Can t access static fields in inner classes in Java

Question

I have the below code where I am trying to access the static field with Outer_Class.Inner_Class.i as I want to record a static value in it. But Java doesn't allow static fields/methods in inner classes?. Can someone explain why so?

class Outer_Class {
 class Inner_Class {
  static int i = 100; // compile error
  static void f() { } // compile error
 }
} 

Answer 1

Well, the major idea behind this concept is, an inner class is a nested class that is not explicitly or implicitly declared static. So, the inner classes may not declare static initializers or member interfaces. Also, the inner classes may not declare static members, unless they are compile-time constant fields.