can static method be override ?

[pooja jain]

can static method be override ?
if not then plz specify why ?
thanks in advance .

[Steven Bell]

If you search the forum I'm pretty sure this question has been answered several times, and heavily discussed.

The short answer is no they aren't overridden, I think the correct term is hidden, but you can have a static method with the same signature in a subclass. The decision of which method to call is made at compile type based on the type of the reference not the type of the object during runtime.

[ankur rathi]

No static method can't be overridden & not hidden .
because you call static method from the class name so there is no point of hiding . the method will be called based on class name .

I hope it is right & clear ...

[Jay Pawar]

Originally posted by rathi ji:
No static method can't be overridden & not hidden .
because you call static method from the class name so there is no point of hiding . the method will be called based on class name .

I hope it is right & clear ...

Rathi,

I agree with Steven, Static methods cannot be overridden but they can be hidden.

Check this

Hope that helps you...

[ Fixed the link...]
[ January 25, 2005: Message edited by: Jay Pawar ]

[Corey McGlone]

Link

[Mike Gershman]

static methods cannot be overridden, but they can be hidden by following the same rules on matching signatures, return type, exceptions, and accessability that apply to overriding.
[ January 25, 2005: Message edited by: Mike Gershman ]

[Arvind Magadi]

static methods cant be overridden .you can use the static method with the same signature in the subclass but without the polymorphic feature.

[Joe Borderi]

Although it is perfectly legal (in that the code will compile and run without throwing an exception) to redefine a static method in a subclass, you should never do so. Because static methods cannot be overridden, but rather are hidden, the reference to the static method is bound at compile time.

The problem is that executing a static method call on base and subclass references, while refering to the same object, yield different results.

  
class Base{
  static void method(){
    System.out.println("I'm a Base object");
  }
}
 
class Derived extends Base{
  static void method(){
    System.out.println("I'm a Derived object");
  }
}
 
class Driver {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Derived derivedRef = new Derived();
    Base baseRef = derivedRef;
    
    derivedRef.method();
    baseRef.method();    
  }
}

This is a definite no-no .

[ankur rathi]

The output of this program will be :

I'm a Derived object
I'm a Base object

right ?

why you all are saying that static method can be hidden . Hidden means , not visible . but they are difinately visible . ( we can call super class static method with super classs name ... )

is there anything wrong ?
thanks .