Inner classes

[Sam Samson]

Hi

class A
{
    void m()
    {
        System.out.println("outer");
    }
}

public class TestInners
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        new TestInners().go();
    }
    
    void go()
    {
        new A().m();

        class A
        {
            void m()
            {
                System.out.println("method inner");
            }
        }
    }

    class A
    {
        void m()
        {
            System.out.println("inner");
        }
    }
}

This will print out "inner". But why? Why not "outer"? Will the inner class always be chosen over the outer?
If I comment the inner class, the outer will be chosen.

[dennis deems]

In much the same way that a method local variable can shadow a class level variable with the same name, the class A is shadowed by the class TestInners.A.

[Sam Samson]

Ah, ok, that make sense, thanks :-)

But I couldn't find examples for 'shadowing a class' via Google. Are you sure that this is called shadowing?

[Mike Simmons]

Yes. Shadowing a class is a relatively rare thing - but the concept of shadowing in Java can apply to most anything with a name, including variables, methods, and classes.