Member variables are variables that are declared at the class level and not within methods or any other block declarations (initializers, etc).
Member variables are further separated into two groups: class variables and instance variables.
Class variables (or static fields) are those variables declared static. They are initialized when the class itself is initialized and it is the same variable for all instances of the class.
Instance variables are those variable not declared static. They are initialized everytime a new instance of the class is created just before the constructor is invoked.
Class and instances variables are assigned default values (
4.5.5 Initial Values of Variables) when the class, respectively, the instance are initialized.
[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: Valentin Crettaz ]