Q:

Are static members of a generic class different for different types in Java?

@Spence asked this Previous Question.  
So, how's that work in Java?  Generic types are discarded at runtime in Java, so what happens to static variables of classes instantiated with different generic types?

A:

Static members in Java can't have generic type arguments from the class that contains them.
public class Gen<T> {
  public static T foo; // compiler error
}

A:

Static variables are shared among all the instances of that type, even of different type parameters.
From the generics tutorial, page 14:

As consequence, the static variables
  and methods of a class are also shared
  among all the instances. That is why
  it is illegal to refer to the type
  parameters of a type declaration in a
  static method or initializer, or in
  the declaration or initializer of a
  static variable.

