java - Will a static block execute without the main method?

Question

I'm trying to run the below code on my machine, but it didn't execute anything nor showing any errors.

public class StaticBlockDemo {
    static {
        System.out.println("Hello World");
    }
}

Can someone please help me? By the way, I'm using Java 7.

Answer 1

If you put a System.exit(0) at the end of the static-block, it will run with no errors in Java 6 and below (without a valid main!). This is because the static block is executed before a valid main method is searched for, so if you exit the program at the end of the static block, you will receive no errors.

However, this behavior was changed in Java 7; now you must include an explicit main, even if it might never be reached.

In Java 7, the answer to the question is false, but in Java 6 and below the answer is indeed true.

---

public class Test {
    static {
        System.out.println("Hello World");
        System.exit(0);
    }
}

Java 6:

Hello World

Java 7:

Error: Main method not found in class Test, please define the main method as:
   public static void main(String[] args)