Java static variable in method overriding [duplicate]

Question

I have a code in which I expect the output to be different from the actual output.. As static variables are reference based, I expect the output to be "superclass" but what I am getting is "subclass".. Code:

class TestClass {
    public static void main(String args[] ) throws Exception {
        A b = new B(); // Since the reference is A, "superclass" should be the output
        b.test();
    }
}
abstract class A{
    static String a = "superclass";
    abstract void test();
}
class B extends A{
    static String a = "subclass";
    void test(){
        System.out.println(a); // Output subclass
    }
}

Please tell me where am I wrong..

Answer 1

Static variables are not inherited in java. You varibale static String a is static which associates it to a class. Java inheritance doesn't work with static variables.

If you absolutely want the superclass variable you could use:

System.out.println(super.a);

Here is the inheritance what you probably wish to see:

abstract class A {
     String a = "superclass";

    abstract void test();
}

class B extends A {
    void test() {
        System.out.println(a); // Output superclass
    }
}

I remove the static identifier and removed the subclass's implementation of variable a. If you run this you'll get superclass as output.