What is a static initialization block and why would you use one?

A static {} block runs once when the class is defined, letting you run multi-step setup logic for static fields that a simple assignment can't express — including try/catch around initialization.

class Config {
  static settings;
  static {
    try {
      Config.settings = JSON.parse(loadConfigString());
    } catch {
      Config.settings = {};
    }
  }
}