Why we should not use protected static in java

Question

I was going through this question Is there a way to override class variables in Java? The first comment with 36 upvotes was:

If you ever see a protected static, run.

Can anyone explain why is a protected static frowned upon?

Answer 1

It's more a stylistic thing than a direct problem. It suggests that you haven't properly thought through what is going on with the class.

Think about what static means:

This variable exists at class level, it does not exist separately for each instance and it does not have an independent existence in classes which extend me.

Think about what protected means:

This variable can be seen by this class, classes in the same package and classes which extend me.

The two meanings are not exactly mutually exclusive but it is pretty close.

The only case I can see where you might use the two together is if you had an abstract class that was designed to be extended and the extending class could then modify the behavior using constants defined in the original. That sort of arrangement would most likely end up very messy though and indicates weakness in the design of the classes.

In most cases it would be better to have the constants as public since that just makes everything cleaner and allows the people sub-classing more flexibility. Quite apart from anything else in many cases composition is preferable to inheritance, while abstract classes force inheritance.

To see one example of how this could break things and to illustrate what I mean by the variable not having an independent existence try this example code:

public class Program {
    public static void main (String[] args) throws java.lang.Exception {
        System.out.println(new Test2().getTest());
        Test.test = "changed";
        System.out.println(new Test2().getTest());
    }
}

abstract class Test {
    protected static String test = "test";
}

class Test2 extends Test {
    public String getTest() {
        return test;
    }
}

You will see the results:

test
changed

Try it yourself at: https://ideone.com/KM8u8O

The class Test2 is able to access the static member test from Test without needing to qualify the name - but it does not inherit or get its own copy. It is looking at the exact same object in memory.