Breaking from Static Initialization Block in Java

Question

I have a static initialization block. It sets up logging to a file. If something goes wrong, I simply want to break out of the static block. Is this possible? I know I could use an if/else approach, but using a simple break would make the code much more readable.

Would this leave your class in an inconsistent/unusable state? — Clockwork-Muse
– Clockwork-Muse, Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 16:02
Yes, it would. It is a logging class. So if this fails, it could still write the logging output to the console, but the logging to file would be unusable. — user489041
– user489041, Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 16:03
What I was getting at was, if your class was in an unusable state, it may not be loadable by the classloader (or something along those lines), causing all sorts of problems. Just keep in mind that all static final variables should be initialized, regardless... — Clockwork-Muse
– Clockwork-Muse, Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 16:20

Peter Lawrey · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 15:57:57Z

9

Your static block can call a method

static { init(); }

private static void init() {
     // do something
     if(test) return;
     // do something
}

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:57

Peter Lawrey

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Laurent Pireyn · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 15:56:52Z

4

You probably want to catch all exceptions:

static {
    try {
        // Initialization
    }
    catch (Exception exception) {
        // Not much can be done here
    }
}

But beware: loading the class won't fail, but some or all static fields could be in an inconsistent state.

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:56

Laurent Pireyn

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Eng.Fouad · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 15:59:38Z

2

Is this what you're looking for?

label:
{
  // blah blah
  break label;
}

edited Jul 12, 2011 at 15:59

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:53

Eng.Fouad

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6 Comments

user489041 Over a year ago

Can you break to a label that is below the break statement?

Peter Lawrey Over a year ago

The label has to be at the start of a block, the place to break to is at the end of the block.

dhblah Over a year ago

@user48 you don't break to label, you break the label

Laurent Pireyn Over a year ago

A break with label is only useful if it is nested more than one level deeper than the label. Otherwise, it's just bad coding style since it can be avoided in a more readable way.

Clockwork-Muse Over a year ago

You cannot use labels to branch to an arbitrary place in the code (so no, you can't go to a label that is below the current code). That is a valid use of the label - when it hits the label, it's going to go to the label, then skip over the section that was labelled (so, // blah blah won't get executed a second time).

|

zacheusz · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-13 20:33:06Z

1

if it is an exception, use try{throw new Exception();}catch

if it is normal processing, use if-then-else or switch
eventually you could use labels, but IMHO it is a very bad style:

//boolean condition;
static {
 label:
 {
  System.out.println("1");
  if(condition) break label;
  System.out.println("2");
 }
}

edited Jul 13, 2011 at 20:33

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:56

zacheusz

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1 Comment

Sean Patrick Floyd Over a year ago

please don't use HTML code tags. just indent your code (4 spaces or 8 inside a list) and code will be displayed nicely.

Jigar Joshi · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 15:51:36Z

0

How about try/catch ?

try{}catch(){}

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:51

Jigar Joshi

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Comments

Mr.Eddart · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 15:58:22Z

0

In my opinion, a static block is not different from any other block in terms of flow control strategies to use. You can use BREAK wherever if you find it more readable (in your static block also) but the general assumption is that it makes the code less readable in fact, and that a IF ELSE approach is better.

answered Jul 12, 2011 at 15:58

Mr.Eddart

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