Why are interface variables static and final by default?

From the Java interface design FAQ by Philip Shaw:

Interface variables are static because Java interfaces cannot be instantiated in their own right; the value of the variable must be assigned in a static context in which no instance exists. The final modifier ensures the value assigned to the interface variable is a true constant that cannot be re-assigned by program code.

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public: for the accessibility across all the classes, just like the methods present in the interface

static: as interface cannot have an object, the interfaceName.variableName can be used to reference it or directly the variableName in the class implementing it.

final: to make them constants. If 2 classes implement the same interface and you give both of them the right to change the value, conflict will occur in the current value of the var, which is why only one time initialization is permitted.

Also all these modifiers are implicit for an interface, you dont really need to specify any of them.

Since interface doesn't have a direct object, the only way to access them is by using a class/interface and hence that is why if interface variable exists, it should be static otherwise it wont be accessible at all to outside world. Now since it is static, it can hold only one value and any classes that implements it can change it and hence it will be all mess.

Hence if at all there is an interface variable, it will be implicitly static, final and obviously public!!!