java - Is this a valid way to count instances of objects?

Question

Is this a valid way to count instances of objects? Or should I not override finalize?

public class MyClass{
    private int instances;
   public MyClass(){
       instances++;
   }    
   @Override
   public void finalize(){
       instances--;
   }
   public static int getInstances(){
       return instances;
   }
}

The solution doesn't have to be Thread safe

Answer 1

Mark instancesas static volatile. And secondly, never override the finalize method. Also, in the code AS-IS, note that you can't access to instances variable in your public static int getInstances method.