Is synchronized static method legal in Java?

Question

Thank you folks.

Answer 1

Yes. It gets the lock on the object representing the class the method is defined in (eg MyClass.class)

Answer 2

Yes, and it simplifies static factory methods like this:

class Foo {
    private Foo() {}

    public static synchronized Foo getInstance() {
        if (instance == null) {
            instance = new Foo();
        }
        return instance;
    }

    private static Foo instance = null;
}

Here's what it might look like if static methods could not be synchronized:

class Foo {
    private Foo() {}

    public static Foo getInstance() {
        synchronized (LOCK) {
            if (instance == null) {
                instance = new Foo();
            }
        }
        return instance;
    }

    private static Foo instance = null;

    private static final Object LOCK = Foo.class;
    // alternative: private static final Object LOCK = new Object();
}

Not that big a deal, it just saves 2 lines of code.