Can a Static Nested Class be Instantiated Multiple Times?

Question

Given what I know of every other type of static feature of programming––I would think the answer is \'no\'. However, seeing statements like OuterClass.StaticNestedClass ne

Answer 1

Static nested classes are indeed instanced - they are, as said, top-level classes which live in the namespace of the 'outer' class, and obey static semantics respecting references to the 'outer' class. This code sample demonstrates :

public class OuterClass {
    String outerStr = "this is the outer class!!" ;
    public static class StaticNestedClass {
        String innerStr = "default / first instance" ;      
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject1 = new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();        
        OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject2 = new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();
        nestedObject2.innerStr = "second instance" ;
        System.out.println(nestedObject1.innerStr) ;
        System.out.println(nestedObject2.innerStr) ;
    }
}

output:

default / first instance 
second instance