Nice work! Now that we’ve seen how static variables work, let’s look into how to write our own static methods.

Let’s get the syntax out of the way first — just like with variables, to create a static method, use the static keyword in the method’s definition. Just like with variables, this keyword usually comes after public or private.

public static void myFirstStaticMethod(){
  // Some code here
}

Often times, you’ll see static methods that are accessors or mutators for static variables.

public static int getMyStaticVariable(){
  return myStaticVariable;
}

public static void setMyStaticVariable(int newValue){
  myStaticVariable = newValue;
}

One important rule to note is that static methods can’t interact with non-static instance variables.

To wrap your mind around this, consider why we use this when working with non-static instance variables. Let’s say we have a Dog class with a non-static instance variable named age. If we have a line of code like this.age = 5;, that means we’re setting the age of a specific Dog equal to 5. However, if age were static, that would mean that the variable belongs to the entire class, not a specific object.

The this keyword can’t be used by a static method since static methods are associated with an entire class, not a specific object of that class. If you try to mix this with a static method, you’ll see the error message non-static variable this cannot be referenced from a static context.