What is the difference between instance and class methods in Java?

Can you explain the difference between instance and class methods in Java?

Sure! In Java, instance methods belong to an instance of a class, while class methods belong to the class itself.

What does that mean in terms of how I use them?

Instance methods can access instance variables and require an object to be called, while class methods can be called without creating an object.

Can you give me an example of each?

Of course! An instance method might be a method that calculates the area of a rectangle, while a class method could be one that returns the number of instances created.

Are there any performance differences between the two?

Generally, class methods can be slightly faster since they don't require an object, but the difference is usually negligible.