Java内部类、静态嵌套类、局部内部类、匿名内部类

Nested classes are further divided into two types:

1. static nested classes: If the nested class is static, then it’s called static nested class. Static nested classes can access only static members of the outer class. Static nested class is same as any other top-level class and is nested for only packaging convenience.

   Static class object can be created with following statement:

   12	OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject =     new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();

   静态嵌套类：如果嵌套类是静态的，则称作静态嵌套类。静态嵌套类只能访问外部类的静态成员。

2. java inner class: Any non-static nested class is known as inner class. Inner classes are associated with the object of the class and they can access all the variables and methods of the outer class. Since inner classes are associated with instance, we can’t have any static variables in them. Object of inner class are part of the outer class object and to create an instance of inner class, we first need to create instance of outer class.

   Inner classes can be instantiated like this:

   12	OuterClass outerObject = new OuterClass();OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = outerObject.new InnerClass();

There are two special kinds of java inner classes.

1. local inner class: If a class is defined in a method body, it’s known as local inner class. Since local inner class is not associated with Object, we can’t use private, public or protected access modifiers with it. The only allowed modifiers are abstract or final. A local inner class can access all the members of the enclosing class and local final variables in the scope it’s defined.

   Local inner class can be defined as:

   1234567

   public void print() {        //local inner class inside the method        class Logger {            String name;        }        //instantiate local inner class in the method to use        Logger logger = new Logger();

2. anonymous inner class: A local inner class without name is known as anonymous inner class. An anonymous class is defined and instantiated in a single statement. Anonymous inner class always extend a class or implement an interface. Since an anonymous class has no name, it is not possible to define a constructor for an anonymous class. Anonymous inner classes are accessible only at the point where it is defined.
   It’s a bit hard to define how to create anonymous inner class, we will see it’s real time usage in test program below.

Here is a java class showing how to define java inner class, static nested class, local inner class and anonymous inner class.

Here is the test program showing how to instantiate and use nested class in java.

Here is the output of above program:

Notice that when OuterClass is compiled, separate class files are created for inner class, local inner class and static nested class.

Benefits of Java Nested Class

1. If a class is useful to only one class, it makes sense to keep it nested and together. It helps in packaging of the classes.
2. Nested classes increases encapsulation. Note that inner classes can access outer class private members and at the same time we can hide inner class from outer world.
3. Nesting small classes within top-level classes places the code closer to where it is used and makes code more readable and maintainable.

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