meaning of protected static A.B newvar = null

Question

I was going throught a huge java project and I came across this line in a file.I am new to java and don't know what this means.Or more specifically

Should I look at PSStreamer.java OR Client.java to see the methods and member variables of the below object.

protected static PSStreamer.Client packetClient = null;

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 05 '13 at 01:44

This is what's being declared:

protected            // protected visibility modifier
static               // a class (static) member
PSStreamer.Client    // Client is an inner class of PSStreamer
packetClient = null; // variable name, null initial value

You should look inside PSStreamer to find the inner class Client, and that's where you'll find the attributes and methods of packetClient.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 05 '13 at 01:44

2

That is a static inner class.

It would look like this: (in PSStreamer.java):

class PSStreamer {
    ...
    static class Client {
        ...
    }
}

answered Aug 05 '13 at 01:44

SLaks

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Static class is not an inner-class. They're just nested. – Ravi K Thapliyal Aug 05 '13 at 01:51

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

That is a static nested class. It should be defined in the source code as

public class PSStreamer {

  public static class Client {
    // ..
  }
  // ..
}

So, you should be looking inside PSStreamer.java. Read more about Nested Classes.

Nested classes that are declared static are simply called static nested classes. Non-static nested classes are called inner classes.

Also, take a look at this SO link: Java inner class and static nested class

meaning of protected static A.B newvar = null

3 Answers3