Compiler thinks non-static method is static

[Den3107]

Hello people

As the title says itself, the compiler (I'm using JCreator) thinks a certain context is static while it's not, the error that comes with this is that a non-static variable cannot be declared in that method due to it not being static.

I've checked all the document and nowhere stands static but in a few comments.

Let me give a file as an example

public class A1
{
	InfoTracker saveInfo;

	public A1()
	{
	}

	public String process(InfoTracker info)
	{
		String tempScenario, text;
		tempScenario = "";
		switch(info.getScenario())
		{
			default: text = "This action is not yet supported.";
					 tempScenario = "";
		}

		info.setPreviousScenario(info.getScenario());
		info.setScenario(tempScenario);
		saveInfo = info;
		info.setPreviousText(GUI.mainInfo.getText());
		return text;
	}

	public InfoTracker getInfo()
	{
		return saveInfo;
	}
}

The error that occurs here is:
(Build Output)

C:\Users\Dennis\Dropbox\Install\JCreator LE\MyProjects\Java in TWO semesters\Own Made\Interactive novel\Control Buttons\A1.java:31: error: non-static variable mainInfo cannot be referenced from a static context
		info.setPreviousText(GUI.mainInfo.getText());
		    ^

(Task View)

error: non-static variable mainInfo cannot be referenced from a static context

As the compiler says, mainInfo is non-static:

public JTextArea mainInfo = new JTextArea();

Help would be much appreciated wince there's a certain error if I would make everything static (process() is not the only method that has this problem, pretty much every method that requests a variable from another class).

Thank you for reading,
~Den3107

P.S. Don't comment about what this class does, it's all a work in progress

P.S.S. GUI is a class

[gimbal2]

its not the mainInfo that is the problem, it is the fact that you're using

GUI.mainInfo

I'm guessing that GUI is not a variable but the name of a class. So you're TRYING to refer to mainInfo in a static way (ClassName.memberName), but it is not static.


BTW: JCreator is your IDE, not the compiler. Don't confuse the JDK with the pretty graphical tool you're using, JCreator is not Java.

[Den3107]

its not the mainInfo that is the problem, it is the fact that you're using

GUI.mainInfo

I'm guessing that GUI is not a variable but the name of a class. So you're TRYING to refer to mainInfo in a static way (ClassName.memberName), but it is not static.

Thank you for the quick reply

I expect there's no solution except making it static? Since I have problems with saving and loading the save files if I have to make everything static.

~Den3107

Edit: Yes, GUI is a class.

Edit: Also, I can then understand I shouldn't need to request public variables in that fashion, but why does it also give the error if I request the variable in the fashion of a method within a class that returns it?

Example:

public String getMainInfoText()
	{
		return mainInfo.getText();
	}

[jim829]

So what is GUI defined as? You need to show more of your code.

Regards,
Jim

[gimbal2]

Thank you for the quick reply

I expect there's no solution except making it static? Since I have problems with saving and loading the save files if I have to make everything static.

Edit: Yes, GUI is a class.

No. Somewhere you are creating an object out of your GUI class; if you are not doing that then you need to be doing that. You need a reference to that GUI object in your AI class so you can get the mainInfo attribute from it.

[Den3107]

No. Somewhere you are creating an object out of your GUI class; if you are not doing that then you need to be doing that. You need a reference to that GUI object in your AI class so you can get the mainInfo attribute from it.

Could you please reply to the last edit?

Edit: Also, I can then understand I shouldn't need to request public variables in that fashion, but why does it also give the error if I request the variable in the fashion of a method within a class that returns it?

Example:

public String getMainInfoText()
	{
		return mainInfo.getText();
	}

So what is GUI defined as? You need to show more of your code.

Regards,
Jim

As gimbal2 expected, GUI is a class

[Den3107]

Nevermind, I have found the solution

The problem was that it always makes it a static unless you make the class the called method is in as a variable

So the new code would be:

public class A1
{
    InfoTracker saveInfo;
 
    public A1()
    {
    }
 
    public String process(InfoTracker info)
    {
        GUI gui = new GUI(); // the new line
        String tempScenario, text;
        tempScenario = "";
        switch(info.getScenario())
        {
            default: text = "This action is not yet supported.";
                     tempScenario = "";
        }
 
        info.setPreviousScenario(info.getScenario());
        info.setScenario(tempScenario);
        saveInfo = info;
        info.setPreviousText(gui.getMainInfoText()); // note how the text between the first bracelets has changed
        return text;
    }
 
    public InfoTracker getInfo()
    {
        return saveInfo;
    }
}

Where mainInfo.getText() looks like:

public String getMainInfoText()
    {
        return mainInfo.getText();
    }

Edit: With thanks to gimbal2

[gimbal2]

Your latest code is weird. First of all I expect that you would be doing this:

info.setPreviousText(gui.mainInfo.getText());

and not as it is now, still through the GUI class. On top of that I would expect the code to be this:

info.setPreviousText(gui.getMainInfo().getText());

Unless you made mainInfo public in stead of properly adding a getMainInfo() method.

So please don't tell me that you made mainInfo static...

[Den3107]

Your latest code is weird. First of all I expect that you would be doing this:

info.setPreviousText(gui.mainInfo.getText());

and not as it is now, still through the GUI class. On top of that I would expect the code to be this:

info.setPreviousText(gui.getMainInfo().getText());

Unless you made mainInfo public in stead of properly adding a getMainInfo() method.

So please don't tell me that you made mainInfo static...

No no, check the edit, I changed the coding a bit, check it again now

[gimbal2]

Oops, right you are. Thumbs up!

[Den3107]

Oops, right you are. Thumbs up!

One for me, two for you.
After all you helped me with the first step, without it I would've been nowhere.

Thanks again.