Why is a subclass' static initializer not invoked when a static method declared in its superclass is invoked on the subclass?

Question

Given the following classes:

public abstract class Super {
    protected static Object staticVar;

    protected static void staticMethod() {
        System.out.p         


        

Answer 1

Be careful in your title, static fields and methods are NOT inherited. This means that when you comment staticMethod() in Sub , Sub.staticMethod() actually calls Super.staticMethod() then Sub static initializer is not executed.

However, the question is more interesting than I thought at the first sight : in my point of view, this shouldn't compile without a warning, just like when one calls a static method on an instance of the class.

EDIT: As @GeroldBroser pointed it, the first statement of this answer is wrong. Static methods are inherited as well but never overriden, simply hidden. I'm leaving the answer as is for history.