static, field, variable

> I'm learning from the online java course in sun's

> site. I didn't understood what is static variable

Can you post a link to where static variables are first mentioned? I'm sure they're explained.

> and

> what is the difference between variable and field.

> can you explain it to me?

Variables can be:

* Non-static member variables (also called fields, or instance variables). These hold the state of an object. For instance, a person's name.

* Static member variables (also called class variables). These hold information about the class as a whole, rather than for any one particular instance of the class.

* Method variables (also called local variables). These exist only during the execution of the method during which they are defined.

So a field is a particular kind of variable--a non-static member variable.

jverda at 2007-7-14 19:33:17 >

If you're just starting out, you'd be better off using TextPad and compiling and running on the command line. This way you're not trying to learn both the IDE and Java at the same time, and your forced to learn some concepts that the IDE may mask.

If you're determined to use an IDE, however, I can recommend eclipse. It's free and feature rich, but has a bit of a learning curve. I haven't used others. I think IntelliJ and JBuilder get mentioned a lot here. BlueJ is supposed to be good for beginners, but from what I've seen, it pulls you too far away from the nuts and bolts of writing code.

jverda at 2007-7-14 19:33:17 >