Use of Initializers vs Constructors in Java

Static initializers are useful as cletus mentioned and I use them in the same manner. If you have a static variable that is to be initialized when the class is loaded, then a static initializer is the way to go, especially as it allows you to do a complex initialization and still have the static variable be final. This is a big win.

I find "if (someStaticVar == null) // do stuff" to be messy and error prone. If it is initialized statically and declared final, then you avoid the possibility of it being null.

However, I'm confused when you say:

static/instance initializers can be used to set the value of "final" static/instance variables whereas a constructor cannot

I assume you are saying both:

• static initializers can be used to set the value of "final" static variables whereas a constructor cannot
• instance initializers can be used to set the value of "final" instance variables whereas a constructor cannot

and you are correct on the first point, wrong on the second. You can, for example, do this:

class MyClass {
    private final int counter;
    public MyClass(final int counter) {
        this.counter = counter;
    }
}

Also, when a lot of code is shared between constructors, one of the best ways to handle this is to chain constructors, providing the default values. This makes is pretty clear what is being done:

class MyClass {
    private final int counter;
    public MyClass() {
        this(0);
    }
    public MyClass(final int counter) {
        this.counter = counter;
    }
}

Anonymous inner classes can't have a constructor (as they're anonymous), so they're a pretty natural fit for instance initializers.

I most often use static initializer blocks for setting up final static data, especially collections. For example:

public class Deck {
  private final static List<String> SUITS;

  static {
    List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
    list.add("Clubs");
    list.add("Spades");
    list.add("Hearts");
    list.add("Diamonds");
    SUITS = Collections.unmodifiableList(list);
  }

  ...
}

Now this example can be done with a single line of code:

private final static List<String> SUITS =
  Collections.unmodifiableList(
    Arrays.asList("Clubs", "Spades", "Hearts", "Diamonds")
  );

but the static version can be far neater, particularly when the items are non-trivial to initialize.

A naive implementation may also not create an unmodifiable list, which is a potential mistake. The above creates an immutable data structure that you can happily return from public methods and so on.

Just to add to some already excellent points here. The static initializer is thread safe. It is executed when the class is loaded, and thus makes for simpler static data initialization than using a constructor, in which you would need a synchronized block to check if the static data is initialized and then actually initialize it.

public class MyClass {

    static private Properties propTable;

    static
    {
        try 
        {
            propTable.load(new FileInputStream("/data/user.prop"));
        } 
        catch (Exception e) 
        {
            propTable.put("user", System.getProperty("user"));
            propTable.put("password", System.getProperty("password"));
        }
    }

versus

public class MyClass 
{
    public MyClass()
    {
        synchronized (MyClass.class) 
        {
            if (propTable == null)
            {
                try 
                {
                    propTable.load(new FileInputStream("/data/user.prop"));
                } 
                catch (Exception e) 
                {
                    propTable.put("user", System.getProperty("user"));
                    propTable.put("password", System.getProperty("password"));
                }
            }
        }
    }

Don't forget, you now have to synchronize at the class, not instance level. This incurs a cost for every instance constructed instead of a one time cost when the class is loaded. Plus, it's ugly ;-)

I read a whole article looking for an answer to the init order of initializers vs. their constructors. I didn't find it, so I wrote some code to check my understanding. I thought I would add this little demonstration as a comment. To test your understanding, see if you can predict the answer before reading it at the bottom.

/**
 * Demonstrate order of initialization in Java.
 * @author Daniel S. Wilkerson
 */
public class CtorOrder {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    B a = new B();
  }
}

class A {
  A() {
    System.out.println("A ctor");
  }
}

class B extends A {

  int x = initX();

  int initX() {
    System.out.println("B initX");
    return 1;
  }

  B() {
    super();
    System.out.println("B ctor");
  }

}

Output:

java CtorOrder
A ctor
B initX
B ctor