Question

In Python, class methods can be inherited. e.g.

>>> class A:
...  @classmethod
...  def main(cls):
...   return cls()
...
>>> class B(A): pass
...
>>> b=B.main()
>>> b
<__main__.B instance at 0x00A6FA58>

How would you do the equivalent in Java? I currently have:

public class A{
    public void show(){
        System.out.println("A");
    }
    public void run(){
        show();
    }
    public static void main( String[] arg ) {
        new A().run();
    }
}
public class B extends A{
    @Override
    public void show(){
        System.out.println("B");
    }
}

I’d like to call B.main() and have it print “B”, but clearly it will print “A” instead, since “new A()” is hardcoded.

How would you change “new A()” so that it’s parameterized to use the class it’s in when called, and not the hard-coded class A?

Answer 1

Static methods in java are not classmethods they are staticmethods. In general it is not possible to know which class reference the static method was called from.