
// static class not permitted below
// static class localInnerStatic1 { }
}
public static void StaticMethod(String st) {
String temp1 = "ashish";
final String tempFinal1 = "ashish";
// static attribute not permitted below
//static String tempStatic1 = "static";
// static with final attribute not permitted below
// static final String tempStatic1 = "ashish";
class localInnerNonStatic1 {
public void innerMethod(String str11) {
str11 = temp1 +" sharma";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}
/*
// static method with final not permitted
public static void innerStaticMethod(String str11) {
str11 = temp1 +" india";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}*/
}
// static class not permitted below
// static class localInnerStatic1 { }
}
// synchronized keyword is not permitted
static class inner1 {
static String temp1 = "ashish";
String tempNonStatic = "ashish";
// class localInner1 {
public void innerMethod(String str11) {
str11 = temp1 +" sharma";
str11 = str11+ tempNonStatic +" sharma";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}
public static void innerStaticMethod(String str11) {
// error in below step
str11 = temp1 +" india";
//str11 = str11+ tempNonStatic +" sharma";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}
//}
}
//synchronized keyword is not permitted below
class innerNonStatic1 {
//This is important we have to keep final with static modifier in non
// static innerclass below
static final String temp1 = "ashish";
String tempNonStatic = "ashish";
// class localInner1 {
synchronized public void innerMethod(String str11) {
tempNonStatic = tempNonStatic +" ...";
str11 = temp1 +" sharma";
str11 = str11+ tempNonStatic +" sharma";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}
/*
// error in below step
public static void innerStaticMethod(String str11) {
// error in below step
// str11 = tempNonStatic +" india";
str11 = temp1 +" india";
System.out.println("innerMethod ===> "+str11);
}*/
//}
}
}
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