Learn Java Programming - Introduction to the Static Modifier
The static keyword can be applied to variables, methods, blocks, and nested classes. Don't worry about blocks and nested classes yet, I will cover them in future tutorials. In a nutshell, when the static modifier is applied to a member, that member is shared between all objects. In addition, there is no need to create an instance of a class to access a static member, but you can if you want to. The static modifier has many purposes, so the best way to begin explaining what static does is to apply it to a simple variable and use a hypothetical example.