finalize using static attribute

[xzero_x]

class Employee {
    private String last;
    private String first;
    private String title;
    private int age;

    static int count = 2;




    public Employee() {++count;}
    public Employee(String last, String first,
                    String title, int age)
    {
        this.last = last;
        this.first = first;
        this.title = title;
        this.age = age;
    }
    public String getLast() {
        return last;
    }
    public String getFirst() {
        return first;
    }
    public String getTitle() {
        return title;
    }
    public int getAge() {
        return age;
    }
    public void setLast(String last) {
        this.last = last;
    }
    public void setFirst(String first) {
        this.first = first;
    }
    public void setTitle(String title) {
        this.title = title;
    }
    public void setAge(int age) {
        this.age = age;
    }
    public String toString() {
        return "{" + last + "," + first +
               "," + title+ "," + age + "}";
    }

    public static int getCount() {
        return count;
    }

   protected void finalize() {
        count--;
    }
}

public class  Trial {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        Employee e0 = new Employee();
        Employee e = new Employee("Malone", "Karl", "Forward", 36);
        System.out.println(e);
        System.out.println("Employee.count == " + Employee.getCount());
        e0 = null;
        System.gc();


        System.out.println("Employee.count == " + Employee.getCount());
        e = null;
        System.gc();
        System.out.println("Employee.count == " + Employee.getCount());
    }
}

(java 6)
when i run it the nb of object doesnt change
finalize()doesnt affect static attribute???
why??

[jwenting]

there's never a reason to use finalize(), at least not until you know very well how it works and once you do you realise there's always a better way to do things.

Finalize works on an instance of a class, if it works at all. Static members are not bound to any instance and therefore aren't finalized until such a time as finalize is called on the Class instance for the class as a whole, which typically doesn't happen until the JVM shuts down.

[xzero_x]

10x for u help jwenting..

if i can bother u with another question..
in c++ we use to make a default value constructor..that help me to create an object with differents arguments in the main function.

that kind of constuctor exists in java????

[jwenting]

You can create pretty much any constructor style you want in Java.
The only thing not done so much is a copy constructor, as Java has special mechanisms for that functionality using the Cloneable interface (but you could still do it).