Why java doesn't allow initializing static variable inside a method?

Question

I know that C++ supports static variables in a method and in java, static members are shared among all objects.but why this code fails to compile in java?

class Learn
{
 static int count = 0;
 Learn(int n)
 {
    count+=n;
 }
 public void method()
 {
    static int count =0;
 }
}
public class th
{
  public static void main(String a[])
  {
    Learn l = new Learn(4);
  }
}

Answer 1

It doesn't allow you to initialize static variables inside methods because variables initialized methods are destroyed after the method has been called, and a static variable is not only accessible outside the method but outside the class. Those two ideas are conflicting.

Answer 2

Java doesn't allow you to declare a static local variable, such as the count you're declaring in method . If you want to initialize the static class variable, then in method , replace

static int count =0;

with

count = 0;

Answer 3

In java, you declare the static variable outside the method to have the same effect as declaring it static inside the method in C++.

I know that using static outside a method in C++ gives the variable "file scope", but java is different.

If you need a few lines of code to initialize the variable, then use an anonymous static method to initialize it when the class loads

static {
    count = 0;
}

Answer 4

Unlike C++, Java doesn't support static local variables. Because In Java, a static variable is a class variable (for whole class). All methods are declared inside the class, Its not possible to declare member function or any variables outside a class. Even main() method should be inside a class. So if we have static local variable (a variable with scope limited to function), it violates the purpose of static. Hence compiler does not allow static local variable.