Java error non static variable this cannot be referenced from a static context

asked Apr 1, 2010 at 9:57

You must understand the difference between a class and an instance of that class. If you see a car on the street, you know immediately that it’s a car even if you can’t see which model or type. This is because you compare what you see with the class «car». The class contains which is similar to all cars. Think of it as a template or an idea.

At the same time, the car you see is an instance of the class «car» since it has all the properties which you expect: There is someone driving it, it has an engine, wheels.

So the class says «all cars have a color» and the instance says «this specific car is red».

In the OO world, you define the class and inside the class, you define a field of type Color. When the class is instantiated (when you create a specific instance), memory is reserved for the color and you can give this specific instance a color. Since these attributes are specific, they are non-static.

Static fields and methods are shared with all instances. They are for values which are specific to the class and not a specific instance. For methods, this usually are global helper methods (like Integer.parseInt()). For fields, it’s usually constants (like car types, i.e. something where you have a limited set which doesn’t change often).

To solve your problem, you need to instantiate an instance (create an object) of your class so the runtime can reserve memory for the instance (otherwise, different instances would overwrite each other which you don’t want).

In your case, try this code as a starting block:

public static void main (String[] args)
{
    try
    {
        MyProgram7 obj = new MyProgram7 ();
        obj.run (args);
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        e.printStackTrace ();
    }
}

// instance variables here

public void run (String[] args) throws Exception
{
    // put your code here
}

The new main() method creates an instance of the class it contains (sounds strange but since main() is created with the class instead of with the instance, it can do this) and then calls an instance method (run()).

answered Apr 1, 2010 at 10:10

answered Apr 1, 2010 at 10:14

The static keyword modifies the lifecycle of a method or variable within a class. A static method or variable is created at the time a class is loaded. A method or variable that is not declared as static is created only when the class is instantiated as an object for example by using the new operator.

The lifecycle of a class, in broad terms, is:

1. the source code for the class is written creating a template or
   pattern or stamp which can then be used to
2. create an object with the new operator using the class to make an instance of the class as an actual object and then when done with the object
3. destroy the object reclaiming the resources it is holding such as memory during garbage collection.

In order to have an initial entry point for an application, Java has adopted the convention that the Java program must have a class that contains a method with an agreed upon or special name. This special method is called main(). Since the method must exist whether the class containing the main method has been instantiated or not, the main() method must be declared with the static modifier so that as soon as the class is loaded, the main() method is available.

The result is that when you start your Java application by a command line such as java helloworld a series of actions happen. First of all a Java Virtual Machine is started up and initialized. Next the helloworld.class file containing the compiled Java code is loaded into the Java Virtual Machine. Then the Java Virtual Machine looks for a method in the helloworld class that is called main(String [] args). this method must be static so that it will exist even though the class has not actually been instantiated as an object. The Java Virtual Machine does not create an instance of the class by creating an object from the class. It just loads the class and starts execution at the main() method.

So you need to create an instance of your class as an object and then you can access the methods and variables of the class that have not been declared with the static modifier. Once your Java program has started with the main() function you can then use any variables or methods that have the modifier of static since they exist as part of the class being loaded.

However, those variables and methods of the class which are outside of the main() method which do not have the static modifier can not be used until an instance of the class has been created as an object within the main() method. After creating the object you can then use the variables and methods of the object. An attempt to use the variables and methods of the class which do not have the static modifier without going through an object of the class is caught by the Java compiler at compile time and flagged as an error.

import java.io.*;

class HelloWorld {
    int myInt;      // this is a class variable that is unique to each object
    static int myInt2;  // this is a class variable shared by all objects of this class

    static void main (String [] args) {
        // this is the main entry point for this Java application
        System.out.println ("Hello, Worldn");
        myInt2 = 14;    // able to access the static int
        HelloWorld myWorld = new HelloWorld();
        myWorld.myInt = 32;   // able to access non-static through an object
    }
}

Nick MooreNick Moore

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answered Jul 18, 2011 at 9:10

Ajay BhojakAjay Bhojak

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Now you can add/use instances with in the method

public class Myprogram7 {

  Scanner scan;
  int compareCount = 0;
  int low = 0;
  int high = 0;
  int mid = 0;  
  int key = 0;  
  Scanner temp;  
  int[]list;  
  String menu, outputString;  
  int option = 1;  
  boolean found = false;  

  private void readLine() {

  }

  private void findkey() {

  }

  private void printCount() {

  }
  public static void main(String[] args){

    Myprogram7 myprg=new Myprogram7();
    myprg.readLine();
    myprg.findkey();
    myprg.printCount();
  }
}

Petar MinchevPetar Minchev

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EveryoneEveryone

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Lakindu AkashLakindu Akash

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It is ClassLoader responsible to load the class files.Let’s see what happens when we write our own classes.

Example 1:

class StaticTest {

      static int a;
      int b;
      int c;
}

Now we can see that class «StaticTest» has 3 fields.But actually there is no existence of b,c member variable.But why ???. OK Lest’s see. Here b,c are instance variable.Since instance variable gets the memory at the time of object creation. So here b,c are not getting any memory yet. That’s why there is no existence of b,c. So There is only existence of a.
For ClassLoader it has only one information about a. ClassLoader yet not recognize b,c because it’s object not instantiated yet.

Let’s see another example:
Example 2:

class StaticTest {

      public void display() {
          System.out.println("Static Test");
      }


      public static void main(String []cmd) {

             display();       
      }

}

Now if we try to compile this code compiler will give CE error.
CE: non-static method display() cannot be referenced from a static context.

Now For ClassLoader it looks like:

class StaticTest {

      public static void main(String []cmd) {

             display();       
      }

}

In Example 2 CE error is because we call non static method from a static context. So it is not possible for ClassLoader to recognize method display() at compile time.So compile time error is occurred.

answered Sep 3, 2015 at 12:21

Sujay U NSujay U N

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hakkikonuhakkikonu

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answered Aug 17, 2021 at 18:28