Why can't static methods be abstract in Java?
The question is in Java why can't I define an abstract static method? for example
abstract class foo {
abstract void bar( ); // <-- this is ok
abstract static void bar2(); //<-- this isn't why?
}
Solution 1:
Because "abstract" means: "Implements no functionality", and "static" means: "There is functionality even if you don't have an object instance". And that's a logical contradiction.
Solution 2:
Poor language design. It would be much more effective to call directly a static abstract method than creating an instance just for using that abstract method. Especially true when using an abstract class as a workaround for enum inability to extend, which is another poor design example. Hope they solve those limitations in a next release.