'Why doesn't "return x.a;" signal an error? [duplicate]

I understand why "return a;" signals an error (because 'a' is non-static attribute and I'm trying to refer to it in a static method), but I don't understand why "return x.a;" doesn't signal an error. The 'a' attribute of 'x' is still non-static, shouldn't it be an error?

    class A{
        private int a=0;
        private static int b =0;
    
        public int m(){
            return a;
        }
    
        public static int n(A x){
            return x.a;//not an error
            return a;//error
        }
    }
javamethodsstatic


Solution 1:[1]

but I don't understand why "return x.a;" doesn't signal an error

return x.a is valid because x is accessible as a local variable inside the static method and is an instance of A. a is an instance property on the instance of A so x.a is perfectly valid.

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Source: Stack Overflow

Solution Source
Solution 1 Lino

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