http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/nested.html
The Java programming language allows you to define a class within another class. Such a class is called a nested class and is illustrated here:
class OuterClass {
...
class NestedClass {
...
}
}
Terminology: Nested classes are divided into two categories: static and non-static . Nested classes that are declaredstaticare simply called static nested classes . Non-static nested classes are called inner classes .
c lass OuterClass {
...
static class StaticNestedClass {
...
}
class InnerClass {
...
}
}
A nested class is a member of its enclosing class. Non-static nested classes (inner classes) have access to other members of the enclosing class, even if they are declared private. Static nested classes do not have access to other members of the enclosing class. As a member of the OuterClass , a nested class can be declared private , public , protected , or package private . (Recall that outer classes can only be declared public or package private
.)
Why Use Nested Classes?
There are several compelling reasons for using nested classes, among them:
- It is a way of logically grouping classes that are only used in one place.
- It increases encapsulation.
- Nested classes can lead to more readable and maintainable code.
Logical grouping of classes —If a class is useful to only one other class, then it is logical to embed it in that class and keep the two together. Nesting such "helper classes" makes their package more streamlined.
Increased encapsulation —Consider two top-level classes, A and B, where B needs access to members of A that would otherwise be declared private . By hiding class B within class A, A's members can be declared private and B can access them. In addition, B itself can be hidden from the outside world.
More readable, maintainable code —Nesting small classes within top-level classes places the code closer to where it is used.
Static Nested Classes
As with class methods and variables, a static nested class is associated with its outer class. And like static class methods, a static nested class cannot refer directly to instance variables or methods defined in its enclosing class — it can use them only through an object reference .
Note: A static nested class interacts with the instance members of its outer class (and other classes) just like any other top-level class. In effect, a static nested class is behaviorally a top-level class that has been nested in another top-level class for packaging convenience.
Static nested classes are accessed using the enclosing class name :
OuterClass.StaticNestedClass
For example, to create an object for the static nested class, use this syntax:
OuterClass.StaticNestedClass nestedObject = new OuterClass.StaticNestedClass();
Inner Classes
As with instance methods and variables, an inner class is associated with an instance of its enclosing class and has direct access to that object's methods and fields. Also, because an inner class is associated with an instance, it cannot define any static members itself.
Objects that are instances of an inner class exist within an instance of the outer class. Consider the following classes:
class OuterClass {
...
class InnerClass {
...
}
}
An instance of InnerClass can exist only within an instance of OuterClass and has direct access to the methods and fields of its enclosing instance. The next figure illustrates this idea.
An Instance of InnerClass Exists Within an Instance of OuterClass
To instantiate an inner class, you must first instantiate the outer class. Then, create the inner object within the outer object with this syntax:
OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = outerObject.new InnerClass();
Additionally, there are two special kinds of inner classes: local classes and anonymous classes (also called anonymous inner classes). Both of these will be discussed briefly in the next section.
Note: If you want more information on the taxonomy of the different kinds of classes in the Java programming language (which can be tricky to describe concisely, clearly, and correctly), you might want to read Joseph Darcy's blog: Nested, Inner, Member and Top-Level Classes .
http://blogs.sun.com/darcy/entry/nested_inner_member_and_top
One way declared types in Java differ from one another is whether the type is a class (which includes enums) or an interface (which includes annotation types). An independent property of a type is its relation to the surrounding lexical context. A top level class does not appear inside another class or interface. If a type is not top level it is nested . However, there are a number of distinct ways a type can be nested. First, a type can be a member of another type; a member type is directly enclosed by another type declaration. All member types have names; however, some member types are inner classes and others are not. If a type is explicitly or implicitly static, it is not an inner class; all member interfaces are implicitly static.
Inner classes also include local classes , which are named classes declared inside of a block like a method or constructor body, and anonymous classes , which are unnamed classes whose instances are created in expressions and statements. Anonymous classes are used to implement specialized enum constants . Inner classes have access to instance variables of any lexically enclosing instance; that is, the fields of the object an inner class is created in reference to. However, not all inner classes have enclosing instances; inner classes in static contexts, like an anonymous class used in a static initializer block, do not.
The Venn diagram below shows how these distinctions relate and combine; in particular, member-ness and inner-ness are not orthogonal properties.
A reflective API providing a complete model of the language needs to allow these differences to be determined. Two reflective APIs providing this information are core reflection as of JDK 5 and javax.lang.model from JSR 269 in JDK 6; however, each API exposes the data differently. (The legacy apt mirror API finesses the issue by not modeling local and anonymous classes.)
Core reflection uses java.lang.Class to model types. When inner classes were introduced back in JDK 1.1, a getDeclaringClass method was added to Class . While this supports member types, relevant information about local and anonymous classes was not directly available. To remedy this, JDK 5 added a number of methods to return the enclosing entity, if any, and identify what kind of nesting a type may have:
Because of the lack of an usable supertype, the different kinds of enclosing elements (classes, methods, and constructors) must be retrieved from different methods. If the class is not so enclosed, a null is returned. Therefore the code to find the enclosing element is a sequence of if-methodA-not-equal-null-else-if-methodB-not-equal-null tests.
Starting with a clean slate, javax.lang.model was able to provide a cleaner way of modeling these distinctions. First, the functionality of getDeclaringClass and the three getEnclosingFoo methods is provided by the single getEnclosingElement method, which returns the immediately lexically enclosing element regardless of whether it is a class, or method, or constructor. Second, for types the getNestingKind method returns one of the NestingKind enum constants, ANONYMOUS, LOCAL, MEMBER, or TOP_LEVEL. Those constants clearly correspond to the possible alternatives displayed in the diagram above. While it would be technically possible to add a getNestingKind method to Class , that would create an undesired dependency of a java.lang.* class on a javax.* package.
Local and Anonymous Inner Classes
There are two additional types of inner classes. You can declare an inner class within the body of a method. Such a class is known as a local inner class . You can also declare an inner class within the body of a method without naming it. These classes are known as anonymous inner classes . You will encounter such classes in advanced Java programming.
Modifiers
private ,
public , and
protected — to restrict access to inner classes, just as you do to other class members.
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