I understand classes and objects like this:
A class is a description for a type of object. Objects are unique instances of a class.

This definition works well for any class without a main() method, but I get confused when trying to apply it to the "main class" of a program. What's the object here?
Could you say that a running program is a unique instance (object) of the class with the main() method?

In Java, main is a static method. This means the method is part of its class and not part of objects.

For example, Robots are objects. They are defined by classes, which are like factories for the creation of objects. In terms of our metaphor for robot programming, a static method is like the instructions read to robots by the helicopter pilot, not the instructions known by the robots themselves.

Thanks.

1. Why has the main() method to be part of a class though, if there's no object to be described by the class?
2. What IS the class with the main method? In terms of the metaphor, it's not a factory for the creation of anything.

This post was edited by tt_toby on Apr 26 2013 09:45am

The main method the starting point of your application. Every application has to have a main method.
When you're creating a debug configuration, you have to start somewhere and it's a class.
For example, if you run java from command line, you have to pass it a class (the main class). And it finds the main method in that class to use it as the starting point.

The class with the main method is referred to as the "main class" and usually has only the main method in it.

This post was edited by labatymo on Apr 26 2013 10:14am

That's not what he's asking.

Static methods and fields on classes define behavior that is relevant to the class but doesn't rely on any instance-specific state. The Java psv main method is a bit of a special case.