Java Static Methods

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use Java static methods to define behaviors at the class level.

Introduction to Java static methods #

In Java, static methods are methods that belong to the class, rather than a specific instance of the class.

In practice, static methods are often used for creating utility functions, any operations that don’t depend on the object-specific state.

Defining static methods #

To define a static method, you use the static keyword before the return type of the method:

public class MyClass {
    public static returnType methodName(parameters) {
        // Method body
    }
}Copy

Invoking static methods #

To call a static method, you use a class name, followed by a dot, and the method name:

MyClass.staticMethod();Copy

Java static method example #

The following example shows how to define a class called TemperatureConverter that contains two static methods:

public class TemperatureConverter {
    public static double CToF(double value) {
        return value * 9 / 5 + 32;
    }

    public static double FToC(double value) {
        return (value - 32) * 5 / 9;
    }
}Copy

The CToF method converts a temperature from C to F and the FToC converts a temperature from F to C.

The following program shows how to use the TemperatureConverter class:

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        var c = 38;
        var f = TemperatureConverter.CToF(c);

        System.out.println(f);
    }
}Copy

Output:

100.4Copy

Summary #

• Java static methods are bound to the class, not the instances of the class.
• Use static methods for defining classes with utility functions.