Static method from superclass called on subclass

Question

I need to call a superclass static method on a subclass and be aware that it was called on a subclass. The following code shows the use case, please notice the method invocation on a subclass B.importantMethod() and the place where I need to know that it was called on subclass: //would like to get B here.

class A {
    public static void importantMethod() {
        System.out.println("???"); //would like to get B here
    }
}

class B extends A {
    //no implementation, just inheritance
}

public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        B.importantMethod();
    }
}

Any possible way of achieving this will be good for me. My tries ended up with nothing, I always get A, not B.

Well that seems like a very bizarre thing to do. What is that you want to solve - maybe we can help you find a better way to do it. — Rafal G., Jun 15 '16 at 06:09
You can probably do this using Groovy, in which you can write pure Java, but not with Java — William Greenly, Jun 15 '16 at 06:27

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 15 '16 at 06:21

2

This is just not possible. Static methods always belong to the class that defines them. importantMethod is a method of class A.

answered Jun 15 '16 at 06:21

Nikem

5,716
3
32
59

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:52

1

static methods are class methods and thus belong to that class; there is no way to do what you want. For a further explanation, see this topic. If you provide more information about the problem you are trying address this way, may be we can help you find an alternative solution.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:52

Community

1
1

answered Jun 15 '16 at 06:34

Charles Greiner

63
8

Static method from superclass called on subclass

2 Answers2