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Java: how to "restart" a static class?

Asked 2011-01-08T00:31:25.983
12

I have a static class (Foo) and a main class (Main)

See Main.java:

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println(Foo.i); // 0
        Foo.i++;
        System.out.println(Foo.i); // 1
        // restart Foo here 
        System.out.println(Foo.i); // 1 again...I need 0
    }

}

See Foo.java:

public class Foo {

    public static int i = 0;

}

Is there any way to restart or reset a static class?

Note: I need this because I'm testing a static class with jUnit and I need to clean parameters before second test.


EDIT

ALMOST SOLUTION:

Using StanMax answer, I can to this:

Main.java

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        test();
        test();
    }

    public static void test() throws Exception {

        System.out.println("\ntest()");

        MyClassLoader myClassLoader = new MyClassLoader();
        Class<?> fooClass = myClassLoader.loadClass(Foo.class.getCanonicalName());

        Object foo = fooClass.newInstance();
        System.out.println("Checking classloader: " + foo.getClass().getClassLoader());

        System.out.println("GC called!");
        System.gc();
    }

}

MyClassLoader.java

public class MyClassLoader {

    private URLClassLoader urlClassLoader;

    public MyClassLoader() {
        try {
            URL url = new File(System.getProperty("user.dir") + "/bin/").toURL();
            URL[] urlArray = {url};  
            urlClassLoader = new URLClassLoader(urlArray, null);  
        } catch (Exception e) {
        }
    }

    public Class<?> loadClass(String name) {
          try {
            return (Class<?>) urlClassLoader.loadClass(name);
        } catch (Exception e) {
        }
        return null;
    }

 
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2 Answers

3

Create a static method that sets the class variables to their initial values, then call it when you need it.

answered 2011-01-08T00:34:17.277
2

Avoid static.

It is well known that static is not testable and should thus be avoided. For example, avoiding static is one of the key motivations behind dependency injection. If you need one instance only at runtime, use the singleton pattern instead. And create a new instance for each test run.

answered 2011-01-08T00:44:01.307

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